NASA Logo Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

WMAP Publications

Publications > WMAP Fact Cards (2002)

Greetings from L2 fact card   Microwaves in Space fact card

Greetings from L2 fact card   Shape of the Universe fact card

MAP Fact Cards (2002)

Fun Fact cards printed front and back. Designed to convey a different aspect of the mission and science of the MAP Mission. 4" x 6" each.

Published prior to the mission name change to WMAP to honor Dr. Wilkinson.

Pub # NP-2002-6-467-GSFC

Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team

Greetings From L2

Overview of the Lagrange points generated by the Sun-Earth gravitational fields, and why the WMAP mission uses the L2 point.
(1 of 4)

PDF (234 Kb)*
JPG (114 Kb)

Microwaves in Space

Overview of cosmic microwaves, using Microwave ovens as a reference point from everyday life. The back of this card was modified in 2010 to make a correction to the Microwave scaling.
(2 of 4)

PDF (164 Kb)*
JPG (126 Kb)

Fingerprint of the Universe

Significance of the pattern of microwave radiation that MAP has detects. The card uses the analogy of human fingerprints to show the ability to identify the right "suspect" from the patten.
(3 of 4)

PDF (332 Kb)*
JPG (150 Kb)

Shape of the Universe

Discusses the shape of space and how light is affected by the amount of dark matter and energy in the universe. MAP's microwave detection gives us enormous insight into the creation of this matter and energy.
(4 of 4)

PDF (238 Kb)*
JPG (123 Kb)

 

* PDF requires Acrobat Reader 6.0 or greater. Get Acrobat Reader

  • wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov
  • Webmaster: Britt Griswold
  • NASA Official: Dr. Edward J. Wollack
  • Page Updated: Monday, 10-25-2010
NASA Logo