A search for the cosmic microwave background polarization and foreground contaminants

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the most powerful tool to probe the very early universe. No other methods exist to probe the early universe as easily as with the CMB. The CMB has three main aspects that we can study to gain information: its frequency spectrum, the angular power spectrum of its temperature anisotropy, and its polarization angular power spectrum. This thesis outlines our study of the CMB polarization with the COMPASS telescope. When the COMPASS project was first undertaken the polarization was yet to be detected. Just in the last year the first detection was made making this a fascinating time to study CMB polarization.; In addition this thesis outlines our search for foreground radio point sources that may affect COMPASS and other experiments. This search was undertaken with the Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope near Bonn, Germany. With this foreground search we were able to set a new upper limit on point sources of a flux limit of 2.7 mJy/(1′ beam) ± .27 mJy/(1′ beam) in the North Celestial Polar region.