|
|
|
|
Evidence Confirms
the Big Bang Theory
Initially the theory
of an expanding universe received a cold reception. Even the 'Big
Bang' label was first applied in a derogatory fashion. However the
accumulating evidence has convinced all except the most stubborn
skeptics. The widespread acceptance of this theory is based upon
four major astronomical observations:
The Slipher and Hubble
observations, based on the light-spectrum of stars, established
that the galaxies are receding. The most distant galaxies are moving
away from us at velocities approaching the speed of light. Modern
astronomy, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, is refining
the measurements of galactic velocities. "Hubble's Law" is now accepted
as a central tenet of cosmology.
Spiral Galaxy, NGC 4414
In 1965 researchers
at Bell Telephone Labs made one of the greatest discoveries in 500
years of modern astronomy. It happened by accident. Arno Penzias
and Robert Wilson were testing a large horn-shaped antenna designed
for radio communications with the Echo and Telstar
satellites. They found persistent radio static coming from all directions
in the sky. This extraterrestrial microwave radiation was at exactly
the wave-lengths predicted by the original Cosmic explosion. Penzias
and Wilson received the 1978 Nobel prize for their work.
The major elements
that comprise the universe: 73% Hydrogen, 24% Helium, and 3% heavier
elements correspond exactly to the predicted result of an initial
cosmic fireball.
"...this is like
looking at God" -- Dr. George Smoot
The distribution
of matter in the universe has long been an observation in need of
an explanation. When we look at the universe, matter is not distributed
evenly and uniformly. If it were, the whole universe would consist
of a thin cloud of gas, with no stars or planets and consequently,
no life. On the contrary, in the observed universe, matter is concentrated
into planets, stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The fact
that the cosmic background radiation appeared amazingly uniform
in all directions created a problem - how were stars, planets and
galaxies formed? Where were the 'seeds' of these later galaxies?
In early 1992, astrophysicist George Smoot reported finding slight,
but persistent, fluctuations in the background radiation, like ripples
in a pond after a stone is thrown in. Smoot calls them 'wrinkles
in time'. They are the cosmic seeds from which galaxies and clusters
of galaxies would develop. "If you're religious," said Professor
Smoot, reporting his great discovery, "this is like looking at
God." [Time, Dec. 28/ 92.]
It is based on this
accumulation of evidence that astronomer, Dr. Ross states:
"Since
1990, astronomers had been certain that the universe must have erupted
from ...[an] extremely hot, extremely compact creation event" [Cosmology's
Holy Grail]
Nobel laureate Dr.
Penzias strongly affirms this view:
"...the
creation of the universe is supported by all the observable data
astronomy has produced so far." [Cosmos,... p. 79]
|
|
