Geeking Out Again

More from that "Big Bang Acoustics" slide show linked below. Here he's talking about the CMB, the Cosmic Microwave Background. The CMB is the light that's coming at us from the beginning of the universe.

Although our eyes can't see them, there are as many microwave photons falling from the sky as there are photons of light falling from a full moon. With microwave-sensitive eyes, at night we could see our surroundings and shadows cast by the light of creation.

As you look further away into the depths of the universe, with more powerful telescopes, eventually you would see nothing but the bright light of the beginning of the universe. You would see this no matter what direction you looked, because the universe expands in all directions. Everything is getting further away from everything else. I know, it's weird and kinda tricky to visualize. My favourite trick is this: imagine a polka-dot balloon. As you inflate the balloon, all the dots move away from each other. Same deal with the universe.