In this riveting third installment of our Spring 2025 special Big History series, join us on a cosmic voyage from the universe’s fiery birth to the emergence of its very first stars. We explore the earliest moments, from the enigmatic Plank epoch where our current physics breaks down, through a burst of exponential inflation that set the stage for everything to come, to the cooling and recombination that ended the cosmic dark ages. Discover how subtle processes like the formation of molecular hydrogen and the overcoming of internal pressure via the Jeans mass allowed colossal clouds of gas to collapse, igniting the first Population III stars. These stellar pioneers not only illuminated the universe but also seeded it with the heavy elements that would one day forge galaxies, planets, and life itself.

So!!! Strap in and get ready to marvel at the grand tapestry of our universe!