Simulated image of the first stars, 400 Myr after the Big Bang.

The term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the Universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past. According to the ESA/Planck data, released in February 2015, the initial conditions occurred 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years ago, and the Universe continues to expand to this day and onwards.