In the beginning, part 1.

Before 1923, the universe was thought to be static and eternal, unchanging and without beginning or end. Its size was likely just a few tens of thousands of lightyears across, with one large island of stars, our galaxy, the Milky Way. Discoveries showed us that the universe is much larger than we thought, and is getting bigger all the time. The universe seems to have had a beginning, and might even, one day, come to an end. Join us for a talk about how we got notions like the big bang and the expanding universe.

Here’s something of Einstein’s efforts to describe the universe via general relativity.

Albert Einstein and the origins of modern cosmology

Here’s a link about how rainbows tell us what stars are made of, and how they are moving.

Spectral Lines and the History of Spectroscopy

Here’s an article about the Hubble telescope looking at the star Hubble used to discover our universe was much bigger than we’d imagined.

NASA - Hubble Views the Star That Changed the Universe

And here’s an article about the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, a flash of light leftover from the big bang.

Cosmic Microwave Background: Remnant of the Big Bang