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The ever expanding universe

Nicole Halseth

News Editor | ote-news@unbc.ca

cientists have recently

discovered evidence
of rapid growth in the
expansion of the universe,
which is a major discovery in
confirming the existence of
an event called the Big Bang.
According to the Big Bang
theory (no, not the show), the
universe came into existence
around 14 billion years ago,

following a massive explosion.

Scientists now have evidence
that only a split-second later,
the expansion of the cosmos
began.

Though this discovery must
still be confirmed by others,
scientists are hailing it as

a major breakthrough.

According to the Globe and
Mail, if verified, this “new
finding could rank with
the greatest discoveries
about the universe over
the last 25 years.”

The experiment was carried
out by observing the faint
trace light remaining from
the Big Bang event. Around
two percent of the sky was
observed for over three years
from a telescope in the South
Pole. The telescope was
looking for light waves with
a specific pattern, located
within the microwave glow of
the Big Bang’s remains. This

Student

specific type of light wave is
known as “inflation,” and is
considered to be evidence

of rapid expansion. The
pattern of these light waves
is caused by gravitational
waves echoing across the
universe in space and time.
According to the Globe and
Mail, “if confirmed, the new
work would be the first
detection of such waves from
the birth of the universe,
which have been called the
first tremors of the Big Bang.”

Though there is still some
doubt that these light waves
signify inflation, they likely
still present the best evidence
for direct testing of the

Big Bang phenomenon.

Planning to formally

submit its findings to a
scientific journal by the
end of March, the team that
performed the experiment
includes researchers from
the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics, the
University of Minnesota,
Stanford University,

the California Institute

of Technology and the
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. The
leader of the research team
is John Kovac of Harvard.

If confirmed within the next
few years, this discovery
may lead us to invaluable
insights into the beginning
of the universe itself, and,
by extension, ourselves.

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