The universe began some 13.7 billion years ago in an event called the Big Bang. It was not an explosion (as is often depicted in some artwork) but more of a sudden expansion from a tiny pinpoint of matter called a singularity. From that beginning, the universe has expanded and grown more complex.
Most depictions of the beginning of the universe show it almost as an explosion. It was really the beginning of the expansion of space and time, from a small point that contained the entire universe. The first stars formed a few hundred million years after the expansion began. Our universe is now 13.8 billion years old and measures 92 billion light-years across. HENNING DALHOFF / Getty Images
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