The Little Universe that Could (or...Our Universe Kicks Asteroids)

"In that trillionth of a second after the big bang, the universe expanded from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space through a process known as inflation."

Reread the above quote about 10 times.  It's from the latest scientific discoveries about about the universe.   "In that trillionth of a second after the big bang, the universe expanded from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space through a process known as inflation."  OK, eleven times.  Apparently a LOT can happen in a trillionth of a second.  The speed of light? It's a wussy mamma's boy compared to this expansion rate.  Consider that an eye takes 3-4 tenths of a second to blink.   The average person, I'm sure, would consider an eye blink pretty fast compared to most things that happen in a typical day.  Well, that eye blink is 3.3 BILLION times slower than a trillionth of a second.  Our brains can not even fathom that kind of speed.  (You can try, but if your head explodes I will not be held responsible...)  

So just picture this marble size ball of energy/matter. In it contains everything ever needed to be used in making galaxies, stars, planets, Earth, your I-Pod, your mom, and you, plus everything else.  Add up the weight of everything in the universe (your mom and the above stated items included) and you pretty much have one freakin' heavy marble.   

Okay , so this really dense, heavy marble is sitting somewhere...  Well, there apparently was no universe yet, so it was there, wherever there is.  
Then something amazing happens:

"Inflationary theorists argue that at the time of the big bang, the universe was at first microscopic. But three events changed things: fluctuations in temperature, bursts that transformed energy into matter and a rapid expansion of the universe that ultimately enabled stars and galaxies to form. "( Source: http://trib.com/news/national/article_6c41280e-fd74-5ca0-9dbd-70eaefaf52b4.html , also below quote)

So, basically, one day this petri dish universe gets an attitude, becoming the BIGGEST UNIVERSE EVER!  In less than a trillionth of a second no less.  (Take that all you other universes!)  Galaxies come a couple hundred million years later, some planets take shape, some ooze ends up on Earth, yaddah yaddah, humans, American Idol, and here we are.

Really the first quote above says enough for me.  The scientific community has confirmed through tests that the universe in its first .0000000000001 seconds of life went from the size of a marble to the size of all observable space.


"The WMAP team plans to continue looking for clues into the forces that drove the universe's inflation. 'What happened in that instant snap of time is still a mystery. There's a lot of uncertainty about inflation in general,' said Gary Hinshaw, an astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and a WMAP researcher."


I think it's a wonderful thing for science to search out the answers to life's deepest mysteries.  As they do so, I hope they have an open mind. I, myself, am clearly reminded of two Scriptures from the Bible.

 "The heavens declare the glory of God;

       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Day after day they pour forth speech;

       night after night they display knowledge."

                            (Old Testament, Psalm 19:1-2)

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."   (New Testament, Romans 1:20)


The truth is not just "out there," as a famous sci-fi series told us. It is "up there."  Up there like a galactic billboard.  As telescopes become bigger and more sophisticated, we are given breath-taking images of galaxies, supernovas, stars, seemingly without end.  Distances are measured not in miles or kilometers, but by how long it takes light to travel from here to there. It's hard to even wrap your mind around such distances.  

I remember spending a week in Colorado for spring break several years ago. We were in a cabin near a mountain, a distance away from the nearest town.  We did a lot of cool and fun things, had a great time. But my one lasting memory still is looking up at the stars at night.  Away from  man-made light, the night sky seemed as if someone had scattered a million shining diamonds across a black velvet canvas.  The Milky Way was a thick cloud of light.  Every clear night I was outside in silence, beholding a great work of art. Is it any wonder that as we become more and more surrounded by urban lights, and more downward focused, we have become more focused on ourselves?  The sky, and the science surrounding it, speak a message loud and clear to us.  We need only seeing eyes, hearing ears, and an open heart.

(Note: this is an updated writing of mine from 2006.) 

Check out the Hubble Picture Album for some incredible sights from space.