The universe is everything that exists, including space, time, matter, and energy. It's so vast that it's hard to imagine, and it's constantly expanding.
What's in the universe?
All planets, stars, galaxies, dust clouds, and nebulae
All subatomic particles and atoms
All forms of matter and energy
All physical processes, interactions, and constants
Living things, including humans
How did the universe begin?
Scientists believe the universe began in a Big Bang about 14 billion years ago
The Big Bang was an explosion of a tiny, dense fireball
The universe has been expanding ever since
How do we learn about the universe?
Astronomers use telescopes to study distant galaxies
The James Webb Space Telescope has provided new evidence that the universe is expanding faster than expected
The field of cosmology studies the universe as a whole
How small is our place in the universe?
Earth and our solar system are only a tiny part of the universe
The portion of the universe that's visible to humans is about 93 billion light-years across