Small-scale anisotropies: The final frontier

{In the next few years it will be possible to make maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with sufficient resolution to determine the type of Universe in which we live. The MAP (NASA) and Planck (ESA) Satellites will shed new light on such fundamental questions as whether we live in an open or closed Universe, whether there is a cosmological vacuum energy density ({$\Lambda$}), and the precise amount of dark matter. The key to decoding the information contained within this primordial radiation hinges upon the accurate determination of the power spectrum of its temperature variations at angular scales of a few arc minutes to one degree. Althoug! ! h data from these satellites will not be available for a decade or so, students can now run their own simulations of CMB maps and power spectra on personal computer, using theoretical models. }