The Cosmic Infrared Background
Explanation:
What cosmic wallpaper is on the sky?
The answer depends on the
type of light considered, and for some
wavelengths, all the
cluttering material in the
foreground makes it still unknown.
Recently, however, the background in near
infrared light was
imaged at high resolution by the
2MASS telescope, and
confirmed
earlier estimates that it is over twice
as bright as originally expected.
A small section of
Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) is shown above in representative colors.
Visible is light emitted from the very first
stars and galaxies in the
universe,
emitted when the
universe
was less than half its current age.
The CIB is more uniform than the present
universe since stars were more spread out at early times.
The brightness of the
background indicates that
many stars were forming in the
universe between cosmological
redshifts of one and seven.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
