Getting Started

In the mythology of ancient Egypt, the universe began when a great god emerged from the void. He created the air and the divine order of the world. And they gave birth to the land and sky. That’s one of countless creation stories – attempts to explain the birth of the universe. To modern science, the best explanation is the Big Bang, an instant of creation 13.8 billion years ago. Several pieces of evidence support the Big Bang. For one, on the largest scales, galaxies are all racing away from each other. If you trace the motion back in time, everything comes together in a single point. For another, the Big Bang left its “fingerprints” on the universe – an afterglow known as the cosmic microwave background. It was created when the early universe had cooled enough for light to travel freely. As the universe expanded, the afterglow shifted to radio wavelengths, which we see in every direction. One more bit of evidence is the way elements are created. According to the theory, the Big Bang itself created hydrogen and helium, the simplest elements. Later, the first stars “fused” those elements together to make heavier ones. Over time, the percentage of heavy elements has increased as stars make more of them and release them into space. And that’s just what astronomers observe when they look into the universe – a steady build-up of heavier elements, dating to the beginning of time. More tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield