COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND

13.7 billion light-years

The ultimate limit of our vision, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the remnant of the big bang fireball in which the whole Universe was thought to be created. This image made by the WMAP satellite shows the whole sky unfolded onto a flat image, and is covered with tiny variations in temperature (different colours). These are thought to be the structures that prompted the formation of the galaxies in the very early Universe.

Credit: Image made in microwaves by the WMAP Science Team for NASA.

Download High Res Tif and Caption (12.6 MB)