Ancient afterglow of Big Bang shows older universe

PARIS - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is a bit older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos _ how it began, what it's made of and where it's going _ seem to be on the right track.

Graphic showing a snapshot of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMS), or the universe's first light, as captured by the European Space Agency's Planck Surveyor. Includes illustration of the spacecraft and and other findings from its data.[Photo/Agencies]

The findings bolster a key theory called inflation, which says the universe burst from subatomic size to its now-observable expanse in a fraction of a second.

George Esfthathiou, an astrophysicist who announced the Planck satellite mapping on Thursday, says the findings also offer new specificity of the universe's composition. He says it is made up of slightly more ordinary matter and less of the mysterious dark matter and dark energy.