What is Cosmology?
The word cosmology comes from the Greek: ‘cosmologia’ (order, orderly arrangement, ornaments) + ‘logos’ (word, reason, plan). It is the study of the Universe in its totality. The study of the Universe has a long history, involving at least three main domains: religion, philosophy and science. This article deals only with scientific cosmology. Scientific Cosmology Also called physical cosmology, it is the branch of science that deals with the scientific study of the origins and evolution of the Universe and the nature of the Universe on its very largest scales. In its earliest form (2nd century BC) physical cosmology was basically just celestial mechanics, the study of the ‘heavens’. The Greek philosophers Aristarchus of Samos, Aristotle and Ptolemy proposed different theories for how the heavens work. In particular, the ‘earth-centric’ Ptolemaic system was the accepted theory to explain the motion of the heavenly bodies until Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo proposed a ‘sun-centric’ syst
Cosmology is the study of the universe and humanity’s place in it. In the last few hundred years, cosmology has been dominated by physics and astrophysics, primarily being based on religion prior to that. Seeking to give humanity answers to “Big Questions,” religion and mythology have offered various answers to the origin of the universe and its arrangement since prehistory, but these explanations are replaced by contemporary scientific observations and theories. However, one should not assume that the current scientific conception of cosmology is correct. Although the general picture has remained the same since the 1920s, the specifics are often revised based on new observations and theories. Most notably in the history of cosmology, in 1964 the cosmic microwave background radiation was detected. Modern cosmology has accumulated massive evidence, such as the cosmic microwave background radiation, that the universe began with a huge explosion known as the Big Bang. This occurred approx
