Exploring Space Lecture: Big Bang for the Buck - Cosmology from WMAP

Charles L. Bennett is the Alumni Centennial Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He does research in cosmology, the study of the large scale properties of the universe. He was among the leaders of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission and he led the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe space mission. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy (WMAP) Explorer space mission mapped the remnant radiation from the Big Bang across the entire sky. From the patterns observed, scientists have deduced the age, history, contents, and geometry of our universe. From dark matter to dark energy, to the first trillionth of a trillionth of a second of the universe, big things have come from this small mission. Dr. Bennett will answer: what has been discovered? What mysteries remain?