15.8: Recent Data on the Universe
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe or WMAP is a new satellite, which is providing solid data in support of cosmological research. WMAP has helped to significantly refine the age of the Universe to 13. 7 billion years old +1% (137 million years).
WMAP has also provided data in regard to the matter in the Universe:
- Dark Matter: 73%
- Cold Dark Matter: 23%
- Atoms (& Molecules): 4%
This infers that the matter we are used to – and what we are composed of – only makes up 4% of the Universe. This brings us back to the problem: where is the Dark Matter?