A NASA satellite built in partnership with Princeton scientists has uncovered evidence that a sea of neutrinos -- almost weightless elementary particles that zip around at nearly the speed of light -- permeates the universe.

The discovery, announced March 7 by NASA, is part of a treasure trove of findings gleaned from five years of data collected by the Wilkinson Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). This includes clear evidence the first stars took more than a half billion years to create a cosmic fog and a far better understanding of the burst of expansion in the universe's first trillionth of a second.

The results are contained in seven papers submitted this week to the Astrophysical Journal.

"We are living in an extraordinary time," said Gary Hinshaw of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Ours is the first generation in human history to make such detailed and far-reaching measurements of our universe."