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)
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