Across
- 5. Also known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB), it is the remnant thermal radiation from the early universe, providing evidence of the Big Bang and serving as a snapshot of the universe at about 380,000 years old.
- 7. A form of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, making it invisible to direct observation it is inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter and cosmic structures.
- 10. A unit of distance equal to the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum.
- 12. The process where light atomic nuclei combine to form heavier ones
- 13. An instrument used to measure the intensity of light, often employed in astronomy to analyze the brightness of celestial objects.
- 15. The hot, dense state of the early universe shortly after the Big Bang, before the formation of atoms, when radiation and high-energy particles dominated.
- 16. Refers to the thermal history of the universe, with the current temperature of space
- 18. A form of matter composed of antiparticles, which have the same mass as particles of ordinary matter but opposite charge; when matter and antimatter meet, they annihilate, releasing energy.
- 20. The change in the wavelength of light or sound due to the relative motion between the source and the observer, with redshift indicating motion away and blueshift indicating motion toward.
- 21. A type of variable star that pulsates in a predictable manner, making it a crucial "standard candle" for measuring cosmic distances.
- 23. A space-based observatory launched in 1990 that has provided high-resolution images of the universe, significantly contributing to our understanding of cosmology.
- 24. A rapid exponential expansion of the universe that occurred within a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang, explaining its large-scale structure and uniformity.
Down
- 1. Influencing phenomena from the formation of stars and galaxies to the behavior of cosmic magnetic fields and the nature of light.
- 2. A point in space-time where gravitational forces cause matter to have infinite density and zero volume, often associated with black holes and the origin of the universe in the Big Bang.
- 3. The average density of matter and energy in the universe needed to halt its expansion after an infinite time, resulting in a flat, spatially-closed universe.
- 4. A fundamental dimension in physics, often understood as a continuous progression of events from the past to the future, influencing the evolution of the universe.
- 6. (First Law) Also known as the law of conservation of energy, it states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
- 8. The leading cosmological model explaining the origin of the universe, proposing that it began as an extremely hot, dense state and has been expanding ever since.
- 9. The period in cosmic history following the Radiation Era, during which matter became the dominant component of the universe, leading to the formation of galaxies and stars.
- 11. The unit of absolute temperature in the International System of Units (SI), starting from absolute zero, where all molecular motion ceases.
- 14. The shortening of the wavelength of light from an object moving toward the observer, opposite of redshift.
- 15. The apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from two different locations, used in astronomy to measure the distances of nearby stars.
- 17. Light from these galaxies is shifted to longer wavelengths
- 19. A system of two equal and opposite charges or magnetic poles separated by a distance, often used in reference to the cosmic microwave background radiation's temperature variations.
- 22. A branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe