COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMBR) LINKS The links on this page take you from the earliest complete data on the background radiation, produced by the COBE project, to the most recent observations by various collaborations and the future NASA plans based on a satellite now taking data. For an excellent description (including simple, helpful animations) of the concept of cosmic microwave background radiation for beginners, go to Wayne Hu's website at the University of Chicago:  http://background.uchicago.edu/~whu/beginners/introduction.html If you thirst for more advanced information, select from his start page for CMBR at:   http://background.uchicago.edu/~whu/physics/physics.html http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Very good NASA webpage describing the earliest high quality all-sky measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation with the COBE satellite. The angular resolution is poor, around 10 degrees of arc. Images showing the small measured variation in intensity are excellent. One of the images in this paper also appears at the apod site: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001029.html http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/cosmology/2.html#CMBR Very good description of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) in the context of cosmology. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010501.html APOD announcement of results from the U. of Chicago DASI facility (see link immediately following). http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/01/dasi/010427.dasi.shtml U. of Chicago release of early results from the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer facility at the South Pole. This is a good description but does not contain any illustrations or images. For a good image of the results, go to the following apod link: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001230.html http://astro.uchicago.edu/dasi/ From this page, track down the press release describing DASI measurements of polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation - these under-reported results are very significant support of the general structure of the Big Bang Theory.  There's more on this subject from the recently released results of the MAP mission (see below), which independently confirmed the DASI results and conclusions. http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~boomerang/new_press_images/index.html Latest results from BOOMERANG project; the data are from South Pole balloon measurements of the microwave background with good angular resolution. And finally, don't pass up the chance to get in on the latest breaking news in cosmology: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html Initial release of data based on analysis of the MAP mission.