Our First Podcast!

Thank you for joining us on our very first podcast. I'm sure we didn't get everything right the first time, but we will be working hard to improve our podcast for our sake and for the sake of all our listeners. I know we briefly touched upon the topic of the Big Bang during the podcast and want to take some time now to delve deeper into the subject.

Before the Big Bang, there were no stars, no planets, no life forms. Everything was packed together in a small confined space, somewhat like a single point. These elements collided with each other, were heated, and caused immense pressure to build up. Because of the heat and immense pressure, everything exploded out into space, collided, and combined to create quarks, and eventually helium and heavier elements. These elements collided, gasses mixed, and planets formed after many years. Our Universe is expanding and has been for some time. We know that our universe is expanding because when we look at stars from earth we can tell they are moving away from us. Stars moving away from us look red, whereas stars that are moving toward us look like they are blue. This is because of something called a Doppler Shift. Even though our universe is expanding, we also know that it is slowing down. Sooner or later, we believe that the universe will stop its expansion and start to possibly contract. Once our universe starts to contract, we are not sure if it will go back to the way it was prior to the Big Bang or just stop all together. Not only is our universe expanding, but nearby galaxies seem to be moving further and further away from us. One would conclude that if these galaxies are moving away from us, then we must be at the center. Even though you may be tempted to believe this, don't. Imagine you are sitting on a raisin on a piece of rising yeast among other raisins. As the yeast rises the raisins around you seem to get further and further away from you. However, if you were sitting on one of the other raisins you would also see the same thing and believe you were at the center of the action as well. This is why we can only say that our sun is the center of our universe. The sun is at the center of our solar system, which is why we say our universe is heliocentric. These ideas of universe expansion, planetary formation, and more will be touched on in future podcasts so stay tuned and thank you for listening. Remember, this is, "For you, for me, and for the sake of understanding the world around us."