my understanding of the universe:

it's in an infinite cycle of expansion and contracting (i.e. the big bang and the big crunch)..

we're in an universe that's constantly expanding correct? my first question: is this expansion accelerating or decelerating?

if it's accelerating, then heat death would occur eventually, right? and if it's decelerating, then the expansion would eventually cease. all matter would then, by way of gravity, would contract back into the big bang.

if the expansion is decelerating, then that suggests an infinite cycle of expanding/contracting. however, i can't get my brain to wrap around this idea - infinite means "no end." What's the absolute beginning? where did the very first big bang come from?

tl/dr version: The Big Bang theory explains the origin of the universe. What explains the origin of the Big Bang?

my understanding of the universe:

it's in an infinite cycle of expansion and contracting (i.e. the big bang and the big crunch)..

we're in an universe that's constantly expanding correct? my first question: is this expansion accelerating or decelerating?

if it's accelerating, then heat death would occur eventually, right? and if it's decelerating, then the expansion would eventually cease. all matter would then, by way of gravity, would contract back into the big bang.

if the expansion is decelerating, then that suggests an infinite cycle of expanding/contracting. however, i can't get my brain to wrap around this idea - infinite means "no end." What's the absolute beginning? where did the very first big bang come from?

tl/dr version: The Big Bang theory explains the origin of the universe. What explains the origin of the Big Bang?

I can, with my very limited knowledge, answer your questions.

The expansion has been observed to be accelerating.

The absolute beginning, this question, to me, seems to be unanswerable. We don't know if the universe is like a line, never ending and never beginning, or like a ray, never ending but with a definite beginning.

We don't know the origin of the Big Bang, yet.

Disclaimer: Take everything said here with a grain of salt, I am no physicist.

We don't know if the universe is like a line, never ending and never beginning, or like a ray, never ending but with a definite beginning.

something I found refuting the idea that the universe is like a line:

http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/big-bang.html

the refutation is a little shaky to me though. it doesn't do it empirically (could you even prove this empirically anyway?). the link also talks about what happened before the big bang as well.

You idiots. the universe isn't expanding we are just getting smaller.

universe is expanding as was stated.

What's the absolute beginning? where did the very first big bang come from?

What explains the origin of the Big Bang?

Nobody knows or even has the slightest idea so i wouldnt stress over it. Use your imagination, because that'll be as good a theory as anyone elses.