I am a native in this world And think in it as a native thinks

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Astronomy Tuesday




Big News about the Big Bang, so no pretty pictures of planets this week.

A team of astronomers at the South Pole detected gravitational waves 13.8 billion years in the past, at the birth of the universe, confirming that the universe expanded violently in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second of its existence. It explains how the universe, which basically extends 14 billion light years in every direction, is so uniform, with pretty much the same stuff everywhere you look.

While this latest chapter involves expensive equipment in the most remote part of the planet, it began with some equations in Alan Guth's notebook 35 years ago. That one man's brain puzzled out the beginnings of everything -- literally, everything -- with the help of a pencil and a piece of paper is just further evidence of how strange and wonderful the universe really is, producing funny creatures with minds that want nothing more than to understand it.

Understanding is mostly beyond this brain, sadly. I have to settle for observation and wonder.


1 comment:

Elisa said...

Thanks for having a good brain . Very interesting news about the birth of everything.

Blog Archive