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Ask Ethan #88: Where is the Cosmic Microwave Background? (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]
“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.” –Dwight L. Moody
When it comes to the farthest thing we can see in the Universe, that’s the Cosmic Microwave Background, or the leftover glow from the Big Bang, emitted when the Universe was a mere 380,000 years old. But what, exactly, does this mean?
Image credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration.
Does it mean that we’re seeing the “edge” of the Universe? Does it mean that there’s nothing to see, farther back beyond it? Does it mean that, as time goes on, we’re going to be able to see farther back in time and space? The answers are no, no, and yes, respectively.
Image credits: Earth: NASA/BlueEarth; Milky Way: ESO/S. Brunier; CMB: NASA/WMAP.
Come get the whole story on where, exactly, the Cosmic Microwave Background is, and how we might be able to see even beyond its limitations.
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2015/05/15/ask-ethan-88-where-is-the-cosmic-microwave-background-synopsis/
