Planck (spacecraft)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/planck-spacecraft

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific category?Space observatory for cosmology and astrophysics
2. What is the launch date?May 14, 2009
3. What was the Planck spacecraft and why did it go to space?Planck was a space camera that looked back at the very first light in the universe. It helped scientists learn how the universe began by studying the cosmic microwave background.
4. Where did Planck travel to and why?Planck went to a point called L2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. This spot is very cold and stable, so the spacecraft could see the sky without interference.

Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): The faint, uniform radiation filling the universe, a remnant of the Big Bang's initial hot, dense state.
Polarization of CMB: The orientation of the electric field of CMB photons, which can reveal information about the early universe and gravitational waves.
Anisotropies: Minute temperature fluctuations in the CMB that correspond to density variations in the early universe.
Dark Matter: A hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light but exerts gravitational influence, making up a significant portion of the universe's mass.