Cosmic Microwave Background: The Echo of Creation

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is faint radiation left over from the Big Bang.
It’s the oldest light we can see, dating back nearly 380,000 years after the universe began.
Before the CMB, the universe was too hot and dense for light to travel freely.
The CMB fills the entire sky, coming from every direction at once.
It was accidentally discovered in 1965 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.
The CMB’s temperature is a chilly 2.7 Kelvin, just above absolute zero.
Tiny fluctuations in the CMB map the seeds of galaxies and cosmic structure.
Satellites like COBE, WMAP, and Planck have mapped the CMB in extraordinary detail.
The CMB provides strong evidence for the Big Bang and cosmic inflation.
Studying the CMB helps cosmologists probe the universe’s age, shape, and destiny.