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Observatories and Instruments

Planck (spacecraft)

Space-Based Observatories

A European Space Agency space telescope launched in 2009 and named for the physicist Max Planck, built to map the cosmic microwave background, the faint afterglow of the Big Bang, with unprecedented precision. Its data refined the standard model of cosmology and the measured age, composition and geometry of the universe before the mission ended in 2013.

Facts
Observatory Type
space observatory 2
Location
second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), about 1.5 million km from Earth 1
Operational
from 2009 1
Measures
the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background at microwave and infrared frequencies 2
Operating Principle
Two instrument arrays, the Low Frequency Instrument (30 to 70 GHz) and High Frequency Instrument (100 to 857 GHz), cooled to extremely low temperatures to detect faint CMB radiation 3
Classification
Observing Band
Microwave 1
Connections

Associated With

Cosmic Inflation, Concepts
Cosmic Microwave Background, Concepts

Planck mapped the cosmic microwave background at high resolution

Lagrange Points, Concepts
Lambda-CDM Model, Concepts

Operated By

European Space Agency, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. ESA Science and Technology - Planck Summary
  • Mission summary page, orbit section
    Planck's operational orbit was located 1.5 million km away from the Earth in a direction diametrically opposite the Sun, at the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system (L2).
  • Mission summary page, launch section
    The spacecraft was carried into space by an Ariane 5 ECA launcher on 14 May 2009.
  • Mission summary page, CMB description
    The mission was devised to collect and characterise radiation from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) using sensitive radio receivers operating at extremely low temperatures.
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2. Wikipedia: Planck (spacecraft)
  • Lead section
    Planck was a space observatory operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) from 2009 to 2013.
  • Lead section, mission aim sentence
    The project aimed to map the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at microwave and infrared frequencies, with high sensitivity and angular resolution.
  • In Group: Cosmic Microwave Background Satellites, Lead sentence
    The project aimed to map the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at microwave and infrared frequencies, with high sensitivity and angular resolution.
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3. ESA - Planck overview
Instruments section
Quote, Instruments section
The Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), which operated between 30 and 70 GHz, and the High Frequency Instrument (HFI), which operated between 100 and 857 GHz.
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Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationOperated By: European Space Agency, Planck (spacecraft)
Quote, Operated By: European Space Agency, Planck (spacecraft)
Operator: ESA
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