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recombination epoch

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | 437 words | Copyright

recombination epoch The era reached about 300 000 years after the Big Bang when the Universe cooled to a temperature of a few thousand degrees, allowing electrons and protons to combine to form hydrogen atoms. The occurrence of recombination is closely associated with the decoupling of matter and radiation, so observations of the cosmic microwave background provide a means of studying the Universe when it was roughly this age.

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