The Universe across space and time
This infographic offers a schematic view, projected into the image’s two dimensions, of the evolution in space and time of our Universe, that unfolds in four dimensions.
The Universe expanded to its current size from the so-called initial Big Bang, according to the most accepted current theory. Its history is marked by critical periods during which the state of our cosmos changed dramatically.
These eras are highlighted in the graphic starting from the recombination epoch, when charged electrons and protons combined to form neutral atoms, and light could finally travel freely. This period was followed by the dark ages and then reionisation, when the first stars and galaxies formed; their energetic light changed the state of intergalactic gas from neutral to charged again. Cosmic noon identifies the epoch when star formation peaked.
