What Is the Universe Made Of?

Answer 1

This question arises from years of progressively stranger observations. In the 1960s, astronomers discovered that galaxies spun around too fast for the collective pull of the stars' gravity to keep them from flying apart. Something unseen appears to be keeping the stars from flinging themselves away from the center: unilluminated matter that exerts extra gravitational force. This is dark matter.

Over the years, scientists have spotted some of this dark matter in space; they have seen ghostly clouds of gas with x-ray telescopes, watched the twinkle of distant stars as invisible clumps of matter pass in front of them, and measured the distortion of space and time caused by invisible mass in galaxies. And thanks to observations of the abundances of elements in primordial gas clouds, physicists have concluded that only 10% of ordinary matter is visible to telescopes.

Answer 2

From our human view point, 118 elements make up all of the universe. In differing combinations of course.

We admit, there are empty places where no matter exists. We also, do not know the certain make up of antimatter or dark matter. For our finite knowledge of the universe we stick with 118.

Answer 3

Initially about 13.7 billion years ago, the Universe emerged from a point less then the size of an atom. Everything we know and see in the universe today, including what eventually made us, was found in that infinitesimal point. It was recently described as probably weighing about 10 lbs even though it was a subatomic dot infinitely compressed and infinitely hot. Some unknown force caused it to expand outward at an enormous speed, faster then the speed of light for a brief time. (You can only travel light speed in space, but remember at this point it was actually space expanding into the void. Space can expand faster then the speed of light.)

Initially everything in that expanding point was energy. Matter and energy are interchangeable that is what Einstein expressed in his famous equation E = MC(squared). Matter is "Frozen" energy. Matter began to emerge as subatomic particles from this energy "soup" within a 10(to the -41 power) seconds (a time so short that there are less seconds in the whole history of the universe then there are divisions in that fraction of a second.) Then most of what we understand that exists today developed in the first three minutes of that expansion. It did not however, come together into what we know as the Universe of today until about 300,000 years after this initial expansion began. That is when the Universal density became so diluted that the individual particles of light (photons) could travel the length of the Universe at that time, without crashing into another particle. This is when the Universe became visible and also when the Cosmic Background Radiation emerged and has since been able to transmit the age of the Universe, and so much more about its early formation. The first stars began to appear about 700,000 years after the expansion began when these gases began to coalesce. As your other respondents expressed the Universe emerged at about 75% hydrogen, the simplest element, and about 25% helium, the next simplest element. There was a trace of Lithium, the third simplest element, but it only a small trace created in the original Big Bang of creation.

Now in that early beginning, there was a creation of both particles and antiparticles. Both were exactly alike except the antiparticles were of a different charge. When these "twin" particles interacted during those early times, they totally annihilated each other in a complete release of their combined energies. For some reason, not yet fully understood, the matter prevailed and eventually a very small portion of it did not annihilate. This now makes up about 4% of the visible Universe, which includes us, and all the gases, and stars, and galaxies, and clouds of dust, that make up everything we are able to see in our Universe.

Now more and more evidence is mounting that there is an immense amount of matter which may be totally foreign to us and that does not light up when it is compressed into star like entities by the gravity that exposes this matters presence to us in celestial observations of the whirling of galaxies about their axis. Without this additional matter of about 26% of the Universe’s total called Dark Matter, these whirling galaxies would fly apart.

Finally, the rest of the missing Universe equals almost 70% of its composition. That energy is now appreciated as probably what has kept the Universe expanding in light of the pull of gravity and not only kept it expanding, but actually increased its rate of expansion. This is known as Dark Energy.
The baryonic Universe of visible matter was eventually compressed into star making clumps that originally developed in the quantum nature of the original subatomic particle of creation. As these created giant stars which burned fiercely for only a million to 10 million years then they exploded in titanic super nova explosions and scattered the whole 92 elements created in their interiors out into the neighboring space to eventually create other smaller, longer burning stars, like our own sun. (Two previous supernova stars were here before the sun according to the sun's composition, via its spectrum) the rest of this material makes planets to spin around it. The black holes these supernova explosions created, eventually became the centers of the spinning galaxies we now see all through out the entire Universe.

Answer 4

Nothing. It is infinite nothingness sprinkled with a miscellanea of galaxies, gasses, rocks and things yet unknown. But mostly nothing. It's the biggest nothingness that could ever exist, unless you count the thoughts of people with the Chicken Little Syndrome of environ mental disease.

Answer 5

The universe is made of space which is the precursor to everything,all matter and us.

Answer 6

Great atom, finite in its dimension and the infinite in its time. Conscience of Tarcísio Brito

Answer 7

Mostly Hydrogen.

Answer 8

It is all Gods mind!

We live in it and galaxies are!

We know it because He's at the center of our own consciousness. Ask me a harder question?

Jonnie

Answer 9

Quarks electrons and energy. Basicall everything around you.

Answer 10

many things but mostly Hydrogen...it is the key element, so thank God for it