This project continues and improves upon the University of California at Santa Barbara's previous successful measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropy from South Pole, Antarctica. The CMBR is relict radiation left over from just a few hundred thousand years after the creation of the universe. Any anisotropies in the CMBR reveal the structure of the early universe. Because relict the radiation now reaching the Earth is in a wavelength range which is absorbed water vapor, it is necessary to make these measurements from places where the atmosphere is extremely cold (and therefore dry), like South Pole, or from above the atmosphere. The University of California Santa Barbara group is part of the Center for Particle Astrophysics and is extremely well qualified and equipped to carry out this research. The award also includes funds for the support of undergraduate students to participate in the research.
