New Books in Science Craig Hogan, "The Unlikely Primeval Sky" (American Scientist, November-December)
Nov 13, 2025
Craig Hogan, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago and former director at Fermilab, dives into the mysteries of the universe. He explains the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as the primordial afterglow from the Big Bang, detailing its surprising uniformity and what it reveals about our universe. Hogan discusses the anomalies that challenge existing theories and the potential need for new physics. He also explores how tiny fluctuations in the CMB helped form galaxies and emphasizes the exciting future of cosmic research through advanced observatories.
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Bell Labs Discovery Framed As Afterglow
- Craig Hogan recounts the 1965 Bell Labs discovery that the sky is full of microwaves.
- He frames the CMB as an afterglow whose properties trace the very early universe.
Primeval Light Reveals Early Uniformity
- The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is an almost perfectly uniform afterglow from the early universe.
- That large-scale smoothness contrasts with today's complex universe and encodes deep information about cosmic origins.
Small Scales Fit; Largest Scales Don’t
- Small-scale CMB fluctuations match theory and explain galaxy formation.
- Large-angle correlations are far smoother than random-noise models predict, creating a deep anomaly.