Universe

The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. According to this theory, space and time emerged together 13.787±0.020 billion years ago, and the universe has been expanding ever since the Big Bang. While the spatial size of the entire universe is unknown, it is possible to measure the size of the observable universe, which is approximately 93 billion light-years in diameter at the present day. Some of the earliest cosmological models of the universe were developed by ancient Greek and Indian philosophers and were geocentric, placing Earth at the center. Over the centuries, more precise astronomical observations led Nicolaus Copernicus to develop the heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of the Solar System.

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Wandering Black Holes May Hold Clues to the Evolution of the Universe

Scientists find a surprising clue to why the universe’s expansion doesn’t add up

Scientists recreate the universe's first moments and find something they didn't expect

Supercomputer Simulations Reveal How the First Stars Changed the Universe

Powerful simulations reveal how the first stars changed the universe

Scientists connect cosmic fingerprints of the universe's first stars with MEGATRON simulation

CHIME telescope unlocks new way to study the universe's baffling expansion

The Rate of Starbirth is Crashing in the "Modern" Universe

This suitcase-sized spacecraft could hear the universe before stars existed

Canadian telescope directly maps earliest glow of hydrogen, opening a new window on the universe

Why the tomb of the 'Disturber of the Universe' remains hidden after 800 years

APOD: 2026 September 28 – Cosmic Latte: The Average Color of the Universe

NASA’s Roman Telescope Opens Its 300-Megapixel Eye on the Universe

JWST finds early galaxies were already seeding the universe with heavy elements

Is the universe twisted? A new check on a possible twist in the universe’s oldest light

Is the universe twisted? A new check on a possible twist in the universe's oldest light

A New Helium Measurement Is Testing the Universe’s First Five Minutes

Scientists Overhaul Giant Particle Collider in Search of Universe’s Hidden Building Blocks

The universe's most extreme dead stars can form from vampire white dwarfs — and scientists finally know how

What are the smallest pieces of the universe?