WMAP Five-Year Results

the WMAP team has just released the five-year results (in the form of seven papers available on the arxiv). you should probably take a look. if you'd like the quick summarized version, take a look at this presentation by eiichiro komatsu from the wmap team at the perimeter institute yesterday. i'll make appropriate comments when i've investigated a bit, but as far as i can tell, everything in the analysis is in line with the standard "concordance model" of cosmology (lambda-CDM).

Inflation Now and Then

there is a nice little essay in the current issue of nature physics, written by my man mike turner, entitled "cosmology: inflation alive and well." the essay discusses the birth of the inflationary paradigm over 25 years and the state of present research on the topic, but the reason i think it's a nice essay is because it highlights how much cosmology has changed in the last 25 years (since i was born!), and hints at possible changes ahead.

i also found this little gem, which - even if not quite as hilarious as the penning trap clip - still is pretty sweet, and goes well with the above article.

The Expanding Universe

a nice article in the ny times about the expanding universe and the inherent limitations of our observations of it.

Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the State of Cosmology

here is a very nice article from the nytimes about the current state of cosmology in its search for dark matter and dark energy. the university of chicago is nicely represented in the article, as it features michael turner, juan collar, josh frieman, and (as always) sean carroll (who is now at caltech). (image credit: here)