The beginning of the universe

A magnificent black hole with an allocation disk and a cosmic hill of matter.

Supermassive black holes defy physics to become cosmic giants

Researchers have linked X-ray emissions from 21 distant quasars to the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe
V Representation of the evolution of the universe over 13.77 billion years. The far left shows the earliest moment we can study today, when a period of "inflation" created a burst of exponential growth in the universe. (The size is shown by the vertical proportion of the grid in this drawing). Over the next billion years the expansion of the universe gradually slowed down as the matter in the universe was pulled towards itself by gravity. Recently the expansion began to accelerate again as the repulsive effects of dark energy became dominant in the expansion of the universe. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

The Uneven Universe: The Expansion of the Universe and Einstein's Theory of General Relativity

Cosmological calculations almost always assume that there is a uniform distribution of matter in the universe. This is because the calculations would be too complicated if they included the location of each and every star. In reality the universe is not uniform:
The expansion of the universe over time. NASA/WMAP Science Team / Graphics: Dana Berry

Measuring the Universe's Expansion: Surprising Discrepancies Hint at Inconsistencies in the Universe's Composition

Researchers at the Cosmic Dawn Center at the University of Copenhagen have found that the velocity measurements used to determine the expansion rate of the universe may not be reliable. As stated in the posting, this does not resolve the inconsistency, but hints

The early universe was liquid

This image shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5 + 2223 taken by the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The image in the magnifying square is the distant galaxy MACS1149-JD1, as seen 13.3 billion years ago and recently observed by Alma. The oxygen concentration discovered by 'Alma' is depicted in red. Photo: ESO

Evidence of stars formed only 250 million s after the big bang

Imaging of the quasar J1342+0928, the active galactic halo that contains at its center a supermassive black hole, with a mass 800 million times that of our Sun, that is gobbling up a lot of material from a hot disk surrounding it. Source: Robin Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science.

The most distant supermassive black hole to date has been discovered

A diagram of the evolution and expansion of the universe, with cosmic inflation visible at its very beginning. Is the theory of cosmic inflation, which tries to explain the properties of our universe, wrong? Source: r NASA/WMAP Science Team.

Cosmic controversy

Simulation of the merger of two black holes, the existence of which was indicated by the gravitational waves recorded by LIGO in 2017. Source: The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project.

Is dark matter made of black holes?

A diagram of the evolution and expansion of the universe, with cosmic inflation visible at its very beginning. Is the theory of cosmic inflation, which tries to explain the properties of our universe, wrong? Source: r NASA/WMAP Science Team.

The theory of cosmic inflation is in trouble

In this image you see real photographs of the cosmic background radiation as it is measured in the sky (right side). Above you see the cosmic radiation as it was first detected in 1965, the image is colored and the colors indicate the temperature (or frequency) of the radiation. Notice how uniform it is in temperature (there is only one green color). Middle image - in 1992 the Kobe satellite finds tiny differences in temperature (six digits after the decimal point). In the lower image you see a similar image with better spatial resolution taken in 2003. The red band in the middle is not related to the cosmic background radiation, it is micro radiation emitted from the plane of our galaxy

Genesis was empty - how was our universe created? - Part IV

Wilson (left) and Penzias (right) against the background of the shofar antenna they used when discovering the cosmic background radiation. Source: Wikipedia

Genesis was empty - how was our universe created? - Part III

An approximate model of the hydrogen atom, the simplest and most common atom in the universe consisting of a proton in the center and an electron around it. All the hydrogen in the universe was created about 380,000 years after the big bang.

Genesis was empty - how was our universe created? - Part II'

the expanding universe. Illustration: from Wikipedia

Genesis was empty - how was our universe created? – Part I

The formation of the universe and the theory of information. Illustration: shutterstock

How was the universe created from nothing?

Much larger than the Milky Way, and produces stars at a tremendous rate. Imaging of galaxy z8_GND_5296, courtesy of STScI/NASA

Higher, farther, earlier - scientists discovered a galaxy from the beginning of the universe

A radio telescope image of galaxy 4C12.50 which is about 1.5 billion light years from Earth. The diagram shows the location details at the edge of a fast jet of particles, where the huge cloud of gas (in yellow-orange colors) is pushed by the jet. Figure: Morganti et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Massive black holes limit the growth of galaxies

This map shows the ancient light in our universe, as it was discovered with the greatest precision yet by the Planck mission. Photo: European Space Agency and the Planck Partnership. Video

The universe is 100 million years older than we thought until now

These two images show the same piece of sky in the Boötes group, known as the "rapid accretion belt. The area covers one degree by 0.12 degrees. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

Spitzer captured the oldest light in the universe

Pure tellurium crystal. Photo: MIT

The rare element tellurium was first detected in ancient stars

ULAS J1120+0641 - the most distant quasar - its light reaches us as seen 770 million years after the Big Bang. Figure: ESO

The most distant quasar to date has been discovered

Stephen Hawking's Master Plan book cover. Yanshof Publishing, 2011

Percussive but short: a book review about the 'Master Plan'

A simulation of galaxies in the age of reionization of the settled universe. Illustration: M. Alvarez, R. Kashler and T. but

The most distant galaxy has been discovered

The galaxy cluster SXDF-XCLJ0218-0510 which is 9.6 billion light years away from us. The most distant cluster known as of May 2010. Image: Max Planck Institute for Physics

The most distant galaxy cluster has been discovered

multiverse From Wikipedia

The possibility of life in the multiverse

Inside the Large Hadron Collider tunnel in Sarn, Geneva. Photo: CERN

How was the universe created? The riddle is not eternal

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

How many galaxies are there in the universe?

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

11 billion year old supernova

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Black holes predate galaxies

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The cosmic background radiation is 6 times stronger than expected

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The universe does not expand uniformly

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The Swift space telescope photographed the most distant gamma-ray burst

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Before the Big Bang - the Great Disappointment

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The lonely future that awaits us in 3 trillion years

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The dark ages of the universe

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Misconceptions about the Big Bang

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

What did the first microseconds of the universe look like?