Formation and Evolution of the Universe | AMNH (2024)

Our Milky Way Galaxy was once thought to comprise the entire known universe. Today our universe encompasses many billions of galaxies, and its history can be recounted back to its earliest moments.

Our universe began with an explosion of space itself - the Big Bang. Starting from extremely high density and temperature, space expanded, the universe cooled, and the simplest elements formed. Gravity gradually drew matter together to form the first stars and the first galaxies. Galaxies collected into groups, clusters, and superclusters. Some stars died in supernova explosions, whose chemical remnants seeded new generations of stars and enabled the formation of rocky planets. On at least one such planet, life evolved to consciousness. And it wonders, “Where did I come from?”

Formation and Evolution of the Universe | AMNH (2024)

FAQs

Formation and Evolution of the Universe | AMNH? ›

Our universe began with an explosion of space itself - the Big Bang. Starting from extremely high density and temperature, space expanded, the universe cooled, and the simplest elements formed. Gravity gradually drew matter together to form the first stars and the first galaxies.

What is the formation of the universe? ›

The universe came first as a small and dense singularity energy that rapidly inflated and expanded (the Big Bang) as hot plasma full of quarks, electrons, and other elementary particles. As space cooled, the quarks formed protons and neutrons.

What is the study of the formation and evolution of the universe called? ›

Cosmology is the study of the origin, development, structure, history, and future of the entire universe.

What is the main theory that describes the formation of the universe? ›

The Big Bang Theory suggests that about 13.8 billion years ago, the entire universe began from a dense, extremely hot single spot according to the Center for Astrophysics. This spot is known as the “singularity,” and it marks the beginning of what we now know as space, time, and matter.

What is evolution in the universe? ›

The term "evolution" usually refers to the biological evolution of living things. But the processes by which planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe form and change over time are also types of "evolution." In all of these cases there is change over time, although the processes involved are quite different.

What existed before existence? ›

The initial singularity is a singularity predicted by some models of the Big Bang theory to have existed before the Big Bang. The instant immediately following the initial singularity is part of the Planck epoch, the earliest period of time in the history of our universe.

How was the universe created by God? ›

According to the Book of Genesis, God created the universe - and all the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars - in six days. But according to contemporary cosmologists the universe began with a great explosion known as the Big Bang, after which the stars and galaxies slowly formed over billions of years.

What is the real origin of the universe? ›

The Big Bang was the moment 13.8 billion years ago when the universe began as a tiny, dense, fireball that exploded. Most astronomers use the Big Bang theory to explain how the universe began. But what caused this explosion in the first place is still a mystery. So, what has happened since the Big Bang?

How did our universe begin and how will it end? ›

Scientists think the universe began with a bang. A big bang. The Big Bang theory (no, not the TV show) is the most widely accepted theory for how the universe started. How it will end…that's a “dark” mystery.

What is the universe made of? ›

Matter and energy are the two basic components of the entire Universe. An enormous challenge for scientists is that most of the matter in the Universe is invisible and the source of most of the energy is not understood.

What is beyond the universe? ›

Current models based on the theory of general relativity and observations of the cosmic microwave background suggest that the universe is flat and infinite. In an infinite universe, there is no “beyond,” as space extends endlessly.

What are the two major stages of the universe evolution? ›

The Radiation Era and the Recombination Epoch are two major epochs in the evolution of the universe. Explanation: Because the universe is expanding, it has evolved from a dense concentration of matter to its current widely dispersed distribution of galaxies.

What is the most accepted theory for the origin and evolution of the universe? ›

Throughout history, countless myths and scientific theories have tried to explain the universe's origins. The most widely accepted explanation is the big bang theory.

Who is the creator of the universe? ›

God is often believed to be the cause of all things and so is seen as the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. God is often thought of as incorporeal and independent of the material creation, while pantheism holds that God is the universe itself.

Who was the first human on Earth? ›

Scientists still don't know exactly when or how the first humans evolved, but they've identified a few of the oldest ones. One of the earliest known humans is hom*o habilis, or “handy man,” who lived about 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago in Eastern and Southern Africa.

How did everything in the universe come to exist? ›

Our universe began with an explosion of space itself - the Big Bang. Starting from extremely high density and temperature, space expanded, the universe cooled, and the simplest elements formed. Gravity gradually drew matter together to form the first stars and the first galaxies.

Who is the creator of this universe? ›

In other versions of creation, the creator deity is the one who is equivalent to the Brahman, the metaphysical reality in Hinduism. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu creates Brahma and orders him to order the rest of universe. In Shaivism, Shiva may be treated as the creator. In Shaktism, the Great Goddess creates the Trimurti.

What is outside the universe? ›

The trite answer is that both space and time were created at the big bang about 14 billion years ago, so there is nothing beyond the universe. However, much of the universe exists beyond the observable universe, which is maybe about 90 billion light years across.

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