According to the big bang theory, the universe began roughly 13.8 billion years ago as a singularity, an infinitesimally small and dense point. This singularity grew fast, becoming the fundamental building blocks of matter, energy, and space itself. The universe cooled as it expanded, allowing matter to form, galaxies to form, and stars to form. The hypothesis also accounts for the universe's continued expansion and the observed cosmic microwave background radiation, which lends credence to the idea of an initial dramatic event.

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The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the origin and evolution of the universe. It suggests that the entire universe was once concentrated in a singularity, a point of infinite density and temperature. At this moment, all of space, time, matter, and energy began expanding rapidly.

As the universe expanded, it cooled down, allowing particles to come together and form the first atoms. Initially, the universe was primarily made up of light and radiation. However, as it continued to cool, matter clumped together under the force of gravity, forming clouds of gas. These clouds eventually collapsed, leading to the formation of stars and galaxies.

The cosmic microwave background radiation is another crucial piece of evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. It is a faint glow of radiation that permeates the universe and was discovered in 1965. This radiation is the remnant of the intense heat of the early universe and is observed as a uniform background temperature.

Additionally, observations of distant galaxies and their redshift (the stretching of light waves towards longer wavelengths) provide evidence for the ongoing expansion of the universe. This suggests that the universe is not only expanding but also accelerating in its expansion.

Despite the wealth of evidence supporting the Big Bang theory, there are still unanswered questions and ongoing research to refine and better understand the early moments of the universe.