WMAP image of the (extremely tiny) anisotropies in the cosmic background radiation

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Anisotropy

Anisotropy (/ˌænaɪˈsɒtrəpi/) is the property of being directionally dependent, as opposed to isotropy, which implies homogeneity in all directions. It can be defined as a difference, when measured along different axes, in a material's physical...
Physical cosmology
Cosmic inflation
Cosmic microwave background radiation

In cosmology, cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation (also CMBR, CBR, MBR, and relic radiation) is a form of electromagnetic radiation filling the universe. With a traditional optical telescope, the space between stars and galaxies (the...
Dark matter

In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is hypothetical matter that is undetectable by its emitted radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter. According to present observations of structures larger...
Galaxy formation and evolution

The study of galaxy formation and evolution is concerned with the processes that formed a heterogeneous universe from a homogeneous beginning, the formation of the first galaxies, the way galaxies change over time, and the processes that have...
Large-scale structure of the cosmos

In physical cosmology, the large-scale structure of the universe refers to the characterization of observable distributions of matter and light on the largest scales (typically on the order of billions of light-years). Sky surveys and mappings of...
Multiverse

The multiverse (or meta-universe, metaverse) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and...
Steady state theory
Universe

The Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. However, the term Universe may be used in slightly different contextual...
Cosmological constant