Planck first light yields promising results (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Planck, ESA's mission to study the early Universe, started surveying the sky regularly from its vantage point at L2 on 13 August. The instruments of ESA's 'time machine' were fine-tuned for optimum performance ...

Coolest spacecraft ever in orbit around L2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Last night, the detectors of Planck's High Frequency Instrument reached their amazingly low operational temperature of -273°C, making them the coldest known objects in space. The spacecraft has also just ...

Optimizing a novel superconducting material

Superconducting materials are widely used in the electrical instrumentation industry. European researchers made significant progress in enhancing superconductivity of a novel material currently the focus of worldwide interest.