microwave radiation coming from all directions of the universe, much of the
research leading to the development and success of COBE was done using high
altitude scientific balloons launched by the CSBF. Some of the detectors on COBE
were tested by balloon flights and probably about half of the people on the COBE
science team were current or former balloon scientists. John C. Mather and George
F. Smoot were its chief architects. Mather was a senior astrophysicist at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center and Smoot was a Professor of Physics at the
University of California at Berkeley, and they shared the 2006 Nobel Prize for
Physics for the affirmation of the Big Bang origin of the universe.
COBE “turned cosmology into a precision science,” said Per Carlson, the chair
of the Nobel Committee for Physics. “It is one of the greatest discoveries of the
20th century. I would call it the greatest. It increases our knowledge of our place
in the universe.”
Danny Ball, former manager of the CSBF, explained the significance like this:
“The fundamental finding of the COBE project was that the cosmic microwave background was lumpy; that there were differences in density. This showed that the early
universe was not homogeneous. If it had been, there would’ve been no differences in
gravitational pull and the universe would have remained like a big jar of mayonnaise
forever. Instead, these lumps led to the formation of stars and galaxies.”
For an interview with Andrew Lange, go to:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/People/BOOMERANG_
An_interview_with_Andrew_Lange
For more information on BOOMERANG, go to:
https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/~lgg/boomerang/boomerang_front.htm
Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER)
SuperTiger was briefly discussed in Section 7.3 as one of many types of scientific
balloon-borne science missions. This section describes how it has investigated the
origin of cosmic rays.
The SuperTIGER researchers were seeking the rarest of the rare, so-called
ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei beyond iron, from cobalt to barium. The most common cosmic ray particles are protons (hydrogen nuclei). They make up roughly
90% by number. Next are helium nuclei (8%) and electrons (1%). The remainder
are the nuclei of other elements, with the numbers dwindling as the mass increases.
When a cosmic ray hits the nucleus of a molecule of gas in the atmosphere,
both explode in a shower of subatomic shrapnel which produces a cascade of particle collisions. Some of these secondary particles reach detectors on the ground
and provide information that scientists can use to infer the properties of the original cosmic ray. However, they also produce an interfering background. This can
be greatly reduced by flying instruments on balloons that reach altitudes of 40 km
(130,000 ft) and float above 99.5% of the atmosphere.
184 Accomplishments
research leading to the development and success of COBE was done using high
altitude scientific balloons launched by the CSBF. Some of the detectors on COBE
were tested by balloon flights and probably about half of the people on the COBE
science team were current or former balloon scientists. John C. Mather and George
F. Smoot were its chief architects. Mather was a senior astrophysicist at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center and Smoot was a Professor of Physics at the
University of California at Berkeley, and they shared the 2006 Nobel Prize for
Physics for the affirmation of the Big Bang origin of the universe.
COBE “turned cosmology into a precision science,” said Per Carlson, the chair
of the Nobel Committee for Physics. “It is one of the greatest discoveries of the
20th century. I would call it the greatest. It increases our knowledge of our place
in the universe.”
Danny Ball, former manager of the CSBF, explained the significance like this:
“The fundamental finding of the COBE project was that the cosmic microwave background was lumpy; that there were differences in density. This showed that the early
universe was not homogeneous. If it had been, there would’ve been no differences in
gravitational pull and the universe would have remained like a big jar of mayonnaise
forever. Instead, these lumps led to the formation of stars and galaxies.”
For an interview with Andrew Lange, go to:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/People/BOOMERANG_
An_interview_with_Andrew_Lange
For more information on BOOMERANG, go to:
https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/~lgg/boomerang/boomerang_front.htm
Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER)
SuperTiger was briefly discussed in Section 7.3 as one of many types of scientific
balloon-borne science missions. This section describes how it has investigated the
origin of cosmic rays.
The SuperTIGER researchers were seeking the rarest of the rare, so-called
ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei beyond iron, from cobalt to barium. The most common cosmic ray particles are protons (hydrogen nuclei). They make up roughly
90% by number. Next are helium nuclei (8%) and electrons (1%). The remainder
are the nuclei of other elements, with the numbers dwindling as the mass increases.
When a cosmic ray hits the nucleus of a molecule of gas in the atmosphere,
both explode in a shower of subatomic shrapnel which produces a cascade of particle collisions. Some of these secondary particles reach detectors on the ground
and provide information that scientists can use to infer the properties of the original cosmic ray. However, they also produce an interfering background. This can
be greatly reduced by flying instruments on balloons that reach altitudes of 40 km
(130,000 ft) and float above 99.5% of the atmosphere.
184 Accomplishments