Cosmic Inflation
Around 13.8 billion years ago, the universe expanded faster than the speed of light for a fraction of a second, a period called cosmic inflation Big Bang and Nucleosynthesis
When cosmic inflation stopped, the energy driving it transferred to matter and light – the big bang. One second after the big bang Recombination
Around 380,000 years after the big bang, the universe had cooled enough that atomic nuclei could capture electrons Dark Ages
After the cosmic microwave background First Stars
Gas was not uniformly distributed throughout the universe. Cooler areas of space were lumpier, with denser clouds of gas. As these clumps grew more massive Reionization
At first, starlight couldn’t travel far because it was scattered by the relatively dense gas surrounding the first stars. Gradually The Future
For many years, scientists thought the universe’s current expansion was slowing down. But in fact, cosmic expansion is speeding up. In 1998