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Google, CERN team up to show you the Big Bang in AR

A new app puts the universe in the palm of your hand.

Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
Credentials
  • She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Shelby Brown
Universe

A solar storm rages.

Education Images/Getty Images

Sheldon Cooper would totally have Google and CERN's new app on his phone.   

The Big Bang AR app, released Wednesday for Android and iOS, takes you back 13.8 billion years ago before literally anything existed. With the help of augmented reality, space, time and the universe as we know it unfold in the palm of your hand. Actress Tilda Swinton narrates the formation of stars, our solar system and Earth itself.  

When you open the app, you hold out your hand in front of your phone to start the Big Bang, trigger supernovas and create hydrogen and helium atoms.

AR puts the stars and planets in your room. Pinch the screen to examine corners of the universe more closely or pause at any time. You can also move your phone around for a 360-degree view of space.   

The Android app is big, so it might be wise to download it on Wi-Fi. It also may have problems running on older devices. 

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