First, there is a widespread misconception that the reference to a decline refers to concealing an observed fall in global temperatures since a peak in 1998, the warmest year for some time.

FORBES: Michael Mann And The ClimateGate Whitewash: Part One

And that geometrical prediction was confirmed directly by the Sloan survey, using the known distances of 500m light years to the density peak and 13 billion light years to the region where the microwave background originates as reference points to look for geometrical distortion, in the way that a more traditional land survey might use triangulation points.

ECONOMIST: Astronomy