Cosmology - Definition and Overview

Cosmology is the study of the large-scale structure and history of the universe. In particular, it deals with subjects regarding its origin and evolution. It is studied by Astronomy, Philosophy, and Religion. See also cosmogony.

Subjects in cosmology include:

Physical cosmology

• The Big Bang
  • The Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric
  • The shape of the universe in big bang theory
• Cosmological principle
• Hubble Law
  • Comoving distance
• Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
  • Cosmic variance
• Big bang nucleosynthesis
• Galaxy Formation and Evolution
• Large Scale Structure of the Cosmos - few 100 Mpc - a few percent of the horizon
• Dark matter
• Dark energy
• Cosmic inflation
• Topological defects
• The Ultimate fate of the Universe

Due to the extreme conditions believed to be present during the first minutes of the universe's history, cosmologists often co-operate with scientists from areas such as Particle physics.

Other cosmologies

Main article: Non-standard cosmology

Philosophical cosmology

• Presocratic philosophers
• Anthropic principle

Religious cosmology

Main Article: Religious cosmology

See also

• Timeline of cosmology (as a science)
• Cosmological timeline (cosmological events, and some closer to home)
• List of cosmologists
• important publications in cosmology
• Origins, Nova Online (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/origins/) - Provided by PBS.

External references

• Wright, Ned, "Cosmology tutorial and FAQ (http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm)". Division of Astronomy & Astrophysics, UCLA.
• Jordan, Thomas F., "Cosmology calculations almost without general relativity (http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0309756)". (arXiv.org)
• Madore, Barry F., "Level 5 (http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/) : A Knowledgebase for Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology". Caltech and Carnegie. Pasadena, California, USA.
• Hoiland, Paul, "Modern Cosmology Examined (http://cosmology.bravehost.com/)"Musing on the Evolution of a Cosmos (http://tprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000033/01/MUSINGS_ON_THE_EVOLUTION_OF_A_COSMOS.pdf) Gouldsboro, Maine.
• Smith, Tony, "Cosmology (http://www.innerx.net/personal/tsmith/cosm.html) -- At the Millennium, Experimental Observations tell us a lot about Cosmology".
• Cosmology (http://dhost.info/cosmology/) -- Cosmology Of The Universe.
• Center for Cosmological Physics (http://cfcp.uchicago.edu/). University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
• Tyler, Pat, and Phil Newman "Beyond Einstein (http://universe.gsfc.nasa.gov/)". Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics (LHEA) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cosmic Images (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-64)
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cosmology from Antiquity to 1850 (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-66)
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cosmology since 1850 (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-67)