History of the Universe, Simplified

No matter how you try, comprehending the immensity of the universe is simply beyond human reach.

Our puniness creates an insurmountable barrier to our coming to grips with its immensity.

Today's FamilyFirst pick is a simple graphic image that attempts to put the creation and evolution of the universe in scale.

It shows the universe is a young adult with a long life ahead of it.

When the initial creation of the massive realm of which we are an infinitesimal part took place, it was followed by a hypermassive inflation of mass. Then, a period of "dark ages" that lasted a mere 400,000,000 years. That's a heartbeat in universal time.

The first stars appeared at the end of that era. As time progressed, galaxies formed. Approximately 13.7 billion years later, here we sit, as the universe continues to expand and new galaxies are being formed before our eyes.

My hat's off to the Being that spawned this universe. Nice work.

http://aether.lbl.gov/image_all.html

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