|
The Planck satellite is a spacecraft built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, that is designed to observe the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) over the entire sky, using high sensitivity and angular resolution. It was created as the third Medium-Sized Mission (M3) of ESA's Horizon 2000 Scientific Programme. Initially, the project was called COBRAS/SAMBA; after its selection and approval, it was renamed in honor of the German scientist Max Planck (1858-1947), who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
The mission will complement and improve upon observations made by NASA's WMAP probe, which has measured the anisotropies at larger angular scales and lower sensitivity. Planck will provide a major source of information relevant to several cosmological and astrophysical issues, such as testing theories of the Early Universe and the origin of cosmic structure.
It is currently scheduled for launch in the spring 2009 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket together with the Herschel Space Observatory satellite.
Instruments
The spacecraft carries two instruments; the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) and the High Frequency Instrument (HFI).[1] Both instruments can detect both the total intensity and polarization of photons, and cover a frequency range of 30 to 857GHz.
Low Frequency Instrument
Frequency
(GHz) |
Bandwidth
(?? / ?) |
Resolution
(arcmin) |
Sensitivity (total intensity)
?T / T, 14 month observation
(10-6) |
Sensitivity (polarization)
?T / T, 14 month observation
(10-6) |
| 30 |
0.2 |
33 |
2.0 |
2.8 |
| 44 |
0.2 |
24 |
2.7 |
3.9 |
| 70 |
0.2 |
14 |
4.7 |
6.7 |
The LFI has three frequency bands, covering the range of 30-70GHz. The detectors use High Electron Mobility Transistors.[1]
High Frequency Instrument
Frequency
(GHz) |
Bandwidth
(?? / ?) |
Resolution
(arcmin) |
Sensitivity (total intensity)
?T / T, 14 month observation
(10-6) |
Sensitivity (polarization)
?T / T, 14 month observation
(10-6) |
| 100 |
0.33 |
10 |
2.5 |
4.0 |
| 143 |
0.33 |
7.1 |
2.2 |
4.2 |
| 217 |
0.33 |
5.0 |
4.8 |
9.8 |
| 353 |
0.33 |
5.0 |
14.7 |
29.8 |
| 545 |
0.33 |
5.0 |
147 |
N/A |
| 857 |
0.33 |
5.0 |
6700 |
N/A |
The HFI has six frequency bands, between 100 and 857GHz. They use bolometers to detect photons. The 4 lower frequency bands have sensitivity to linear polarization; the two higher bands do not.[1]
Scientific aims
The mission has a wide variety of scientific aims, including:[2]
See also
Notes
References
External links
| |
