Science Questions

Could our universe be a small part of a bigger universe?

If what we term our universe was created by the big bang, does this mean that the whole universe was once a massive star that exploded, and if so could our universe be a small part of a bigger universe? Richard, Bury St Edmunds

[We put this question to Carolin Crawford as part of the Planets and Cosmology show]

Carolin Crawford: Anything is possible. It’s unlikely to be a star as we know it, as stars don’t form until thousands of years after the big bang. There’s always an idea that our universe is just part of another universe. This is really a philosophical question, as it’s one that we cannot answer at the moment.

May 2007