There is no 'why' the Universe exists (unless you want to go down a highly philosophical route), only 'how'.
The universe has been around now for an estimated 13.75 billion years, and was once thought by the ancient Greeks to be infinite. However, it has since been observed that the universe had a definite beginning, and so therefore cannot be infinite, due to the discovery of red shift and cosmic microwave background radiation.
About 13.75 billions years ago, all the matter and energy of the observable universe was concentrated in a dense phase called the Planck epoch. The Universe expanded violently from this, in a motion more akin to a super massive explosion, known as the Big Bang.
Since then, the Universe has been steadily expanding to its current size today, although it is now thought that there was possibly a brief period (less than 10−32 seconds) of cosmic inflation. Recent observations indicate that this expansion is accelerating because of dark energy, which is actually carrying the galaxies out with it, much like the raisins in a rising loaf of bread. It is also now widely believed that most of the matter in the universe is in a form which cannot be detected by our current day instruments, which has been named dark matter.
Another interesting point to consider about the Universe is the round diameter of its observable plain is thought to be in the region of 93 billion light years. The theory of relativity suggests that space can travel faster than light, and so this explains how after only 13 billion years of existence, the Universe has expanded to 93 billion light years in volume.
The universe has been around now for an estimated 13.75 billion years, and was once thought by the ancient Greeks to be infinite. However, it has since been observed that the universe had a definite beginning, and so therefore cannot be infinite, due to the discovery of red shift and cosmic microwave background radiation.
About 13.75 billions years ago, all the matter and energy of the observable universe was concentrated in a dense phase called the Planck epoch. The Universe expanded violently from this, in a motion more akin to a super massive explosion, known as the Big Bang.
Since then, the Universe has been steadily expanding to its current size today, although it is now thought that there was possibly a brief period (less than 10−32 seconds) of cosmic inflation. Recent observations indicate that this expansion is accelerating because of dark energy, which is actually carrying the galaxies out with it, much like the raisins in a rising loaf of bread. It is also now widely believed that most of the matter in the universe is in a form which cannot be detected by our current day instruments, which has been named dark matter.
Another interesting point to consider about the Universe is the round diameter of its observable plain is thought to be in the region of 93 billion light years. The theory of relativity suggests that space can travel faster than light, and so this explains how after only 13 billion years of existence, the Universe has expanded to 93 billion light years in volume.
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