Cosmology is the scientific study of the origin, large scale structure and evolution of the universe as a whole, drawing on physics, astronomy and astrophysics. Speculative cosmological ideas are as old as philosophy, but modern scientific cosmology is generally dated to 1917, when Albert Einstein published a static-universe cosmological model as an extension of his own general theory of relativity, a paper that opened the twentieth century program of testing mathematical models of the universe against astronomical observation. Later work on the expansion of the universe and cosmic background radiation built directly on the general-relativistic framework this 1917 paper established.
Facts
Founded YearSourced to the subject's own account Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own accountWhat are dark matter and dark energy, the two components thought to make up about ninety five percent of the universe's total mass and energy, and how do they shape the universe's structure and expansion? 1 ScopeSourced to the subject's own accountCosmology studies the origin, evolution, large-scale structure and eventual fate of the universe as a whole, drawing together general relativity, particle physics and observational astronomy. 1 SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountGeorges Lemaitre, a Belgian priest and physicist, proposed in 1927 that the universe is expanding from a primeval atom, the seed of what became the Big Bang theory; the 1965 discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation later gave that theory its decisive observational confirmation. 1 Connections
Founded By
Modern scientific cosmology is dated to his 1917 static-universe extension of general relativity.
Source Cosmology (Wikipedia)
Credited as founder of physical cosmology and the Big Bang theory specifically, not of cosmological speculation generally, which is far older.
Source Cosmology (Wikipedia)
Has Theory
Open Questions
Source Cosmology (Wikipedia)
Uses
Radio telescopes are a primary observational tool of modern physical cosmology; this edge was unreachable before the cosmology discipline entity existed.
Source Cosmology (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Cosmology (Wikipedia)
WikipediaPhysical cosmology section
Modern scientific cosmology is widely considered to have begun in 1917 with Albert Einstein's publication of his final modification of general relativity.
- Founded By: Albert Einstein
- Uses: Radio Telescope
- Founded By: Georges Lemaitre
Part Of: Astronomy, Lead section
In the science of astronomy, physical cosmology is concerned with the study of the chronology of the universe, the observable universe's origin, its large-scale structures and dynamics, and the ultimate fate of the universe.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
What is dark energy?
Observations of distant supernovae in the late 1990s showed the expansion of the universe is accelerating rather than slowing under gravity, implying roughly 68 percent of the universe's total energy content is an unseen component dubbed dark energy. No experiment has yet detected it directly or explained its physical nature, whether a constant property of space itself or a dynamic field.
What would resolve this Direct physical detection or a theoretical account of dark energy that makes testable predictions distinguishing it from a simple cosmological constant, confirmed by independent observational surveys of cosmic expansion.
Physical cosmology and theoretical physicsCosmology (Wikipedia)
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