Who are known for detecting the cosmic microwave background radiation?

The detection of cosmic microwave background radiation is attributed to Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who, through their work at Bell Labs in the 1960s, made a groundbreaking discovery that provided strong evidence for the Big Bang theory. Their observations were originally intended for radio astronomy projects, but they stumbled upon a persistent noise that could not be explained by any known astrophysical sources. After ruling out various potential causes, they identified this noise as the cosmic microwave background radiation, the afterglow of the Big Bang, which is uniform and isotropic across the sky.

This discovery not only confirmed theoretical predictions made by scientists but also had profound implications for our understanding of the universe's origins and structure. Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 for their work. Their contribution is foundational in cosmology, providing essential insights into the early universe and its evolution.