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Log 10 — Over Ten Giga Annums Log 10 covers more than 1 and less than 10 billion years, from 10 Ga to <20 Ga |
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Theoretically, however, the clock of the universe has a clear start after t = 0 according to the standard Big Bang model. Other models allow random births of time (bursting forth in inflating bubbles of a chaotic spacetime foam). |
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Below, a recent image of the early universe, 379000 years after the Big Bang |
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This map
of the infant cosmos and the microwave detail on its left capture
the "oldest light" of the universe. The map was produced
by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) in 2003. Its
authors claim that "the new portrait precisely pegs the age
of the universe at 13.7 billion years, with a remarkably small one
percent margin of error." An error of 1% in a lifetime of 13.7
billion years amounts to 137 million years — a vast time span
with regard to human global history, but a small timetick indeed
in the cosmic and geological context.
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