Astronomy Timeline
This is a brief "Timeline" of the history of the Universe as it stands today. Starting with...
Zero
Nothing...
+10-43 Seconds
This is a decimal point, followed by 43 Zeros, then a 1. Only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second, and the universe expanded 100 billion times, to the size of a grapefruit.
Expansion Period
The universe goes through a rapid expansion period. It is still too hot for anything to form.
+300,000 Years
The COBE telescope discovers background radiation dating back to this period. Hot plasma clouds still expanding.
+14 Billion years
This is the extent at which we can see visible light with the Hubble space telescope.
Present Day
Modern day. 15 Billion years since the Big Bang.
The Future
The Universe continues to expand. Some scientists believe the Universe will continue to expand forever, while others believe that it will slow, and eventually reverse, leading to "The Big Crunch".