Saturday, June 2, 2012

NYC, World Science Festival | Afterglow: Dispatches from the Birth of the Universe | Refining Cosmology

Cosmic Microwave Background fluctuations from COBE

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)  image of the CMB temperature anisotropy

Two separate WSF events, both taking place in the NYU campus, have been devoted to cosmology: more specifically to the varies discovery and theories related to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)  radiation. The CMB is the light coming from the Big Bang explosion, providing information on the birth and evolution of the universe. In "Afterglow: Dispatches from the Birth of the Universe" Lawrence M. Krauss engages in conversations with Nobel laureate John Mather and other scientists on the experiments which led to models and theories on the beginning of the universe.
John Mather was one of the leading designers of the satellite COsmic Background Explorer (COBE), which  provided information on cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) of the universe and crucial measurements for our understanding of the universe. Thanks to the data taken by the COBE, the popular map of the CMB anisotropy was developed.



The curvature of the universe related to density parameter, Omega (Ω)