Afterglow of Creation

The discovery in 1992 of "cosmic ripples" - slight variations in the temperature of ancient radiation left over from the "big bang" - resulted in sensational headlines. This book goes behind the hype and hysteria to offer a straightforward explanation and a history of the search. Obscure smudges in the satellite photographs show how matter was forming into clumps early in the history of the universe, and give clues to the way in which our own galaxies came into being. The search for radiation that might tell something about the origins of the universe began in the 1920s. Rivalries, accidental discoveries and near misses marked the search; scientists sent up balloons that got lost; and the instruments sometimes measured the temperature of the balloons and not the sky. With the coming of space travel, the vehicles grew more sophisticated, but the experiments were basically very simple, and they are explained in the book. The story culminates in the flight of the COBE satellite and what it found.