THE UNIVERSE & THE BIG BANG
This background image is a 'Super Cluster' known as Laniakea. Laniakea is Hawaiian for 'immeasurable heaven' - Lani for Heaven and Akea for Immeasurable or Spacious. Within the Super Cluster is The Milky Way Galaxy and approximately 100,000 other galaxies. At present, scientists estimate there are 200 billion galaxies in the Universe.
Our Solar System is within The Milky Way as pictured. According to Cosmologist and Physicist, Stephen Hawking, the whole universe was 'created' as a result of a 'black hole' exploding approximately 13.7 billion years ago. This is known as The Big Bang Theory from which everything evolved.
Hawking further advises there was 'no time or space' before this black hole exploded and therefore as there was no time or space in which a Creator could exist, 'there is no Creator'. The Universe then, may have simply 'popped into existence' like a proton (part of an atom). Hawking also stated that as the Universe 'runs by itself', there is no need for a God/god.
For a more detailed explanation from Hawking, forward the video to 29.12.
Albert Einstein provides for 'The String Theory' which means 'time and space' are considered a dimension - The Fourth Dimension. Dimensions were previously discussed on this site, and can be accessed here.
In contrast to Hawking's explanation of prior to The Big Bang there was no time and space, according to The M-Theory (Witten, 1995), there are 11 dimensions some of which do not include 'time', yet, there is 'space' within the respective dimensions. Furthermore, for Hawking to say that time did not exist for a Creator to make the Universe in restricts the god to a measurement, that measurement is time. As far as I am aware god is not governed by time and is the creator of it.
Hawking's Big Bang Theory relies solely on the third dimension creating the fourth and subsequent dimensions. However, if we view the Universe as a self-functioning machine created from a black hole, my question is who created the black hole? For the universe to create itself by just popping into existence from 'nothing' does not provide for science, logic and/or reason. By that I mean for something to 'pop into existence' means there is something for it to 'pop into' in the first instance.
Dark Energy/Light Energy
According to scientists, the universe is made up of 73% dark energy which accelerates the expansion of the Universe, whilst the 'light' energy makes up the other 27% and 'slows' down the acceleration acting as a counter-balance.