BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:Data::ICal 0.22 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:John Mather\, Goddard Space Flight Center\n\n
The Cosmic Back ground Explorer (COBE) satellite\, proposed in 1974 and launched by NASA i n 1989\, measured the cosmic microwave and infrared background radiation f rom the Big Bang and everything that happened later. The COBE team made th ree key measurements: the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radi ation (CMBR) matches a blackbody within 50 ppm (rms)\, the CMBR is anisotr opic\, with 10 ppm variations on a 7o angular scale\, and the cosmic infra red background from previously unknown objects is as bright as all the kno wn classes of galaxies. The first measurement confirmed the Hot Big Bang t heory with unprecedented accuracy\, the second is interpreted as represent ing quantum mechanical fluctuations in the primordial soup and the seeds o f cosmic structure and the basis for the existence of galaxies\, and the t hird is still not fully understood. I will describe the project history\, the team members\, the hardware and data processing\, the major results\, and their implications for science\, and end with the outlook for future p rogress with new background measurements and large telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope. I will show recent progress on building the JW ST\, with illustrations of the key technologies.
\n DTSTART:20070323T200000Z LOCATION:Physics Building\, Room 203 SUMMARY:From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and Beyond END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR