Cosmic microwave background
The 1978 prize was awarded for the chanced "detection of [[Cosmic microwave background radiation]]". The joint winners, [[Arno Allan Penzias]] and [[Robert Woodrow Wilson]], had their discovery elucidated by others. Many scientists felt that [[Ralph Alpher]], who predicted the cosmic microwave background radiation and in 1948 worked out the underpinnings of the [[Big Bang theory]], should have shared in the prize or received one independently. In 2005, Alpher received the [[National Medal of Science]] for his pioneering contributions to understanding of [[nucleosynthesis]], the prediction of the relic radiation from the Big Bang, as well as for a model for the Big Bang.