The Universe Is Pretty Old

I want to try to present more scientific articles, so here's an article about the age of the universe.

The article:
http://news.yahoo.com/universe-older-thought-best-space-time-map-yet-143739816.html

Vocabulary:

the best map yet - the best map so far, up until this time

100 million = 100,000,000

cosmic - pertaining to the universe.  The universe is also called the cosmos

a microwave is a type of energy carrying wave that can travel through space

on the edge of their seats - eagerly waiting, very eager, anxiously waiting,

profoundly - deeply

a space mission - a mission is an activity meant to accomplish some goal

The Big Bang - this was the beginning of the universe when there was a sudden "explosion" from a single point.  Nobody knows what came before the Big Bang or what caused the Big Bang.  One philosopher once wrote, in Latin: Ignoramus et ignorabimus.  We don't know and we will never know.

dense - if something is dense it is filled tightly, for example dense traffic, or a dense crowd

to get mired in - to get stuck in

plasma - not a solid and not a liquid, in between solid and liquid and usually very hot; plasma can come from a volcano as well

protons, electrons and neutrons - particles that make up an atom. Atoms make up molecules.

precious - valuable

embedded in it - stuck inside it, found inside it

to be uniform - to be the same everywhere

to display - to show

variations in temperature - changes in temperature

to correspond to - to equal

fluctuations - changes

to clump - to group together

which posits - which suggests

random - not deliberate, not chosen or designed

tantalizing - teasing

to peel layers - if you wear many layers of clothing you have clothing on top of clothing. To peel off these layers means to remove them.

a constituent - a part of something else

an anomaly - something strange

to link - to join

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Yes, I'm the guy who wrote the very funny ESL book: New York City Sucks, But You'll Wanna Live Here Anyway.  
http://www.amazon.com/Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS

If this page is useful to you, please buy the book (it's quite inexpensive and useful!!!!). If you don't have an e-reader, drop me a line at djg51qu@gmail.com and I'll send you a free copy via Word file. Let me know whether you have Word 2010 or an earlier version.
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Yes, I'm also the guy who created the scandal in Asia two years ago :P

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682

http://www.shoutcastblog.com/2010/05/11/wondergirls-were-mistreated-by-jyp-entertainment/
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Me (at an art gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan)