BICEP2 detector. Microscope being used to examine the array containing the 512 superconducting detectors used in the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pol

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BICEP2 detector. Microscope being used to examine the array containing the 512 superconducting detectors used in the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole. The screen shows details of one of the detectors and associated equipment. Between January 2010 and December 2012, these detectors were used to examine patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The distinctive B-mode pattern detected in the polarization of the CMB was announced in March 2014 as evidence for the inflation theory of the Big Bang. The detectors and related technology were developed and produced at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Photo credit: © NASA/JPL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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