Explore the cosmic timeline from the Big Bang to the universe's ultimate fate. Discover key milestones in its evolution and our understanding of space.
Explore the cosmic timeline from the Big Bang to the universe's ultimate fate. Discover key milestones in its evolution and our understanding of space.
Universe begins from an extremely hot, dense state.
Universe undergoes rapid, exponential expansion in a fraction of a second.
Extremely hot, dense primordial soup of fundamental particles forms.
Quarks combine to form stable protons and neutrons.
Light elements like hydrogen and helium form.
Temperature drops, allowing electrons to combine with nuclei.
Atoms form, universe becomes transparent, CMB released.
Epoch before first stars, universe filled with neutral gas.
Population III stars, the universe's first stars, begin to form.
Early structures emerge, forming the first small galaxies.
Our home galaxy begins to assemble from smaller structures.
UV light from first stars ionizes intergalactic hydrogen.
Growth of giant black holes at galaxy centers begins.
Sun and planets coalesce from a rotating gas cloud.
Our planet takes shape from the protoplanetary disk.
Penzias and Wilson detect relic radiation from the Big Bang.
Vera Rubin observes anomalous galaxy rotation, suggesting dark matter.
Iconic telescope launched, revolutionizing deep space observation.
51 Pegasi b confirms planets exist beyond our solar system.
Distant supernovae reveal universe's expansion is speeding up.
Explains the accelerating expansion of the universe.
LIGO confirms ripples in spacetime from colliding black holes.
Event Horizon Telescope captures M87's supermassive black hole.
Next-generation telescope launched to explore the early universe.
Our galaxy destined to merge with Andromeda in billions of years.
Predicted ultimate fate where all energy disperses, universe cools.