Planck -- Early Results

An international collaboration of scientists, including a research team here at UBC led by Douglas Scott presented the first results from the Planck satellite. Chief among the results is the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue, a windfall of data on thousands of very cold compact sources. Included in this, are data on "cocoon stars" -- dusty nebulae which enshroud newly formed stars, distant galaxy clusters & dusty star forming galaxies. This foreground radiation masks Planck's true objective &emdash; the study of the Cosmic Mircowave Background Radiation. The researchers believe that these foreground sources can be removed to provide an even clearer view of the CMB.

The Planck satellite, launched in 2009 is a mission of the European Space Agency with help from the Canadian Space Agency. The UBC team, Douglas Scott, Adam Moss, James Zibin & Andy Walker help develop software to analyze and calibrate the data.

Visit the ESA Planck Page for more details on this mission.