Big Bang theory

According to the Big Bang theory, about 13.8 billion years ago the whole Universe was a very small, extremely hot and dense region. From this
tiny point, the whole Universe expanded outwards to what exists today.

Evidence from red-shift

Astronomers have discovered that, in general, the further away a galaxy is, the more red-shifted its light is. This means that the further away
the galaxies are, the faster they are moving. This is similar to an explosion, where the bits moving fastest travel furthest from the explosion.
Red-shift data provides evidence that the Universe, including space itself, is expanding.

Evidence from CMBR

Astronomers have also discovered a cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). This comes from all directions in space and has a temperature
of about -270°C. The CMBR is the remains of the thermal energy from the Big Bang, spread thinly across the whole Universe.

Professor Brian Cox explains how evidence for the Big Bang can be found by analysing the colour of starlight.

Does evidence
Prediction from Big Bang theory Evidence observed support the Big Bang
theory?

More distant galaxies should More distant galaxies

Yes
move away faster have greater red-shift

Initial Big Bang heat should now CMBR is everywhere at a

be thinly spread across the temperature of about - Yes
whole Universe 270°C

The discovery of red-shift in light from distant galaxies led to the development of the Big Bang theory. The discovery of the CMBR, after it had
been predicted by the theory, provided very strong support for the Big Bang theory.

The future of the Universe

For many years, scientists have tried to work out the density of the Universe. The answer to this would give them an idea of whether the
Universe is going to expand forever, or if the gravitational attraction between all objects will eventually slow to a stop, attracting
everything back together in a 'Big Crunch'.

Since 1998, astronomical observations of supernovaehave suggested that distant galaxies are moving away at an increasingly faster rate. The
expansion of the Universe appears to be accelerating. Scientists do not entirely understand how this could happen, but they do know that only
five per cent of the Universe is made of the matter (stars, galaxies, people, planets and so on) that is currently observed.