Wales.com

Welsh astronomers have helped reveal unique images of the entire sky which could help provide new insights into the way stars and galaxies form and reveal how the Universe itself came to life after the Big Bang.

The Planck space observatory – the European Space Agency’s mission to study the early Universe – has beamed back its first all-sky image.

Cardiff University is one of a number of UK institutions involved in the design and construction of the satellite. Members of the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy are also working alongside colleagues from around the world to operate the satellite and analyse the data.

Professor Peter Ade from Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy, who led the University’s involvement in the design, construction and operation of the High Frequency Instrument said: "It is a fantastic result for this unique satellite, and demonstrates once again that you can only do pioneering science by using advanced and therefore high-risk technologies.

"At last we can see the realisation of the full potential of Planck, showing in exquisite detail our own Milky Way galaxy superimposed on the relic fireball background."

From the closest portions of the Milky Way to the furthest reaches of space and time, the new all-sky image offers an extraordinary treasure chest of new data for astronomers.

For more information on this story, visit the Cardiff University website.