Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is cosmology?
What is cosmology?
What is physical cosmology?
What is physical cosmology?
What is cosmogony?
What is cosmogony?
What is cosmography?
What is cosmography?
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What is the Big Bang Theory?
What is the Big Bang Theory?
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Why is cosmology considered a 'historical science'?
Why is cosmology considered a 'historical science'?
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Who proposed the Big Bang model?
Who proposed the Big Bang model?
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What is the composition of the universe according to astronomers in 2014?
What is the composition of the universe according to astronomers in 2014?
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What was the Great Debate?
What was the Great Debate?
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Study Notes
Cosmology: The Scientific Study of the Universe
- Cosmology is a branch of physics and metaphysics concerned with the origin, evolution, and ultimate fate of the universe.
- Physical cosmology is the study of the observable universe's origin, its large-scale structures and dynamics, and the ultimate fate of the universe.
- Cosmogony studies the origin of the universe, and cosmography maps the features of the universe.
- Physical cosmology is a sub-branch of astronomy that is concerned with the universe as a whole.
- Modern physical cosmology is dominated by the Big Bang Theory with dark matter and dark energy, known as the Lambda-CDM model.
- Cosmology is a "historical science" because "when we look out in space, we look back in time" due to the finite nature of the speed of light.
- Physical cosmology was shaped through both mathematics and observation in an analysis of the whole universe.
- In 1922, Alexander Friedmann introduced the idea of an expanding universe that contained moving matter.
- The debate between Heber Curtis and Harlow Shapley about the structure of the cosmos came to a climax with the organization of the Great Debate on 26 April 1920.
- The Big Bang model was proposed by the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître in 1927, which was subsequently corroborated by Edwin Hubble's discovery of the redshift in 1929.
- Since around 1990, several dramatic advances in observational cosmology have transformed cosmology from a largely speculative science into a predictive science.
- In 2014, astronomers reported that the universe is 13.8 billion years old and composed of 4.9% atomic matter, 26.6% dark matter and 68.5% dark energy.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the scientific study of the universe with our Cosmology Quiz! Explore the fascinating world of physical cosmology, cosmogony, and cosmography, and learn about the origins and fate of the universe. From the Big Bang Theory to dark matter and dark energy, this quiz covers it all. Challenge yourself and see how much you know about this important branch of astronomy!
