COBE-DMR Map of CMB Anisotropy

This is the COBE-DMR "Map of the Early Universe".
This false-color image shows tiny variations in the intensity of the cosmic microwave background measured in four years of observations by the Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) on the NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE).
The features traced in this map stretch across the visible Universe: The largest features seen by optical telescopes, such as the "Great Wall" of galaxies, would fit neatly within the smallest feature in this map. (Caption courtesy of Dr. Charles L. Bennett)

A higher resolution version of this image can be found at Cosmic Background Experiment (COBE) DMR Images

John C. Mather and George F. Smoot, Nobel Prize in Physics 2006 (Nobel Foundation)
See The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006 (.pdf).

Updated: January 16 '99

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Back to: The Cosmic Microwave Background - A Relic from the Origin of the Universe (COBE-DMR Map of CMB Anisotropy)