Cosmic Mnemonics

Abstract

Our current description of the large-scale Universe is now known with a precision undreamt of a generation ago. Within the simple standard cosmological model only six basic parameters are required. The usual parameter set includes quantities most directly probed by the cosmic microwave background, but the nature of these quantities is somewhat esoteric. However, many more numbers can be derived that quantify various aspects of our Universe. Using constraints from the Planck satellite, in combination with other data sets, we explore several such quantities, highlighting some specific examples.