| Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation:
Cosmic microwave background radiation (or CMB for short) is the “afterglow” of the Big Bang, a microwave radiation which still uniformly permeates all of space at a temperature of around -270°C (about 3° above absolute zero). It is considered to be the best evidence for the standard Big Bang model of theuniverse.
Cosmic Inflation:
The idea that, in the first split-second after the Big Bang, theuniverse underwent a fantastically fast (exponential) expansion driven by the vacuum of empty space. The theory was developed by Alan Guth in the early 1980s to explain certain problems and inconsistencies with the basic Big Bang theory, such as those related to the large-scale structure of the features of the universe, the “horizon problem”, the “flatness problem” and the “magnetic monopole problem”.
Cosmic Rays:
High speed, energetic particles (about 90% of which are protons) originating from space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Some are generated by our own Sun, some by supernovas, some by as yet unknown events in the farthest reaches of the visible universe. The term "ray" is a misnomer, as cosmic particles arrive individually, not in the form of a ray or beam of particles.
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