The goal of MAP is to address three of the most fundamental questions in cosmology: 1) What are the values of the cosmological parameters of the Big Bang theory? 2) How did structures of galaxies form in the universe? and 3) When did the first structures of galaxies form? To answer these questions MAP will produce an accurate full-sky map of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations with high sensitivity and angular resolution.
The cosmic microwave background radiation is the radiant heat left over from
the Big Bang. Its discovery in 1965 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson at the
Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, provides one of the
most important pieces of evidence that there was, in fact, a Big Bang. The
properties of the cosmic microwave background directly reflect conditions in
the early universe, and the goal of MAP is to further our understanding of
this radiation, and hence of the early universe. As part of the MAP
education and outreach program we have
developed a web site devoted to answering a number of basic question about
cosmology.
![]() |
Please help us make this web site more useful and enjoyable by telling us what you would like to see at this site:
Gary Hinshaw / hinshaw@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov Charles L. Bennett / bennett@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov |
Last updated: Friday, 05-21-1999