ASTRONOMERS have discovered a new source of microwaves in our Galaxy, the
first such discovery for nearly 20 years. The radiation comes from space dust
that fills the voids between stars. The discovery should allow astronomers to
measure the cosmic microwave background radiation—the afterglow of the big
bang—more accurately than ever before.
Cosmologists who study the microwave background are particularly interested
in pinpointing microwave emissions from our Galaxy because they mess up their
measurements. “I see the [microwave emissions from our] Galaxy as garbage that I
have to take out from my data,” says Angelica de Oliveira-Costa from…
