The afterglow from the Big Bang, the "cosmic microwave background", acts as the backlight in a shadow theater where galaxies are the protagonists. The resulting galaxy shadows contain unique information about the invisible components of galaxies, such as their cold gas and dark matter, which hold clues to the nature of dark matter, dark energy, and the formation of galaxies. Dr. Emmanuel Shaan will present some of the scientific efforts to reveal these galaxy silhouettes, using unprecedented cosmic microwave background experiments and galaxy surveys.
