...you'll be needing them to see the polarized light from the Big Bang. And that glare is the "star power" of the inflation theory of cosmology getting another piece of evidence chalked up in the Yes column. The New York Times reports on the results announced by astronmers from the Universities of Columbia and California .
"We're stuck with a preposterous universe," Dr. Carlstrom said. Two papers describing the work will be posted on the team's Web site, astro.uchicago.edu/dasi, he said.
Other cosmologists responded with a mixture of glee and relief, saying it would have been bigger news if the polarization had not been found. "If you had any doubts that this radiation is from the Big Bang, this should quash them," said Dr. Michael Turner, a cosmologist at the University of Chicago.
Next up: more powerful polarized telescopes that will actually be able to see the distortions (gravitational waves) in space-time caused by inflation, if it occurred, in the first thirty seconds of the universe's existence. We'll need some new telescopes and satellites for that. (I expect the shape of the number "42" will be especially difficult to make out.)