What is the Big Bang Theory?

T he Big Bang Theory explains the origin of the earth and starts by elucidating how the universe began as a singularity and inflated over the subsequent 13.8 billion years to be what we know today. Since astronomers have no capacity to peer back at the birth of the universe, almost all of the things we are aware of about our universe based on this theory originates from mathematical theory and models. Through the Cosmic Microwave Background, however, astronomers can observe the "echo." Astronomers have observed the Cosmic Microwave Background on several space-faring missions. One of such missions was the 1990s Cosmic Background Explorer satellite of NASA. In the Cosmic Background Explorer’s footsteps, several missions such as the BOOMERanG experiment and Planck satellite, and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy have followed. The observation of Plank, a European Space Agency, was released in 2013, and it revealed that the universe might be older than earlier imagined. According to the detailed mapping, the world is 13.82 billion and not 13.7 billion years old. The new revelations, however, does not answer some questions, for instance the reason the Southern Hemisphere appear warmer than the Northern Hemisphere. According to the Big Bang Theory, the Cosmic Microwave Background should be the same, irrespective of the position from where one looks. Studying the Cosmic Microwave Background also gives astronomers hints regarding the composition of the universe. The cosmos is most likely composed of matter and energy that conventional instruments cannot sense. This possibility has led to the coining of the names dark matter and dark energy. The universe is so big, but only five percent of its total size is made up of matter, including galaxies, starts, and planets. Though the Big Bang Theory can help us appreciate how the universe came into existence, it is feasible the universe has undergone through many other processes. However, some scientists believe there are better theories to explain the birth of the earth. You can study all of them to make a more informed opinion. [Photo: flickr.com]