If all the stars are orbiting a super-massive black hole at the centre, why are they only orbiting in roughly one plane? Granted that once they have momentum in that plane the centripetal force of gravity should tend to keep them in that plane, but after the big bang what force caused them to form in that shape?

Considering we have mapped the relative speeds and positions of thousands of galaxies, and so know how fast they are moving and where to, has anyone tried and run the whole process in reverse to see where they all originated from?

This should be ground zero for the big bang (if all matter originated in a point) and would be some evidence for the theory that all matter originated from a single point.

if this point exists, what would be there? Would there be galaxies and stars closer to the point or would that area of the universe be empty of all matter (it having all been propelled out by the big bang)?

There are many predictions made by scientists about the fate of the universe. One of them is the "Big Rip". So the question is, what will happen after the "Big Rip"?

So here's what I think will happen, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

1. The universe is expanding and it has been known and proven. If it continues at this rate, every matter inside the universe will be ripped apart.

2. But when the universe reaches it's "elastic limit" and can go no further, it will collapse with great force back into the centre of the universe.

3. When this happens, everything in the universe will shrink back into the size of an electron(or maybe even smaller) with an "infinite" amount of density. This can soon turn into another "Big Bang".

4. And therefore the steps repeat itself when there is another Big Bang.

Example: Imagine a coil of spring. If you compress it very tightly, it will repel back at you with great force. If it is pulled very strongly, it will pull itself back to it's normal shape with great force.

I believe that the universe is like a spring, but the only thing is that it doesn't have any definite shape.

Scientists said that the Big Bang was caused by the conversion of energy into mass, according to Einstein's E=mc2 formula. But where does this energy come from? And what actually triggered the Big Bang?

Ok, we all know the speed of light (well actually I don't but I know I can google it) but the big question in my mind is the one no one seems to be asking. We are all focused on understanding the creation of the universe when in fact we ought to be asking ourselves what exactly our universe is existing in.

My current theory is that the universe is expanding into time and, using that logice, I must exists many times over, just with billions of years between each existence. Am I right about this???

I honestly don't get it. If there was a big bang, then in what vessel or container did that big bang happen.

This may be an impossible question that has no answer but it has been driving me insane.

What occurred at the exact moment of the big bang?

I have two options that I would consider possible but do not have enough understanding of physics to make an intelligent guess as to which is the most viable.

1) All matter existed and all energy existed in a dense, high energy point. There was an explosion. Now the matter and energy is spread across the universe. I think this is the classical view

2) I recently read that space is not a vacuum as was originally thought. It is filled with matter and antimatter being produced and annihilated. The big bang was the first of these events to occur and many have occurred since. This would generate a universe and an antiverse.

Does on of these seem more likely than the other? Or are they both impossible to verify with current knowledge?

If the big bang was not an explosion, but an expansion, and nothing existed before it. What caused it, and where did the material that is currently expanding come from?

O.K, so the universe stared life as a primeval atom, or a similar object??Well what was that object in?Answer: well... it could be dark matter (or a substance unknown to us...which dark matter is)What if dark matter acted as normal matter, the large 'vacuum' which was 'outside the universe' is actually eternal dark matter and the grouping of this into a central point due to a gravity type force, if not gravity itself, could lead to collisions of dark matter.This in turn could transform energy and may create 'matter' as we know it today. The transformation of dark matter to normal matter could be what we would perceive as an expansion of matter, which could link in with theories of inflation and thus the continued transformation of dark to normal matter could explain why the universe is expanding.Therefore the expanding universe could be a result of a far greater infinite (perhaps) expanse of dark matter.Only a theory, not very well explained or backed up in anyway, but thought I could lay it out on the table for you all to prod and jab at the concepts that could make it work.