Earlier quoted context omitted.
We can't see down to 0 seconds, because very soon after the big bang, the universe was filled with dense, extremely hot, opaque plasma. The closest we can get is the "recombination epoch" [0], which is roughly 370 000 years after the big bang, when, because of universal expansion, the plasma got cold enough for neutral hydrogen to start forming, at which point the universe became transparent. As protons gain electron…
> the uniform ultimate backdrop we have when looking in any direction Is the CMB exactly uniform in every direction? Or is this early light slightly more redshifted when we look up versus when we look down or left or right? Does the oldest light we see in any given direction vary slightly in color? I'm imagining the universe expanding as a sphere from a central point, but we're located off-center. Wouldn't the early…
As balloon expands, in all directions there is same rate of expansion. You are not inside the balloon close to one side to observe the difference.