Page 29 - Timelessness and the Reality of Fate

The Universe Is Created From Non-Existence 27

Cosmic background radiation, one of the greatest proofs of the Big
Bang, was discovered in 1965 and has also been studied by the COBE
(1992) and WMAP (2003) space satellites.

The importance of the mission was summarized as follows on a NASA web
page:
The WMAP mission addresses fundamental questions in cosmology: What
is the geometry of the Universe? How did structures, such as galaxies and
galaxy clusters, that we see in today's sky come about? How old is the Uni-
verse, and what are its constituents?
Answers to these questions lie in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB),
the remnant background radiation left over from the Big Bang… 22
Because of the lower sensitivity of the equipment on COBE, only the
main lines of the cosmic background radiation in the universe had been
mapped. The WMAP, however, was designed and launched specifically to
measure the cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang.
The advanced equipment on the WMAP produced a more detailed
map of the cosmic background radiation and permitted definitive results to
be obtained in many spheres regarding the universe. These data also clari-
fied many subjects of debate such as the universe's expansion rate, its com-
position and its density.
Some of the information revealed by WMAP is as follows: