Thanks to cutting edge technology, scientists can peer deeper into space than ever before. The audio tracks in this album feature Dr Robert Lambourne and Dr Stephen Serjeant of The Open University's Department of Physics and Astronomy. They introduce the

Transcript -- An introduction to this album

The latest technology can look almost all the way back to the Big Bang, and may soon identify the first stars and galaxies

Transcript -- The latest technology can look almost all the way back to the Big Bang, and may soon identify the first stars and galaxies

The Planck Surveyor is designed to analyse microwave radiation in the universe in more detail than ever before

Transcript -- The Planck Surveyor is designed to analyse microwave radiation in the universe in more detail than ever before

The discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background began an era of precision cosmology. But the theory of inflation remains one of the great questions in cosmology today

Transcript -- The discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background began an era of precision cosmology. But the theory of inflation remains one of the great questions in cosmology today

How Einstein's theories created the basis of modern cosmology. We can use general relativity to model how different phenomena affect space-time

Transcript -- How Einstein's theories created the basis of modern cosmology. We can use general relativity to model how different phenomena affect space-time

The evidence for gravitational waves and black holes. Gravitational wave astronomy could drive the cutting edge research of future

Transcript -- The evidence for gravitational waves and black holes. Gravitational wave astronomy could drive the cutting edge research of future

Examining the concepts of dark matter and dark energy. Ideas about dark energy have led to a theory of the end of the universe called the Big Rip

Transcript -- Examining the concepts of dark matter and dark energy. Ideas about dark energy have led to a theory of the end of the universe called the Big Rip