Brief History of the Universe

Spitzer_ssc2006-22b_1024

spitzer_ssc2006-22b December 18th, 2006

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)

This artist's timeline chronicles the history of the universe, from its explosive beginning to its mature, present-day state.

Our universe began in a tremendous explosion known as the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago (left side of strip). Observations by NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer and Wilkinson Anisotropy Microwave Probe revealed microwave light from this very early epoch, about 400,000 years after the Big Bang, providing strong evidence that our universe did blast into existence. Results from the Cosmic Background Explorer were honored with the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics.

A period of darkness ensued, until about a few hundred million years later, when the first objects flooded the universe with light. This first light is believed to have been captured in data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The light detected by Spitzer would have originated as visible and ultraviolet light, then stretched, or redshifted, to lower-energy infrared wavelengths during its long voyage to reach us across expanding space. The light detected by the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Wilkinson Anisotropy Microwave Probe from our very young universe traveled farther to reach us, and stretched to even lower-energy microwave wavelengths.

Astronomers do not know if the very first objects were either stars or quasars. The first stars, called Population III stars (our star is a Population I star), were much bigger and brighter than any in our nearby universe, with masses about 1,000 times that of our sun. These stars first grouped together into mini-galaxies. By about a few billion years after the Big Bang, the mini-galaxies had merged to form mature galaxies, including spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way. The first quasars ultimately became the centers of powerful galaxies that are more common in the distant universe.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured stunning pictures of earlier galaxies, as far back as ten billion light-years away.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1699-ssc2006-22b-Brief-History-of-the-Universe

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Timeline of the Universe
Subject - Distant Universe
Cosmology > Morphology > Cosmic Background
Cosmology > Morphology > Large-Scale Structure

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
COBE (DIRBE) Millimeter -
Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared -
Hubble (WFPC2) Optical -
Multiple image collage
Spitzer_ssc2006-22b_1280
×
ID
ssc2006-22b
Subject Category
D.6.1.3.   D.6.1.2.  
Subject Name
Timeline of the Universe
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)
Release Date
2006-12-18
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1699-ssc2006-22b-Brief-History-of-the-Universe
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
COBE, Spitzer, Hubble
Instrument
DIRBE, IRAC, WFPC2
Color Assignment
Band
Millimeter, Infrared, Optical
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
M
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2006-22b.tif
Metadata Date
2011-09-06
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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