Let There Be Light

The Planck telescope has started to collect data from light that came from the beginning of time

Named after Max Planck, one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, the Planck spacecraft will observe and measure cosmic microwave background (CMB).

Essentially, this European Space Agency (ESA) space observatory will gather information about the ancient light that has traveled 13.7 billion years to finally reach Earth -- light that was emanated just after the theorized Big Bang.

Located near the L2 Lagranian point approximately 1,500,000 kilometers away from the Earth in the direction opposite the Sun, Planck will, among other things, "determine the large-scale properties of the Universe with high precision," according to ESA.

Scientists believe that these measurements will test theories about the origin of the cosmos.

According to the Book of Genesis, God created light on the first day. While the Planck mission may not prove this Biblical claim, according to a ScienceDaily.com article, it "will help answer the most fundamental of questions: How did space itself pop into existence and expand to become the universe we live in today?"

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image: According to the Big Bang model, the universe expanded from an extremely dense and hot state and continues to expand today. A common analogy explains that space itself is expanding, carrying galaxies with it, like raisins in a rising loaf of bread. The graphic scheme above is an artist's concept illustrating the expansion of a portion of a flat universe. (credit: Gnixon)