The past according to Planck: Cosmologists got a lot right
New analysis of universe’s beginning also confirms that puzzles remain
PRIMORDIAL SWIRL The patterns and colors in this visualization represent the polarization and temperature of the cosmic microwave background in a small patch of space, emitted when the universe was about 380,000 years old. The Planck mission released a new map encompassing four years of data on this primordial light.
Planck Collaboration/ESA