Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Results

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) was launched in June 2001.  It was equipped with instruments that were much more sensitive than those aboard COBE, and the receivers had much higher resolution, so that the map it produced is more detailed. 

 

The image at right shows the all-sky picture of the infant universe created from five years of WMAP data. In addition to showing the irregularities in the early universe that led to the clumping of stars and galaxies, the image reveals that the universe is 13.7 billion years old, to within an accuracy of less than 1%.