[Read: Why this security engineer loves working in infosec<\/span><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n The <\/span>cosmic web<\/a> <\/span>(sometimes called the cosmic net) began as material connected to the first galaxies in the known Universe. As clumping began, their gravitational influence became more pronounced, bringing in still more gas.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the Universe evolves, gravity pulls dark matter and gas in space together into galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The drag is violent \u2014 so violent that more and more gas is shocked and heated up,\u201d said Yi-Kuan Chiang, research fellow at the Ohio State University Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics.<\/p>\n By measuring the temperatures of these intergalactic ribbons, it is possible to determine the temperature of the <\/span>Universe<\/a> <\/span>during different eras. This is accomplished through a process known as the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect.<\/p>\n The \u201cecho\u201d of the Big Bang can be seen today as the cosmic microwave background radiation. Billions of years ago, as this <\/span>electromagnetic radiation<\/a> <\/span>encountered hot electrons in the ribbons it gathered energy, and the gas became visible. The degree to which this effect occurs is dependent on the thermal pressure, which in turn is determined by the temperature of the electrons.<\/p>\n By determining the degree of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, it is possible to determine the thermal pressure within the gas, from which astrophysicists determine the temperature of the electrons.<\/p>\n Details of the cosmic microwave background were provided by the ESA\u2019s Planck satellite. Observations of <\/span>galaxies<\/a> <\/span>came from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). By combining data from both sky surveys, astronomers were able to piece together details of this intergalactic heating.<\/p>\n \u201cTo do so, we cross-correlate eight sky intensity maps in the Planck and Infrared Astronomical Satellite missions with two million spectroscopic redshift references in the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys,\u201d researchers detail in <\/span>The Astrophysical Journal<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The team found the mean electron temperature within these ribbons rose from 700,000 Kelvin eight billion years ago to roughly two million Kelvin today.<\/p>\n This heating was also found to be the result of gas flowing into the <\/span>ribbons<\/a>, as it is shock heated in the collapsing structures.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 20 years, we have been studying how to measure this using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. We now have finally measured the temperature of the Universe, not only thanks to the remarkable progress in observational data, but also due to the dedicated efforts of brilliant young scientists such as Yi-Kuan Chiang and Ryu Makiya. This is very satisfying,\u201d <\/span>Eiichiro Komatsu<\/a>, director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, stated.<\/p>\n As time goes on, the <\/span>ribbons of the cosmic web<\/a> <\/span>are starting to be the hot place to hang out!<\/p>\n This article was originally published on <\/span><\/i>The Cosmic Companion<\/span><\/i><\/a> by <\/span><\/i>James Maynard<\/span><\/i><\/a>, founder and publisher of The Cosmic Companion. He is a New England native turned desert rat in Tucson, where he lives with his lovely wife, Nicole, and Max the Cat. You can read this original piece here<\/a>.<\/span><\/i>Surfing the cosmic web<\/h2>\n
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Walking the Planck<\/h2>\n
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