An examination of the microwave horn antenna showed it was full of bat and pigeon droppings, which Penzias described as "white dielectric material".

Having rejected all sources of interference, Penzias contacted Robert H. Dicke, who suggested it might be the background radiation predicted by some cosmological theories.

[5][11] This proved to be landmark evidence for the Big Bang and provided substantial confirmation for predictions made by Ralph Asher Alpher, Robert Herman and George Gamow in the 1940s and 1950s.

[4] Penzias died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at an assisted living facility in San Francisco, on January 22, 2024, at the age of 90.

[16][2] The two were awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, sharing it with Pyotr Kapitsa.

(NAG) inaugurated the 3-meter radio telescope at the Regiomontanus-Sternwarte, the public observatory of Nuremberg, and dedicated this instrument to Arno Penzias.

The club said the award recognizes his significant contributions to basic research involving radio frequency and related subjects and that it would inspire future generations of scientific professionals.