Astronomy Picture of the Day

Imagine my surprise when I return from sabbatical to see the format of my favorite blog site completely revamped.  Frankly, I wasn't surprised by the change itself, rather the length of time it took to institute it.  I've seen anti-grav lifts go from napkin-sketch to full blown carcass-tossing mode in less time.  All in all, it looks halfway decent.  Anyways, todays picture is an 'artists' photo-realistic depiction of what the universe looked like from the 'big bang' until the present.  As an astronomer, I try to steer clear of misnomers like 'big bang'.  The initial state of the universe was rather small by any standard and, in the vacuum of space, there was no 'bang'...not even a muffled ding to be sure.  I prefer to call it 'horrendous space kablooey', which I feel is a more descriptive analysis.  I know there are some God-folks out there who like to call into question the theory of 'horrendous space kablooey'.  They'll ask questions like, "If you're so smart, Mr. Magic-Space-Looking-Glass-Man-With-The-Apron...what was there before the 'horrendous space kablooey'?"  Well isn't that just the cutest dumbass question ever.  That's like asking 'Why is a stapler?'  Just because you can ask the question doesn't mean it's a real question.  There was no friggin' time before the 'horrendous space kablooey'!  It's the start!  See the picture?  It's all black back there.

Oy, what a crappy APoD.