In March 2014, a team of radio astronomers using the BICEP2 telescope announced purported direct evidence for inflation, an important part of the Big Bang model.¹ But only two months after this “discovery” a number of secular scientists have become increasingly skeptical.²

In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered a faint point of light orbiting the sun beyond Neptune. The new world “Pluto” was considered the ninth planet for 76 years, but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union voted to reclassify Pluto as a “dwarf planet.” What prompted this change in nomenclature?

The Rise and Fall of the Ninth Planet

On March 17, a team of radio astronomers announced they discovered purportedly direct evidence for cosmic inflation—a critical component of the modern Big Bang model. To make this discovery, the researchers used a specialized telescope called BICEP2 located on the Antarctic plateau.¹