Nobel laureate Wilson: “96 pct. of Universe is unknown to us”

Ninetysix percent of the Universe is unknown, but scientists are developing theories “that fit,” thanks to cosmic microwave background radiation, Nobel physics laureate Robert Wilson said Monday.

Wilson, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 with Arno Allan Penzias for the accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, spoke during the opening day of the Starmus Festival in Tenerife, Spain, a gathering of scientists and musicians that runs until July 2.

Wilson, a researcher with the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the first probes to detect radiation from the Big Bang were “very disappointing” because of “noise interference,” among other reasons.

The quest began in the 1950s, when NASA was planning the launch of the first communications satellite, a project that resulted in “a huge balloon” being put into orbit and becoming operational in 1960.

Scanning for radiation in the Milky Way began with the best measuring system available at the time, using liquid helium around sources, including the Cassiopeia constellation, “which was always there with noise for which there was no explanation,” Wilson said.

When scientists finally realized that microwave background radiation had been accidentally discovered, cosmology at the time “did not explain anything about the Big Bang, but the theory was widely accepted,” Wilson said.

Nobel physics laureate Adam Riess, who spoke before Wilson, described how the explosion of stars and accelerating expansion of the Universe were studied, while physicist Brian Green discussed his “string theory of multiverses.”

Starmus director Garik Israelian said the 3rd edition of the festival honored and recognized physicist Stephen Hawking, who is attending the gathering in Tenerife and La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Starmus 2016 brings together 11 Nobel laureates, other prominent scientists and economics, cybersecurity, climate change, music and artificial intelligence experts from around the world.