1. http://ssscott.tripod.com/BigBang.html

2. In The Beginning… 14 Billion years ago the entire Universe was contained in a single point. The Universe was “born” in a single violent event which came to be known as The Big Bang. The Universe continues to expand at an enormous speed. http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-powered-the-big-bang/

3. One second after the Big Bang, it was a 10- billion degree sea of neutrons, protons, electrons, anti-electrons (positrons), photons, and neutrinos. As the Universe started to cool, isotopes formed and eventually neutral atoms were formed. Before this point, the Universe was opaque. http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-powered-the-big-bang/

4. Let There Be Light… The absorbing of electrons to form neutral atoms allowed the Universe to become transparent. The afterglow of the Big Bang can be still be observed today – the cosmic background radiation. http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-powered-the-big-bang/

5. Mapping the earliest light in the Universe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjRLXK7 aoA&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjRLXK7 aoA&NR=1