A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s

A. A. Penzias, R. W. Wilson

Published July 1965 · The Astrophysical Journal · Journal article

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Summary

Penzias and Wilson reported that the 20-foot horn-reflector antenna at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, measured an excess zenith antenna temperature of about 3.5 K at 4080 Mc/s (4.08 GHz) that could not be attributed to known sources of noise. They found this excess radiation to be isotropic, unpolarized, and free of seasonal variation within their measurement limits. In a companion paper, Dicke and colleagues interpreted this signal as relic radiation from a hot early universe, and it is now recognized as the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, providing key observational support for the Big Bang model.

Key findings

Detected an unexplained excess antenna temperature of about 3.5 K at 4080 Mc/s above all accounted-for noise sources.
Found the excess radiation to be isotropic, unpolarized, and free of seasonal variation.
The measurement constituted the first detection of the cosmic microwave background, interpreted as relic radiation from the early universe.

Subjects & keywords

Astronomy & Cosmology cosmic microwave background big bang radio astronomy blackbody radiation cosmology

Cite this paper

APA

A. A. Penzias, & R. W. Wilson (1965). A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s. The Astrophysical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1086/148307

BibTeX

@article{penzias1965measurement,
  author    = {A. A. Penzias and R. W. Wilson},
  title     = {A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s},
  journal   = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year      = {1965},
  doi       = {10.1086/148307},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.1086/148307}
}

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