The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides a snapshot of the infant Universe, offering critical insight into fundamental cosmological parameters, the physics of inflation and the distribution of ...

So much happened in the earliest moments of the universe. Elementary particles appeared, the first nuclei of hydrogen and helium, and fluctuations of energy and matter set into motion the formation of ...

The earliest light in the universe has been traveling across space since just after the Big Bang. Known as the cosmic microwave background, it is imperceptible to the human eye. But if scientists can ...

Nearly 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the primordial plasma of the infant universe cooled enough for the first atoms to coalesce, making space for the embedded radiation to soar free. That ...

Scientists are reeling from an unexpected blow after news that a much anticipated future observatory—designed to decipher the earliest moments of cosmic history—won’t be able to proceed with its ...

Cosmologists are using secondary signatures from the cosmic microwave background to map the universe’s hidden matter. Nearly 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the primordial plasma of the infant ...