Astrophysical Journal issue showing results of five years of observations of the cosmic microwave background by the WMAP probe

Astrophysical Journal supplement series v. 180, no. 2 articles 225-376, IOP Publishing for the American Astronomical Society, Feb. 2009.

FIVE-YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE OBSERVATIONS

Most journals in Hawking's office are transient items from recent years. The most significant exception are two issues of the Astrophysical Journal from 2009 and 2011. These issues were dedicated to the results coming from the space observatory WMAP, which charted the cosmic microwave background (CMB) with unprecedented precision. These results were critical for Hawking and his generation, hepling to prove the theories of the origin of the universe in a big bang and subsequent process of rapid inflation.

Out of all his varied scientific pursuits, maps of the cosmic microwave background were Hawking's favorite scientific imagery, and are present in multiple forms in his office.