Carnegie Science Center Podcast

Dr. Arthur Kosowsky Professor of Physics and Astronomy University of Pittsburgh   "The Beginning of the Universe... and Dust in Our Galaxy"   (Follow along with the slide show here) Arthur Kosowsky, a top expert in cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, will speak about a new discovery made using the BICEP telescope at the South Pole earlier this year. A team of physicists noticed a subtle change in the CMB, which is hypothesized to be the result of gravitational waves by a sudden cosmic expansion during the very earliest moments of the universe. Despite the buzz this discovery has generated, more analysis is needed to determine whether the signal is evidence of the first moments of the universe, or whether it has a much more local source – such as dust grains in our own galaxy, aligned by magnetic fields. More data will be required to determine the cause of the change. If the signal is indeed from the first moments of the universe, it opens a remarkable window into physics at a scale we will never be