The cosmic microwave background
Chapter 1
The accidental discovery
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Chapter 2
The universe's first light
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Chapter 3
Mapping the baby universe
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Chapter 4
Deciphering the cosmic recipe
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YOUR GOAL
Master of The cosmic microwave background
Ch 1 · The accidental discovery
Fun Fact
Pigeon poop panic: Scientists initially blamed pigeon droppings for the cosmic static that turned out to be the Big Bang's echo.
Glossary
cosmic microwave background (noun)
It is electromagnetic radiation remaining from the early stages of the universe in Big Bang cosmology. In 1964, physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected this signal using a New Jersey horn antenna.
It is electromagnetic radiation remaining from the early stages of the universe in Big Bang cosmology. In 1964, physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected this signal using a New Jersey horn antenna.
Quiz
Where was the giant horn antenna located that first detected the cosmic microwave background?
Quiz
What did the Princeton physicist Robert Dicke say when he heard about the radio static?
Quiz
What type of radiation is the cosmic microwave background primarily detected as today?
Quiz
In what year did Penzias and Wilson win the Nobel Prize in Physics for their cosmic discovery?
Quiz
In what year did Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson accidentally discover the cosmic microwave background?
Quiz
What was the Holmdel horn antenna originally designed to do before it detected the cosmic microwave background?
Quiz
Which university housed the theoretical physicists who explained what Penzias and Wilson had actually found?