October 2023 Thinking Beyond: Was there A Big Bang?

The “Thinking Beyond” webinar series features renowned physicists Paul Davies, Sara Walker and Maulik Parikh from the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University and addresses a big question/topic in science. This month, Brian Keating will present the topic and will be joined by Paul Davies and Maulik Parikh.

Recently, several astronomers and physicists have called into question the universe’s age and whether the Big Bang even happened. They argue that the Big Bang is contradicted by recent evidence from the James Webb Space Telescope and that there is a better explanation for why our universe appears the way it does. Some alternative theories suggest the universe isn’t expanding at all, or if it is, the age of the cosmos is perhaps twice as large as previously thought. I will review the evidence for and against these claims and where cosmologists go from here in our attempt to understand the origin of the cosmos.