Ask any astronomer about the very beginnings of the universe, and they’re likely to describe the Big Bang theory. Some 13.8 billion years ago, they’ll say, the universe was born out of nothing, in an explosion that unleashed the expanding dimensions of space and time, alongside vast amounts of energy. In the moments that followed, most of this energy transformed into the building blocks of matter – subatomic particles of varying mass and complexity, which eventually came together to form simple atoms, and then coalesced to create giant, short-lived stars and the nuclei of the first galaxies.
There’s a wealth of evidence to show that the Big Bang theory is broadly correct. For instance, even today the universe is still growing at tremendous speed, with widely separated galaxies and galaxy…
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All About Space Annual (Digital) - 1 Issue, All About Space Annual (2024)