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The beginning of the universe and the Big Bang

Georges LemaîtreAlexander FriedmannEdwin HubbleGeorge GamowFred Hoyle

This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method

For everyone

In 1927 Lemaître proposed that the universe is expanding and emerged from a very dense, hot initial state in the past. Hubble's measurement of galaxies receding and the discovery of the cosmic microwave background in 1965 supported this view; Hoyle and others advocated a "steady state" universe without a beginning. The creation narratives of religions describe the beginning of the universe in different ways.

For specialists

The Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker solutions of general relativity describe the expansion of a homogeneous, isotropic universe. Big Bang nucleosynthesis predicts the abundances of light elements (He-4 about 25%, deuterium, lithium); the observed lithium-7 is about three times lower than predicted (the "lithium problem"). The nearly perfect black-body spectrum of the cosmic microwave background at 2.725 K is regarded as the strongest support. The difference between the Hubble constant from local measurements (≈73 km/s/Mpc) and from the CMB (≈67.4), the "Hubble tension", is unresolved.

Views on dating

No single date is given because the date is not documented with certainty; the views of different sources are listed.

Current cosmology (Planck, ΛCDM)The universe is about 13.8 billion years old (13.787 ± 0.020 billion years).[4]
Islam (Qur'an)The heavens and the earth were created "in six days" (ayyām); the Qur'an describes a "day" in different verses as a thousand years and as fifty thousand years. It gives no calendar date.[8][9][10]
Judaism and Christianity (Genesis; literal reading)The universe was created in six days; by genealogical calculations, about 6,000 years ago (e.g. Ussher, 4004 BCE).[11][12]
Hinduism (Puranas)The universe is cyclically created and dissolved; one "day" of Brahma (a kalpa) lasts 4.32 billion years.[13]
Steady-state cosmology (Hoyle, Bondi, Gold)The universe has no beginning; new matter is continually created as it expands.[7]

Claims

Evidence

Supporting

Observation

The redshift in galaxy spectra increases in proportion to distance (the Hubble–Lemaître law).[2]

Observation

Microwave radiation corresponding to about 3 K was found coming from every direction and was interpreted as a relic of the hot, dense early universe.[3]

Challenging

Measurement

The expansion rate measured with the local distance ladder is statistically significantly higher than the ΛCDM prediction based on the CMB.[5]

Observation

Early JWST data reported galaxies in the first few hundred million years thought to be more massive than expected; later analyses have debated these mass estimates.[6]

Connections

Parent

Astronomy and cosmology

Builds on

General relativity

Related

Creation narrativesDark energy and accelerating expansionThe argument from origination (kalām cosmological argument)The James Webb Space TelescopeThe age of the Earth

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Sources

  1. ArticleLemaître, G. (1927). Un univers homogène de masse constante et de rayon croissant rendant compte de la vitesse radiale des nébuleuses extra-galactiques. Annales de la Société Scientifique de Bruxelles A47, 49–59
  2. ArticleHubble, E. (1929). A relation between distance and radial velocity among extra-galactic nebulae. PNAS 15(3), 168–173DOI 10.1073/pnas.15.3.168archive
  3. ArticlePenzias, A. A.; Wilson, R. W. (1965). A measurement of excess antenna temperature at 4080 Mc/s. The Astrophysical Journal 142, 419–421DOI 10.1086/148307archive
  4. ArticlePlanck Collaboration (2020). Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters. Astronomy & Astrophysics 641, A6DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/201833910archive
  5. ArticleRiess, A. G. et al. (2022). A comprehensive measurement of the local value of the Hubble constant with 1 km/s/Mpc uncertainty from the Hubble Space Telescope and the SH0ES team. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 934, L7DOI 10.3847/2041-8213/ac5c5barchive
  6. ArticleLabbé, I. et al. (2023). A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang. Nature 616, 266–269DOI 10.1038/s41586-023-05786-2archive
  7. ArticleBondi, H.; Gold, T. (1948). The steady-state theory of the expanding universe. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 108(3), 252–270DOI 10.1093/mnras/108.3.252archive
  8. ScriptureKur'an-ı Kerim, A'râf 7:54quran.comarchive
  9. ScriptureKur'an-ı Kerim, Hac 22:47quran.comarchive
  10. ScriptureKur'an-ı Kerim, Meâric 70:4quran.comarchive
  11. ScriptureTekvin / Genesis 1:1–2:3sefaria.orgarchive
  12. BookUssher, J. (1650). Annales Veteris Testamenti, a prima mundi origine deducti. London
  13. EncyclopediaKalpa. Encyclopaedia Britannicabritannica.comarchive

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APA

Athena contributors. (2026). The beginning of the universe and the Big Bang. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/buyuk-patlama/

BibTeX
@misc{athena_buyuk_patlama,
  title        = {The beginning of the universe and the Big Bang},
  author       = {{Athena contributors}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/buyuk-patlama/}},
  note         = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}

Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history

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