Cosmology with the CMB

Abstract

The discovery of the CMB radiation in 1965 and of its fluctuations in the CMB by COBE in 1992 have provides us with a powerful probe of the properties of the universe, its contents, and the validity of our models. A myriad of ground-based, airborne, and the WMAP satellite observations have gone far in the utilization of the CMB anisotropies and more recently polarization. A new generation of such experiments are underway and promise to continue and extend this program. A major milestone in this are the launch (May 14, 2009) of the Planck mission and the observations which have begun on the smaller angular scale regions. This talk reviews the overall CMB science program and its progress. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.