How was the cosmic microwave background radiation discovered?
A) using a microwave detector on the Hubble Space Telescope
B) using the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft
C) using a communications antenna on Earth's surface
D) using the Ulysses spacecraft observing from above the Sun's north pole

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered accidentally by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965 using a communications antenna at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey. They were investigating sources of noise in satellite communications when they stumbled upon this faint background radiation, which is now understood to be the afterglow of the Big Bang.

How Was the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Discovered