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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
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artiteacher The Nobel Prize call that shocked the discoverers

Jul 12

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artiteacher A nearby theory that explained the mystery noise

Jul 12

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artiteacher How static on a radio telescope changed history

Jul 12

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artiteacher The persistent pigeon problem in the giant antenna

Jul 12

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artiteacher The accidental discovery

Cleaned up the static but it wouldn't go— (Oh-oh, that's the cosmic glow!)

Jul 10

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A nearby theory that explained the mystery noise

artiteacher A nearby theory that explained the mystery noise

Jul 10

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Fun Fact

Pigeon poop panic: Scientists initially blamed pigeon droppings for the cosmic static that turned out to be the Big Bang's echo.

Jul 10

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The persistent pigeon problem in the giant antenna

artiteacher The persistent pigeon problem in the giant antenna

Jul 10

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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.
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Jul 10

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Quiz

Where was the giant horn antenna located that first detected the cosmic microwave background?

Jul 10

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Gossip

Which job sounds worse to you?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What did the Princeton physicist Robert Dicke say when he heard about the radio static?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What type of radiation is the cosmic microwave background primarily detected as today?

Jul 10

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Quiz

In what year did Penzias and Wilson win the Nobel Prize in Physics for their cosmic discovery?

Jul 10

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Quiz

In what year did Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson accidentally discover the cosmic microwave background?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What was the Holmdel horn antenna originally designed to do before it detected the cosmic microwave background?

Jul 10

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Quiz

Which university housed the theoretical physicists who explained what Penzias and Wilson had actually found?

Jul 10

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Quiz

What animal did Penzias and Wilson suspect was causing the interference in their antenna?

Jul 10

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Little Cosmic Hum

artiteacher Little Cosmic Hum

Jul 7