An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → microwave → polarimeter designed specifically to target the → B-mode signature of → inflation in the → cosmic microwave background polarization. BICEP2 observed from the South Pole for three seasons from 2010 to 2012. This 26 cm aperture → telescope comprised an all-cold refracting optical system equipped with a → bolometer array of 512 → detectors (256 pixels) operating at 150 GHz.

See also: BICEP2, the upgraded version of the first BICEP, short for Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization.