Cosmology Quiz

Cosmology: The Scientific Study of the Universe

• Cosmology is a branch of physics and metaphysics that deals with the nature of the universe, including its origin, evolution, and ultimate fate.
• It is a "historical science" because it involves looking back in time due to the finite nature of the speed of light.
• Physical cosmology is a sub-branch of astronomy that studies the observable universe's origin, large-scale structures and dynamics, and ultimate fate.
• The Big Bang Theory is the dominant theory in modern physical cosmology, attempting to bring together observational astronomy and particle physics, known as the Lambda-CDM model.
• Metaphysical cosmology involves placing humans in the universe in relation to all other entities.
• Physical cosmology was shaped through mathematical and observational analysis of the whole universe.
• The universe is generally understood to have begun with the Big Bang, followed almost instantaneously by cosmic inflation, an expansion of space from which the universe is thought to have emerged 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years ago.
• The Great Debate (1917 to 1922) resolved the difference of ideas between the model of a cosmos made up of only the Milky Way star system and the idea that spiral nebulae were star systems in their own right as island universes.
• Several advances in observational cosmology since 1990 have transformed cosmology from a largely speculative science into a predictive science with precise agreement between theory and observation.
• Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation and eschatology.
• Philosophical cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time, and all phenomena. It approaches questions beyond the scope of science using philosophical methods like dialectics.
• The historical cosmologies table shows the evolution of cosmological models over time, including a static universe, the Big Bang, and the Lambda-CDM model.