203 Big Bang Evidence

There is respectable and solid evidence to support a Big Bang-type development of the Universe.Three of these lines of evidence are considered major.

Cosmological Redshift

The Universe is expanding – Referred to as the Cosmological Redshift .

Redshift analysis confirms the Universe is expanding, and the expansion rate is accelerating. The evidence for an accelerating expansion comes from observations of the brightness of distance supernovae. We observe the redshift of a supernova, which tells us by what the factor the Universe has expanded since the supernova exploded.

The redshift of an object is the amount by which the spectral lines in the source are shifted to the red. That is, the wavelengths become l-o-n-g-e-r . To be precise, the redshift Z is given by:

Z = [λobs-λem]/λem Z = Ho d/c (for small distances)

Where:

  • λem is the emitted wavelength of a line, which is known from laboratory measurements
  • λobs is the observed wavelength of the line

Cosmic Microwave Background

Noise” found in all directions throughout the Universe; this “Noise” is radiation remaining from the initial Big Bang.

Background “Noise” was discovered by accident by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, Bell Labs in 1965. They heard a hiss at their radio telescope receiver and after investigation, thought it was due to pigeon droppings on the antenna.

The COBE ( CO smic B ackground E xplorer) satellite, launched in 1989, has precisely measured the background noise or radiation. COBE results showed the background radiation to be exactly what was predicted .

Initial Hydrogen-Helium Fusion

If the H-He early fusion theory is correct, we should find a specific amount of He in the Universe today.

Knowing the current microwave background radiation temperature of 2.73 K allowed astronomers to mathematically predict the amount of He in the Universe; Helium should account for approximately 25% of the mass of the Universe. (This does not include Dark Matter/Dark Energy.) So…what is the amount of Helium found in the Universe? 25%

Additional lines of evidence supporting a Big Bang type of development:

  • We find large-scale homogeneity throughout the Universe.
  • There is an abundance of light elements : Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, and Beryllium.
  • The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation itself is uniform .
  • The temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is extremely uniform.
  • Large-scale structure of the Universe; the distribution of objects .
  • The ages of stars .
The top panel is an image from the Spitzer observatory of stars and galaxies in the constellation Draco, covering about 50 by 100 million light-years. This is an infrared image at a wavelength of 3.6 microns, below what the human eye can detect. The bottom panel is the result after all the forefront stars, galaxies and artifacts have been masked out. The remaining background has been enhanced to reveal a glow than cannot be attributed to modern galaxies or stars. This could be the glow of the first stars in the universe.
Public Domain | Image courtesy of NASA/GSFC/JPL-Caltech.

Look for that “glow” of those first stars…

  • The top image was taken with the Spitzer Space Telescope. This image shows all the objects visible, as very bright lights.
  • The bottom image has all objects taken out and is only in infrared. The red, orange, yellow “glow” or bright blobs are likely from the first stars: short-lived yet massive and bright

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