The First Atoms and the First Nuclei

Episode 23 of Introduction to Astrophysics

The Big Bang theory is one pillar of modern cosmology. Another is the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the faint "echo" of the Big Bang, permeating all of space and discovered in 1965. The third pillar is the cosmic abundances of the lightest elements, which tell the story of the earliest moment of nucleosynthesis taking place in the first few minutes of the Big Bang.