Extragalactic background light
The diffuse extragalactic background light (EBL) is all the accumulated radiation in the universe due to star formation processes, plus a contribution from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This radiation covers almost all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, except the microwave, which is dominated by the primordial cosmic microwave background. The EBL is part of the diffuse extragalactic background radiation (DEBRA), which by definition covers the entire electromagnetic spectrum. After the cosmic microwave background, the EBL produces the second-most energetic diffuse background, thus being essential for understanding the full energy balance of the universe. The understanding of the EBL is also fundamental for extragalactic very-high-energy (VHE, 30 GeV-30 TeV) astronomy.