The Cobe satellite and its successor (Wmap), provided data related to the very small irregularities in the nearly perfect black body form of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) spectrum, known as anisotropies,.

Cosmologists are focusing on these anisotropies as they may act as 'seeds' for galaxy formation. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to George Smoot and John C. Mather for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the CMBR. This is the second time in less than 50 years that the prize has been awarded for work related to the CMBR, and this highlights the importance this new 'tool' has in modern cosmology studies.

The Physics Department is hosting a talk on this topic by Raymond Zammit entitled 'Cobe scientists awarded Nobel Prize in Physics' on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Mathematics and Physics building, room 216.

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