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Collection:
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NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Brief History of the Universe
Title
Brief History of the Universe
Title
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Description:
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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.
Description
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.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/12/18
Release_Date
2006/12/18
Release Date
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Press Release:
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Press_Release
Press Release
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (GSFC)
Image Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA
Image_Credit
NASA
Image Credit
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Object name:
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Hubble Deep Field
Object_name
Hubble Deep Field
Object name
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Object name:
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Cosmic Infrared Background
Object_name
Cosmic Infrared Background
Object name
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Object name:
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Cosmic Microwave Background
Object_name
Cosmic Microwave Background
Object name
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Object type:
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Galaxy Field
Object_type
Galaxy Field
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *12h36m49.50s *Dec: *62d12m58.00s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *12h36m49.50s *Dec: *62d12m58.00s
Position (J2000)
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Constellation:
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Ursa Major
Constellation
Ursa Major
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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3.6, 4.5, and 5.8 microns
Wavelength
3.6, 4.5, and 5.8 microns
Wavelength
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Wavelength:
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Visible and Microwave
Wavelength
Visible and Microwave
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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972 by 610 pixels with 0.6 arcsec pixels
Image_scale
972 by 610 pixels with 0.6 arcsec pixels
Image scale
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Observers:
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A. Kashlinsky (Goddard Space Flight Center)
R. G. Arendt (Goddard Space Flight Center)
J. Mather (Goddard Space Flight Center)
S. H. Moseley (Goddard Space Flight Center)
Observers
A. Kashlinsky (Goddard Space Flight Center)
R. G. Arendt (Goddard Space Flight Center)
J. Mather (Goddard Space Flight Center)
S. H. Moseley (Goddard Space Flight Center)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Instrument:
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Hubble and COBE
Instrument
Hubble and COBE
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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May 19, 2004 - May 26 2004
Exposure_Date
May 19, 2004 - May 26 2004
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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24 hours per pixel
Exposure_Time
24 hours per pixel
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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N is 139.9 degrees CW from up
Orientation
N is 139.9 degrees CW from up
Orientation
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Ursa Major
facet_what
Ursa Major
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Explorer
facet_what
Explorer
facet_what
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facet_what:
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COBE
facet_what
COBE
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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May 19, 2004
facet_when
May 19, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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May 26 2004
facet_when
May 26 2004
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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ssc2006-22b
Image_#
ssc2006-22b
Image #
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-22 b
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-22 b
UID
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