Researchers working with a telescope at the South Pole beleive they have glimpsed light from the first "trillionth of a trillionth of a tillionth" of a second after the big bang.
A lot of work has still to be done to confirm the findings, but if it holds up it is one of the biggest discoveries EVER.
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...inflation came with a very specific prediction - that it would be associated with waves of gravitational energy, and that these ripples in the fabric of space would leave an indelible mark on the oldest light in the sky - the famous Cosmic Microwave Background.
The BICEP2 team says it has now identified that signal. Scientists call it B-mode polarisation. It is a characteristic twist in the directional properties of the CMB. Only the gravitational waves moving through the Universe in its inflationary phase could have produced such a marker. It is a true "smoking gun".