Refer to this scenario for the following questions:
A multi-dimensional being reaches down to Earth and pulls you out of the universe. You are then thrown back into the universe at a place and time of the being's choosing, and you are permitted to leave only after you have identified your surroundings. This process is repeated several times. Through a scientifically unexplainable miracle, you are able to survive in every one of the places that you find yourself. In each scenario below, identify your surroundings (and potentially your cosmic era) from among the choices given.
-A moment before, you were enveloped in a bright plasma. You could not see very far as free electrons zipped around your head, scattering photons. But now, the universe has suddenly become transparent and you can see clearly. There seem to be no planets or stars, only a gas filled with mostly neutral hydrogen atoms. Where are you?
A) You are in the universe when it was about 500 million years old, just before galaxies began to form.
B) You are in the universe about 380,000 year after the Big Bang during the formation of the cosmic background radiation.
C) You are in the universe about 5 minutes after the Big Bang just as the nucleosynthesis era is ending.
D) You are in a closed universe just as it begins to re-collapse.
E) You are in intergalactic space within a rich cluster of galaxies.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The description matches the universe about 380,000 years after the Big Bang during the formation of the cosmic background radiation, which was a time when the universe had become transparent and neutral atoms filled the space. Option A is incorrect because the description does not match the era just before the formation of galaxies. Option C is incorrect because the universe would have been too hot and dense for neutral atoms to form just five minutes after the Big Bang. Option D is incorrect because a closed universe would not have a uniform gas distribution, and it is unlikely to exist in a collapsing universe. Option E is incorrect because an intergalactic space within a rich cluster of galaxies would have visible galaxies and stars.

Refer to This Scenario for the Following Questions