World Report: February 21, 2003 Vol. 8 No. 18
- This Issue:
- Table of Contents
- Cover Story
- Cover Story - Spanish Version
- Mini-Lesson
- Comprehension Quiz
- Teacher's Guide and Worksheets
A New Cosmic Picture
For centuries, scientists have puzzled over how the universe began. An amazing picture released last week sheds new light on this mystery. It shows the universe not long after it was born. "The picture is a gold mine," said Charles Bennet of the Goddard Space Center in Maryland. "The patterns tell us all kinds of things."
The image confirms what most scientists have long believed--that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. It also supports the popular theory that it was formed in a giant burst of energy called the big bang.
The new baby picture captures the universe as it went from being a sizzling soup of particles and energy to a cluster of galaxies. The image was created by measuring ancient light in space. A powerful WMAP satellite, which orbits a million miles away, collected the data.
One of its biggest revelations is that the first stars started shining 200 million years after the big bang. That's much earlier than previously thought.
The picture also shows scientists more about the kinds of matter that make up the universe today and what it will look like in the future. The universe is expanding and at a much faster pace than expected. As it grows, each galaxy moves farther away from the others. Eventually, it will fade into nothing. But don't worry! That is at least a trillion years away.
