Yousuf Khan wrote:
Sam Wormley wrote:

Quasars where much more prevalent in the earlier universe and have
evolved into much weaker entities today.


In the earliest parts of the universe do we only see quasars, or do we
see normal galaxies too?

Yousuf Khan


Quasar brightness and numbers peaks up in the first few billion
years of the universe. The evidence indicates that quasars are
due to infalling matter into super massive black holes residing
in the cores of galaxies.


Ref: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm#News

MAP Data Released!

11 Feb 2003 - The results from the first year of observing by the
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe were announced today at a Space
Science Update in the auditorium of NASA HQ. Important results
include:

o The satellite has been renamed in honor of the late David T.
Wilkinson of Princeton University, a key member of the project from
its conception.

o The polarization of the microwave background anisotropy coming
from scattering by electrons 200 million years after the Big Bang
has been detected. This is evidence for an early generation of
stars existing 4 to 5 times earlier than any object yet observed.

o The WMAP data agree with previous work showing the Universe is
flat and in an accelerating expansion.

o The WMAP data give the most precise values for the density of
ordinary [baryonic] matter made of protons and neutrons and for the
dark matter: 0.4 and 2.5 yoctograms per cubic meter. These
correspond to omega_b = 0.0224 +/- 0.0009 and omega_m = 0.135 +/-
0.009.

o The WMAP data give the most precise value for the age of the
Universe: 13.7 +/- 0.2 Gyr. The Hubble constant is Ho = 71 +/- 4
km/sec/Mpc, and the vacuum energy density corresponds to lambda =
0.73 +/- 0.04. 13 papers by the science team and the maps and
power spectra are available by clicking on the image above.

See: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm#News