2.2 Exploring Cosmology and the Cosmic Microwave Background
summary
Cosmology
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- Cosmology is a historical science that uses “fossils” to understand the origins of the universe.
- The universe is about 14 billion years old. It takes the universe 14 million years to expand by a factor of 2.
Cosmic Microwave Background
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- “Fossil” light leftover from the big bang was discovered in 1965.
- The temperature of the cosmic microwave background varies spatially.
- The light we are observing was generated when hydrogen atoms formed, 400,000 years after the big bang.