The universe is everything that exists, including all matter, energy, and space. It is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old and contains billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars. The widely accepted Big Bang theory explains that the universe began as an infinitely dense point that rapidly expanded and cooled, leading to the formation of matter and the development of structures like galaxies and stars. Despite the visible matter, most of the universe is made up of invisible dark matter and dark energy. Scientists predict the universe will continue expanding and eventually lead to a heat death where energy is evenly distributed.