Cosmology

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Cosmology

Cosmology (from Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
- , kosmos
Cosmos

In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek language term ??s??? meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos....
, "universe"; and , -logia
-logy

-logy is a suffix in English language, found in words originally adapted from Ancient Greek words ending in -????a . The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French language -logie, which was in turn inherited from the Latin language -logia....
, "study") is study of the Universe

Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
in its totality, and by extension, humanity's place in it. Though the word cosmology is recent (first used in 1730 in Christian Wolff

Christian Wolff (philosopher)

Christian Wolff , baron, was a Germany philosopher....
's Cosmologia Generalis), study of the Universe has a long history involving science

Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
, esotericism

Esotericism

Esotericism or Esoterism is a term with two basic meanings. In the dictionary sense of the term, it signifies the holding of esoteric opinions, and derives from the Greek ' ', a compound of ' ': "wikt:within", thus "pertaining to the more inward", mystic....
, and religion

Religion

Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
and astrophysics

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of astronomical objects such as galaxy, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions....
have come to play a central role in shaping the understanding of the universe through scientific observation and experiment; or what is known as physical cosmology

Physical cosmology

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Encyclopedia

Cosmology (from Greek

Ancient Greek

Universe

Christian Wolff (philosopher)

Christian Wolff , baron, was a Germany philosopher....
's Cosmologia Generalis), study of the Universe has a long history involving science

Science

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
, esotericism

Esotericism

Religion

Disciplines

In recent times, physics

Physics

Astrophysics

Physical cosmology

Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of our universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution....
shaped through both mathematics and observation in the analysis of the whole universe. In other words, in this discipline, which focuses on the universe as it exists on the largest scale and at the earliest moments, is generally understood to begin with the big bang

Big Bang

The Big Bang is the physical cosmology model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the universe supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific method and observation....
(possibly combined with cosmic inflation

Cosmic inflation

In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation is the hypothesis that the wiktionary:nascent universe passed through a phase of exponential growth metric expansion of space was driven by a negative pressure vacuum energy density....
) - an expansion of space

Metric expansion of space

The metric expansion of space is the averaged increase of metric distance between objects in the universe with time. It is an intrinsic and extrinsic properties expansion?that is, it is defined by the relative separation of parts of the universe and not by motion "outward" into preexisting space....
from which the Universe itself is thought to have emerged ~ (13.7 billion

1000000000 (number)

1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
) years ago . From its violent beginnings and until its various speculative ends, cosmologists propose that the history of the Universe has been governed entirely by physical laws. Theories of an impersonal universe governed by physical laws were first proposed by Roger Bacon

Roger Bacon

For the Nova Scotia premier see Roger Bacon .Roger Bacon, Order of Friars Minor , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an England philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on empiricism....
, a somewhat persecuted member of the Catholic Church. Between the domains of religion and science, stands the philosophical

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
perspective of metaphysical cosmology

Cosmology (metaphysics)

Cosmology is the branch of philosophy and metaphysics that deals with the world as the totality of all phenomena in space and time. Pre-socratic philosophers from the Ionian School are sometimes called cosmologists....
. This ancient field of study seeks to draw intuitive conclusions about the nature of the universe, man, god and/or their relationships based on the extension of some set of presumed facts borrowed from spiritual experience and/or observation.

But metaphysical cosmology has also been observed as the placing of man in the universe in relationship to all other entities. This is demonstrated by the observation made by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
of a man's place in that relationship: " He who does not know what the world is does not know where he is, and he who does not know for what purpose the world exists, does not know who he is, nor what the world is.” This is the purpose of the ancient metaphysical cosmology. However, Stoicism rejected Aristotle's theory of universals as being "in the things themselves," calling them "figments of the mind." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a Open access online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. The SEP was initially developed with U.S....
adopting the concept of universals as being "concepts," and therefore of the mind, and therefore controllable by free will. Thus, we get the analysis of Aurelius' that the nature of the universe is not from "intuition," but from a free-will, conceptual understanding of the nature of the universe.

Cosmology is often an important aspect of the creation myths of religion

Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
s that seek to explain the existence

Existence

Reality

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist". In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that being, whether or not it is observation or comprehension....
. In some cases, views about the creation (cosmogony

Cosmogony

Cosmogony, or cosmogeny, is any theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The word comes from the Greek ??s??????a , from ??s??? "cosmos, the world", and the root of ?????a? / ?????a "to be born, come about"....
) and destruction (eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
) of the universe play a central role in shaping a framework of religious cosmology

Religious cosmology

Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the universe based, at least in part, on the acceptance of principles that cannot be justified by accepted scientific arguments ....
for understanding humanity's role in the universe.

A more contemporary distinction between religion and philosophy, esoteric cosmology

Esoteric cosmology

Esoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an Esoteric knowledge or Occultism system of thought. It almost always deals with at least some of the following themes: emanation, Involution , spiritual evolution, Epigenesis , Plane or higher worlds , hierarchies of List of deities, cosmic cycles , Yoga or spiritual disciplines...
is distinguished from religion in its less tradition-bound construction and reliance on modern "intellectual understanding" rather than faith

Faith

Faith is the confident belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is also used for a belief, characteristically without proof....
, and from philosophy in its emphasis on spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
as a formative concept.

There are many historical cosmologies:

“…the universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
itself acts on us as a random, inefficient, and yet in the long run effective, teaching machine. …our way of looking at the universe has gradually evolved through a natural selection of ideas.” —Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg

Steven Weinberg is an United States physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Lee Glashow to the Electroweak interaction of the weak force and electromagnetism interaction between elementary particles....

Historical cosmologies

The following table outlines the significant historical cosmologies in chronological order.

Historical descriptions of the cosmos

Name	Author and date	Classification	Remarks
Brahmanda Brahmanda Purana Brahmanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is considered as the eighteenth Purana in almost all the lists of the Puranas, and it once contained the Aadhyatma Ramayana....	Hindu Rigveda Rigveda The *Rigveda* is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas.... (1500-1200 B.C.)	Cyclical or oscillating, Infinite in time	The universe is a cosmic egg Cosmic egg The cosmic egg is an ancient concept resurrected by modern science in the 1930s and explored by theoreticians during the following two decades. The idea comes from a perceived need to reconcile Edwin Hubble's observation of an expanding universe with the notion that the universe must be eternally old.... that cycles between expansion and total collapse. It expanded from a concentrated form —a point called a Bindu Bindu *Bindu* is a Sanskrit term meaning "point" or "dot". The feminine case ending is Bindi which denotes a small ornamental, devotional and/or mystical dot that is cosmetically applied or affixed to the forehead in Hinduism.... . The universe, as a living entity, is bound to the perpetual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth Samsara 'Samsara' or refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.According to these religions, one's karma "account balance" at the time of death is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn....
Atomist universe Atomism In natural philosophy, atomism is the philosophical theses that was theoryzed by Leucippus in the fifth century BC. For it all the objects in the universe are composed of very small, indestructible building blocks ? atoms ....	Anaxagoras Anaxagoras Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic philosophy Greek philosophy famous for introducing the cosmological concept of Nous , the ordering force.... (500-428 B.C.) & later Epicurus Epicurus Epicurus was an Greek philosophy and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works....	Infinite in extent	The universe contains only two things: an infinite number of tiny seeds, or atom Atom \|-! bgcolor=gray \| Properties\|-\|\|}The atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central atomic nucleus surrounded by a electron cloud of electric charge electrons.... s, and the void Void A void is an empty space. When used as an adjective, the word can also mean "invalid".... of infinite extent. All atoms are made of the same substance, but differ in size and shape. Objects are formed from atom aggregations and decay back into atoms. Incorporates Leucippus Leucippus Leucippus or Leukippos was the first to develop the theory of atomism ? the idea that everything is composed entirely of various imperishable, indivisible elements called atoms ? which was elaborated in far greater detail by his pupil and successor, Democritus.... ’ principle of causality: ”nothing happens at random; everything happens out of reason and necessity.” The universe was not ruled by gods Gods Gods as the plural of god , is a synonym of "deity", indicating a context of polytheism.* God * Goddess* List of deitiesproper names... .
Stoic universe Stoicism Stoicism was a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century B.C. The stoics considered passionate emotions to be the result of errors in judgment, and that a Sage , or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not have such emotions....	Stoics (400-200 B.C.)	Island universe	The cosmos is finite and surrounded by an infinite void. It is in a state of flux, as it pulsates in size and periodically passes through upheavals and conflagrations.
Aristotelian universe On the Heavens *On the Heavens* is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: it contains his astronomical theory.According to him, the heavenly bodies are the most perfect realities, , whose motions are ruled by principles other than those of bodies in the sublunary sphere....	Aristotle Aristotle Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology.... (384-322 B.C.)	Geocentric, static, steady state, finite extent, infinite time	Spherical earth is surrounded by concentric celestial spheres Celestial spheres The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental celestial entities of the cosmological celestial mechanics first invented by Eudoxus, and developed by Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus and others.... . Universe exists unchanged throughout eternity. Contains a 5th element called aether Aether Aether originally was the personification of the "upper sky", space and heaven, in Greek mythology.The term aether, ?ther or ether may also refer to one of the following:... (later known as quintessence).
Aristarchean universe	Aristarchus Aristarchus * Aristarchus , on the moon* Aristarchus of Samos , Greek astronomer and mathematician* Aristarchus of Samothrace , Greek grammarian* Aristarchus of Tegea , Greek writer... (circa 280 B.C.)	Heliocentric	Earth rotates daily on its axis and revolves annually about the sun in a circular orbit. Sphere of fixed stars is centered about the sun.
Seleucian universe	Seleucus of Seleucia Seleucus of Seleucia Seleucus of Seleucia was a Hellenistic civilization astronomer and philosopher from the Seleucia region of Mesopotamia who supported the Heliocentrism of planetary motion.... (circa 190 B.C.)	Heliocentric	Modifications to the Aristarchean universe, with the inclusion of the tide Tide Tides are the rising of Earth's ocean surface caused by the tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the oceans. Tides cause changes in the depth of the marine and estuary water bodies and produce oscillating currents known as tidal streams, making prediction of tides important for coastal navigation .... phenomenon to explain heliocentrism.
Ptolemaic model Geocentric model In astronomy, the geocentric model or The Ptolemaic worldview of the universe is the Superseded scientific theories#Superseded astronomical and cosmological theories that the Earth is the center of the universe and other objects go around it.... (based on Aristotelian universe)	Ptolemy Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD.... (2nd century A.D.)	Geocentric	Universe orbits about a stationary Earth. Planets move in circular epicycles, each having a center that moved in a larger circular orbit (called an eccentric or a deferent) around a center-point near the Earth. The use of equants added another level of complexity and allowed astronomers to predict the positions of the planets. The most successful universe model of all time, using the criterion of longevity. Almagest Almagest *Almagest* is the Latin form of the Arabic language name of a mathematical and astronomical treatise proposing the complex motions of the stars and planetary paths, originally written in Greek language as by Ptolemy of Alexandria, Egypt, written in the 2nd century.... (the Great System).
Aryabhatan model	Aryabhata Aryabhata Aryabhaa is the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His most famous works are the Aryabhatiya and Arya-Siddhanta.... (499 A.D.)	Geocentric or Heliocentric	The Earth rotates and the planets move in elliptical orbits, possibly around either the Earth or the Sun. It is uncertain whether the model is geocentric or heliocentric due to planetary orbits given with respect to both the Earth and the Sun.
Abrahamic universe	Medieval philosophers Medieval philosophy Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Europe and the Middle East in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D.... (500-1200)	Finite in time	The universe Universe The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them.... that is finite in time Time Time is a component of the measurement used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects.... and has a beginning is proposed by the Christian philosopher Christian philosophy Christian philosophy is a term to describe the fusion of various fields of philosophy with the Theology doctrines of Christianity. Christian philosophy originated during the Middle Ages as medieval theologians attempted to demonstrate to the religious authorities that Greek philosophy and Christian faith were, in fact, compatible methods for... , John Philoponus John Philoponus John Philoponus , also known as John Grammarian of Alexandria, was a Christian and commentaries on Aristotle and the author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works.... , who argues against the ancient Greek notion of an infinite past. Logical arguments supporting a finite universe are developed by the early Muslim philosopher Early Islamic philosophy Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and lasting until the 6th century AH .... , Alkindus Al-Kindi , also known to the Western world by the Latinized version of his name 'Alkindus', was an Arab polymath: an Early Islamic philosophy, Islamic science, Islamic astrology, Islamic astronomy, Alchemy and chemistry in Islam, Logic in Islamic philosophy, Islamic mathematics, Arabic music, Islamic medicine, Islamic physics, Islamic psychologi... ; the Jewish philosopher Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. In a broad sense, it refers to all philosophical activity carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism.... , Saadia Gaon Saadia Gaon Rabbi Se`adiah ben Yosef Gaon , , was a prominent rabbi, Jew philosopher, and exegete of the Geonim period.He is known for his works on Hebrew language, Halakha, and Jewish philosophy.... ; and the Muslim theologian Kalam Kalam is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theology principles through dialectic. In Arabic language the word literally means "speech".... , Algazel Al-Ghazali Abu ?amid Mu?ammad ibn Mu?ammad al-Ghazali was born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia. He was an Islamic theology, Fiqh, Islamic philosophy, Islamic astronomy, Islamic psychology and Sufism of Persian people origin, and remains one of the most celebrated scholars in the history of Sunni Islamic thought.... .
Albumasar model	Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi File:Translation_of_Albumasar_Venice_1515_De_Magnis_Coniunctionibus.jpgJa'far ibn Mu?ammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi , also known as al-Falaki or Albumasar was a Iranian-Afghan Islamic mathematics, Islamic astronomy, Islamic astrology and Early Islamic philosophy.... (787-886)	Heliocentric	His planetary orbit ORBit ORBit is a Common Object Request Broker Architecture 2.4 compliant Object Request Broker . It features mature C , C++ and Python bindings, and less developed bindings for Perl, Lisp , Pascal , Ruby , and Tcl.... s are only given with respect to the Sun rather than the Earth, thus suggesting a heliocentric model.
Maragha models Islamic astronomy In the history of astronomy, Islamic astronomy or Arabic astronomy refers to the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age , and mostly written in the Arabic language....	Maragha school Maragheh observatory Maragheh observatory is an ancient observatory, which was established in 1259 by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, an Iranian peoples Islamic science and Islamic astronomy.... (1259-1474)	Geocentric	Various modifications to the Ptolemaic model and Aristotelian universe, such as the rejection of the equant Equant Equant is a mathematical concept developed by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to account for the observed motion of heavenly bodies.... and eccentrics Deferent and epicycle In the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the epicycle was a geometric model used to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, Sun, and planets.... at the Maragheh observatory Maragheh observatory Maragheh observatory is an ancient observatory, which was established in 1259 by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, an Iranian peoples Islamic science and Islamic astronomy.... , the first accurate lunar Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth.... model by Ibn al-Shatir Ibn al-Shatir Ala Al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Shatir was an Arab Islamic astronomy, Islamic mathematics, Timeline of Muslim scientists and engineers and Inventions in the Islamic world who worked as muwaqqit at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.... , and the rejection of a stationery Earth in favour of the Earth's rotation by Ali Kusçu Ali Kusçu Ala al-Din Ali ibn Muhammed known as Ali Qushji was a Persian Islamic astronomy, Islamic mathematics, Islamic physics and Islamic science.... .
Nilakanthan model	Nilakantha Somayaji (1444-1544)	Geocentric and Heliocentric	A universe in which the planets orbit the Sun and the Sun orbits the Earth, similar to the later Tychonic system Tychonic system The Tychonic system was a model of the solar system published by Tycho Brahe in the late 16th century which combined what he saw as the mathematical benefits of the Copernican system with the philosophical and "physical" benefits of the Ptolemaic system.... .
Copernican universe Copernican principle In cosmology, the Copernican principle, named after Nicolaus Copernicus, states the Earth is not in a central, specially favoured position. More recently, the principle is generalised to the Theory of relativity concept that humans are not privileged observers of the universe....	Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentrism cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.... (1543)	Heliocentric	The geocentric Maragha model Maragheh observatory Maragheh observatory is an ancient observatory, which was established in 1259 by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, an Iranian peoples Islamic science and Islamic astronomy.... of Ibn al-Shatir Ibn al-Shatir Ala Al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Shatir was an Arab Islamic astronomy, Islamic mathematics, Timeline of Muslim scientists and engineers and Inventions in the Islamic world who worked as muwaqqit at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.... adapted to meet the requirements of the ancient heliocentric Aristarchean universe in his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium De revolutionibus orbium coelestium *De revolutionibus orbium coelestium* , first printed in 1543 in Nuremberg, is the seminal work on Copernican heliocentrism and the masterpiece of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus .... .
Tychonic system Tychonic system The Tychonic system was a model of the solar system published by Tycho Brahe in the late 16th century which combined what he saw as the mathematical benefits of the Copernican system with the philosophical and "physical" benefits of the Ptolemaic system....	Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe, born Tyge Ottesen Brahe , was a Danish nobility known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomy observations. Coming from Sk?neland, then part of Denmark, now part of modern-day Sweden, Brahe was well known in his lifetime as an astronomy and alchemy.... (1546-1601)	Geocentric and Heliocentric	A universe in which the planets orbit the Sun and the Sun orbits the Earth, similar to the earlier Nilakanthan model.
Static Newtonian	Sir Isaac Newton Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English people physicist, mathematician, Astronomy, Natural philosophy, Alchemy, and Theology and one of the the 100 in human history.... (1642-1727)	Static Static universe The idea of a static universe or "Einstein's universe" is one which demands that space is not metric expansion of space nor contracting but rather is dynamically stable.... (evolving), steady state, infinite	Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle. Matter on the large scale is uniformly distributed. Gravitationally balanced but unstable.
Cartesian Vortex universe	René Descartes René Descartes Ren? Descartes , , also known as Renatus Cartesius , was a French philosophy, mathematician, scientist, and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic.... 17th century	Static (evolving), steady state, infinite	A system of huge swirling whirlpools of aethereal or fine matter produces what we would call gravitational effects. His vacuum was not empty. All space was filled with matter that swirled around in large and small vortices.
Hierarchical universe	Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant was an 18th-century German Philosophy from the Kingdom of Prussia city of K?nigsberg . He is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe and of the late Age of Enlightenment.... , Johann Lambert 1700s	Static (evolving), steady state, infinite	Matter is clustered on ever larger scales of hierarchy. Matter is endlessly being recycled.
Einstein Universe with a cosmological constant Static universe The idea of a static universe or "Einstein's universe" is one which demands that space is not metric expansion of space nor contracting but rather is dynamically stable....	Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was a Germany-born theoretical physics. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass?energy equivalence, expressed by the equation E = mc2.... 1917	Static (nominally). Bounded (finite)	“Matter without motion.” Contains uniformly distributed matter. Uniformly curved spherical space; based on Riemann’s hypersphere. Curvature is set equal to ?. In effect ? is equivalent to a repulsive force which counteracts gravity. Unstable.
De Sitter universe De Sitter universe A de Sitter universe is a solution to Albert Einstein's field equations of General Relativity which is named after Willem de Sitter. It models the universe as spatially flat and neglects ordinary matter, so the dynamics of the universe are dominated by the cosmological constant, thought to correspond to dark energy....	Willem de Sitter Willem de Sitter Willem de Sitter was a Netherlands mathematician, physicist and astronomer.Born in Sneek, De Sitter studied mathematics at the University of Groningen and then joined the Groningen astronomy laboratory.... 1917	Expanding Metric expansion of space The metric expansion of space is the averaged increase of metric distance between objects in the universe with time. It is an intrinsic and extrinsic properties expansion?that is, it is defined by the relative separation of parts of the universe and not by motion "outward" into preexisting space.... flat space Shape of the Universe The shape of the Universe is an informal name for a subject of investigation within physical cosmology which describes the geometry of the universe including both #Local geometry and #Global geometry.... . Steady state. ? > 0	“Motion without matter.” Only apparently static. Based on Einstein’s General Relativity General relativity General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the Geometry Theoretical physics of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916.... . Space expands with constant acceleration Accelerating universe The accelerating universe is the observation that the universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate. In 1998 observations of Type Ia supernovae suggested that the expansion of the universe is speeding up.... . Scale factor Scale factor (Universe) The scale factor or cosmic scale factor parameter of the Friedmann equations is a function of time which represents the metric expansion of space of the universe.... (radius of universe) increases exponentially, i.e. constant inflation Cosmic inflation In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation is the hypothesis that the wiktionary:nascent universe passed through a phase of exponential growth metric expansion of space was driven by a negative pressure vacuum energy density.... .
MacMillan	William MacMillan William MacMillan William MacMillan or McMillan may refer to:Bill MacMillan, hockey player and coachWilliam Duncan MacMillan, American mathematician and astronomer... 1920s	Static & steady state	New matter is created from radiation Radiation In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body.... . Starlight is perpetually recycled into new matter particles.
Friedmann universe Friedmann equations The Friedmann equations are a set of equations in physical cosmology that govern the metric expansion of space in homogeneity and isotropy models of the universe within the context of general relativity.... of spherical space	Alexander Friedmann 1922	Spherical expanding space. k= +1 ; no ?	Positive curvature. Curvature constant k = +1 Expands Metric expansion of space The metric expansion of space is the averaged increase of metric distance between objects in the universe with time. It is an intrinsic and extrinsic properties expansion?that is, it is defined by the relative separation of parts of the universe and not by motion "outward" into preexisting space.... then recollapses Big Crunch In physical cosmology, the Big Crunch is one possible scenario for the ultimate fate of the universe, in which the metric expansion of space eventually reverses and the universe recollapses, ultimately ending as a black hole naked singularity.... . Spatially closed Shape of the Universe The shape of the Universe is an informal name for a subject of investigation within physical cosmology which describes the geometry of the universe including both #Local geometry and #Global geometry.... (finite).
Friedmann universe Friedmann equations The Friedmann equations are a set of equations in physical cosmology that govern the metric expansion of space in homogeneity and isotropy models of the universe within the context of general relativity.... of hyperbolic space	Alexander Friedmann 1924	Hyperbolic expanding space. k= -1 ; no ?	Negative curvature Shape of the Universe The shape of the Universe is an informal name for a subject of investigation within physical cosmology which describes the geometry of the universe including both #Local geometry and #Global geometry.... . Said to be infinite (but ambiguous). Unbounded. Expands forever.
Dirac large numbers hypothesis Dirac large numbers hypothesis The Dirac large numbers hypothesis refers to an observation made by Paul Dirac in 1937 relating ratios of size scales in the Universe to that of force scales....	Paul Dirac Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, Order of Merit , Royal Society was a United Kingdom theoretical physicist. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.... 1930s	Expanding	Demands a large variation in G, which decreases with time. Gravity weakens as universe evolves.
Friedmann zero-curvature, aka the Einstein-DeSitter universe	Einstein & DeSitter 1932	Expanding flat space. k= 0 ; ? = 0 Critical density	Curvature constant k = 0. Said to be infinite (but ambiguous). ‘Unbounded cosmos of limited extent.’ Expands forever. ‘Simplest’ of all known universes. Named after but not considered by Friedmann. Has a deceleration term Deceleration parameter The deceleration parameter in cosmology is a dimensionless measure of the cosmic acceleration of the expansion of the universe. It is defined by:... q =½ which means that its expansion rate slows down.
Georges Lemaître Georges Lemaître Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph ?douard Lema?tre was a Belgium Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor, professor of physics and astronomy at the Catholic University of Leuven.... the original Big Bang Big Bang The Big Bang is the physical cosmology model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the universe supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific method and observation.... . aka Friedmann-Lemaître Model	Georges Lemaître Georges Lemaître Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph ?douard Lema?tre was a Belgium Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor, professor of physics and astronomy at the Catholic University of Leuven.... 1927-29	0 ? > >Gravity\|	? is positive and has a magnitude greater than Gravity. Universe has initial high density state (‘primeval atom’). Followed by a two stage expansion. ? is used to destabilize the universe. (Lemaître is considered to be the father of the big bang model.)
Oscillating universe (aka Friedmann-Einstein; was latter’s 1st choice after rejecting his own 1917 model)	Favored by Friedmann 1920s	Expanding and contracting in cycles	Time is endless and beginningless; thus avoids the beginning-of-time paradox. Perpetual cycles of big bang followed by big crunch.
Eddington	Arthur Eddington 1930	first Static then Expands	Static Einstein 1917 universe with its instability disturbed into expansion mode; with relentless matter dilution becomes a DeSitter universe. ? dominates gravity.
Milne universe of kinematic relativity	Edward Milne Edward Milne Edward Milne may refer toEdward Arthur Milne , British mathematician and astrophysicistEddie Milne , British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Blyth, afterwards re-elected as an independent... , 1933, 1935; William H. McCrea, 1930s	Kinematic expansion with NO space expansion	Rejects general relativity and the expanding space paradigm. Gravity not included as initial assumption. Obeys cosmological principle & rules of special relativity Special relativity Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in inertial frames of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "Annus Mirabilis Papers#Special relativity".... . The Milne expanding universe consists of a finite spherical cloud of particles (or galaxies) that expands WITHIN flat space which is infinite and otherwise empty. It has a center and a cosmic edge (the surface of the particle cloud) which expands at light speed. His explanation of gravity was elaborate and unconvincing. For instance, his universe has an infinite number of particles, hence infinite mass, within a finite cosmic volume.
Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker class of models	Howard Robertson Howard Robertson Howard Robertson my refer to:Howard Percy Robertson , American mathematicianHoward W. Robertson , American poetSir Howard Robertson , architect of the Shell Centre ... , Arthur Walker Arthur Walker Arthur Henry Walker* was an English cricketer.Walker was born in Southgate, London and he was the fourth of seven cricket playing brothers - the Walkers of Southgate.... , 1935	Uniformly expanding	Class of universes that are homogenous and isotropic. Spacetime separates into uniformly curved space and cosmic time common to all comoving observers. The formulation system is now known as the FLRW or Robertson-Walker metrics of cosmic time and curved space.
Steady-state Steady State theory In physical cosmology, the Steady State theory is a model developed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, Hermann Bondi and others as an non-standard cosmology to the Big Bang theory .... expanding (Bondi & Gold)	Herman Bondi, Thomas Gold Thomas Gold Thomas Gold was an Austria born astrophysicist, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, a member of the U.S. United States National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society .... 1948	Expanding, steady state, infinite	Matter creation rate maintains constant density. Continuous creation out of nothing from nowhere. Exponential expansion. Deceleration term q = -1.
Steady-state expanding (Hoyle)	Fred Hoyle Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle Fellow of the Royal Society was an England astronomer primarily remembered today for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other Cosmology and scientific matters, in particular his rejection of the Big Bang theory.... 1948	Expanding, steady state; but unstable	Matter creation rate maintains constant density. But since matter creation rate must be exactly balanced with the space expansion rate the system is unstable.
Ambiplasma	Hannes Alfvén Hannes Alfvén Hannes Olof G?sta Alfv?n was a Swedish plasma physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of magnetohydrodynamics. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics.... 1965 Oskar Klein Oskar Klein Oskar Benjamin Klein was a Sweden theoretical physicist.Klein was born in Danderyd Municipality outside Stockholm, son of the chief rabbi of Stockholm, Dr....	Cellular universe, expanding by means of matter-antimatter annihilation	Based on the concept of plasma cosmology Plasma cosmology Plasma cosmology is a non-standard cosmology generally attributed to Nobel Prize winner Hannes Alfv?n in the 1960s that attempts to explain the development of the visible universe through the interaction of electromagnetic forces on astrophysical plasma.... . The universe is viewed as meta-galaxies divided by double layers Double layer (plasma) A double layer is a structure in a Plasma and consists of two parallel layers with opposite electrical charge. The sheets of charge cause a strong electric field and a correspondingly sharp change in voltage across the double layer.... —hence its bubble-like nature. Other universes are formed from other bubbles. Ongoing cosmic matter-antimatter Antimatter In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles.... annihilation Annihilation Annihilation is defined as "total destruction" or "complete obliteration" of an object; having its root in the Latin nihil . A literal translation is "to make into nothing".... s keep the bubbles separated and moving apart preventing them from interacting.
Brans-Dicke	Carl H. Brans; Robert H. Dicke	Expanding	Based on Mach’s principle. G varies with time as universe expands. “But nobody is quite sure what Mach’s principle actually means.”
Cosmic inflation Cosmic inflation In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation is the hypothesis that the wiktionary:nascent universe passed through a phase of exponential growth metric expansion of space was driven by a negative pressure vacuum energy density....	Alan Guth Alan Guth Alan Harvey Guth is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Guth has researched elementary particle theory .He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968 in physics and stayed to receive a master's and a doctorate, also in physics.... 1980	Big Bang Big Bang The Big Bang is the physical cosmology model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the universe supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific method and observation.... with modification to solve horizon problem Horizon problem The horizon problem is a problem with the Friedmann-Lema?tre-Robertson-Walker of the Big Bang which was identified in the 1970s. It points out that different regions of the universe have not "contacted" each other due to the great distances between them, but nevertheless they have the same temperature and other physical properties.... and flatness problem Flatness problem The flatness problem is a physical cosmology fine-tuning problem within the Big Bang model; i.e., the observation that the current density of the universe is very close to critical density at which space is perfectly flat.... .	Based on the concept of hot inflation. The universe is viewed as a multiple quantum flux —hence its bubble-like nature. Other universes are formed from other bubbles. Ongoing cosmic expansion kept the bubbles separated and moving apart preventing them from interacting.
Eternal Inflation Chaotic inflation theory The Chaotic Inflation theory, is a variety of the Cosmic inflation model, which is itself an outgrowth of the Big bang theory. Chaotic Inflation, proposed by physicist Andrei Linde, models our universe as one of many that grew as part of a Multiverse#Bubble theory owing to a vacuum that had not decayed to its ground state.... (a multiple universe model)	Andreï Linde Andrei Linde Andrei Dmitriyevich Linde is a Russian-American theoretical physicist and professor of Physics at Stanford University. Dr. Linde is best known for his work on the concept of the Cosmic inflation.... 1983	Big Bang with cosmic inflation Cosmic inflation In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation is the hypothesis that the wiktionary:nascent universe passed through a phase of exponential growth metric expansion of space was driven by a negative pressure vacuum energy density....	A multiverse Multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:... , based on the concept of cold inflation, in which inflationary events occur at random each with independent initial conditions; some expand into bubble universes supposedly like our entire cosmos. Bubbles nucleate in a spacetime foam.
Cyclic model Cyclic model Cyclic model refers to several cosmological models in which the universe follows infinite, self-sustaining cycles ....	Paul Steinhardt Paul Steinhardt Paul J. Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton University and a professor of theoretical physics. He received his B.S.... ; Neil Turok Neil Turok Neil Geoffrey Turok holds the Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. He was born in 1958 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of Mary and Ben Turok, activists in the anti-apartheid movement and the African National Congress.... 2002	Expanding and contracting in cycles; M theory.	Two parallel orbifold Orbifold In the mathematical disciplines of topology and geometric group theory, an orbifold is a generalization of a manifold.It is a topological space with an orbifold structure .... planes or M-brane Brane In theoretical physics, a membrane, brane, or p-brane is a spatially extended mathematical concept that appears in string theory and its relatives that exists in a static number of dimensions.... s collide periodically in a higher dimensional space. With quintessence Quintessence (physics) In physics, quintessence is a hypothesis form of dark energy postulated as an explanation of observations of an accelerating universe.... or dark energy Dark energy In physical cosmology & astronomy dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the Hubble's law....

Table Notes: the term “static” simply means not expanding and not contracting. Symbol G represents Newton’s gravitational constant

Gravitational constant

The gravitational constant, denoted G, is an empirical physical constant involved in the calculation of the gravitation between objects with mass....
; ? (Lambda) is the cosmological constant

Cosmological constant

In physical cosmology, the cosmological constant was proposed by Albert Einstein as a modification of his original theory of general relativity to achieve a Einstein's universe....
.

Physical cosmology

Physical cosmology is the branch of physics and astrophysics that deals with the study of the physical origins and evolution of the Universe. It also includes the study of the nature of the Universe on its very largest scales. In its earliest form it was what is now known as celestial mechanics

Celestial mechanics

Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motion s of celestial objects. The field applies principles of physics, historically classical mechanics, to astronomical objects such as stars and planets to produce ephemeris data....
, the study of the heavens

Celestial sphere

In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an imagination rotation sphere of "gigantic radius", concentric spheres and coaxial with the Earth....
. The Greek philosophers Aristarchus of Samos

Aristarchus of Samos

Aristarchus or Aristarch was a Greeks astronomer and mathematician, born on the island of Samos Island, in Greece. He was the first Greek, and the first man in general, to present an explicit argument for a Heliocentrism of the solar system, placing the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the known universe....
, Aristotle

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
and Ptolemy

Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
proposed different cosmological theories. In particular, the geocentric Ptolemaic system

Ptolemaic System

In the Ptolemaic system, each planet is moved by five or more spheres: one sphere is its deferent. The deferent was a circle centered around a point halfway between the equant and the earth....
was the accepted theory to explain the motion of the heavens until Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentrism cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, and subsequently Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler was a Germans mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century Scientific revolution. He is best known for his eponymous Kepler's laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astrononomy....
and Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution....
proposed a heliocentric system in the 16th century. This is known as one of the most famous examples of epistemological rupture

Epistemological rupture

The notion of epistemological rupture was introduced by Gaston Bachelard. He proposed that the history of science is replete with "epistemological obstacles"--or unthought/unconscious structures that were immanent within the realm of the sciences, such as principles of division ....
in physical cosmology.

Wit Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English people physicist, mathematician, Astronomy, Natural philosophy, Alchemy, and Theology and one of the the 100 in human history....
and the 1687 publication of Principia Mathematica
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica

The Philosophi? Naturalis Principia Mathematica is a three-volume work by Isaac Newton published on 5 July 1687. It contains the statement of Newton's laws of motion forming the foundation of classical mechanics, as well as his Newton's law of universal gravitation and a derivation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion for the motion of...
, the problem of the motion of the heavens was finally solved. Newton provided a physical mechanism for Kepler's laws and his law of universal gravitation allowed the anomalies in previous systems, caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and those preceding it was the Copernican principle

Copernican principle

In cosmology, the Copernican principle, named after Nicolaus Copernicus, states the Earth is not in a central, specially favoured position. More recently, the principle is generalised to the Theory of relativity concept that humans are not privileged observers of the universe....
that the bodies on earth obey the same physical law

Physical law

A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empiricism observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable....
s as all the celestial bodies. This was a crucial philosophical advance in physical cosmology.

Modern scientific cosmology is usually considered to have begun in 1917 with Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a Germany-born theoretical physics. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass?energy equivalence, expressed by the equation E = mc2....
's publication of his final modification of general relativity

General relativity

General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the Geometry Theoretical physics of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916....
in the paper "Cosmological Considerations of the General Theory of Relativity," (although this paper was not widely available outside of Germany until the end of World War I

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
). General relativity prompted cosmogonists

Cosmogony

Willem de Sitter

Willem de Sitter was a Netherlands mathematician, physicist and astronomer.Born in Sneek, De Sitter studied mathematics at the University of Groningen and then joined the Groningen astronomy laboratory....
, Karl Schwarzschild

Karl Schwarzschild

Karl Schwarzschild was a Germany Jewish physicist. He is also the father of astrophysicist Martin Schwarzschild.He is best known for providing the first exact solution to the Einstein field equations of general relativity, for the limited case of a single spherical non-rotating mass, which he accomplished in 1915, the same year that Einste...
and Arthur Eddington to explore the astronomical consequences of the theory, which enhanced the growing ability of astronomers

Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
to study very distant objects. Prior to this (and for some time afterwards), physicists assumed that the Universe was static and unchanging. In parallel to this dynamic approach to cosmology, a debate was unfolding regarding the nature of the cosmos itself. On the one hand, Mount Wilson astronomer Harlow Shapley championed the model of a cosmos made up of the Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way, sometimes called simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which the Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies....
star system only. Heber D. Curtis, on the other hand, suggested spiral nebulae were star systems in their own right, island universes. This difference of ideas came to a climax with the organization of the Great Debate at the meeting of the (US) National Academy of Sciences in Washington on 26 April 1920. The resolution of the debate on the structure of the cosmos came with the detection of novae in the Andromeda galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda . It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way Galaxy....
by Edwin Hubble

Edwin Hubble

Edwin Powell Hubble was an United States Astronomy. He profoundly changed astronomers' understanding of the nature of the universe by demonstrating the existence of other galaxies besides the Milky Way....
in 1923 and 1924. Their distance established spiral nebulae well beyond the edge of the Milky Way and as galaxies of their own. Subsequent modeling of the universe explored the possibility that the cosmological constant

Cosmological constant

In physical cosmology, the cosmological constant was proposed by Albert Einstein as a modification of his original theory of general relativity to achieve a Einstein's universe....
introduced by Einstein in his 1917 paper may result in an expanding universe, depending on its value. Thus the big bang

Big Bang

Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
priest Georges Lemaître

Georges Lemaître

Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph ?douard Lema?tre was a Belgium Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor, professor of physics and astronomy at the Catholic University of Leuven....
in 1927 which was subsequently corroborated by Edwin Hubble

Edwin Hubble

Redshift

In physics and astronomy, redshift occurs when electromagnetic radiation?usually visible light?emitted or reflected by an object is shifted towards the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum due to the Doppler effect....
in 1929 and later by the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation

Cosmic microwave background radiation

In physical cosmology, the cosmic microwave background radiation CMB is a form of electromagnetic radiation filling the universe. With a traditional optical telescope, the space between stars and galaxies is pitch black....
by Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson

Robert Woodrow Wilson

Robert Woodrow Wilson is an United States astronomer, Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in physics, who with Arno Allan Penzias discovered in 1964 the cosmic microwave background radiation ....
in 1964. These findings were a first step to rule out some of many alternative physical cosmologies

Non-standard cosmology

A non-standard cosmology is any physical cosmology of the universe that has been, or still is, proposed as an alternative to the big bang model of physical cosmology....
.

Recent observations made by the COBE

COBE

The Cosmic Background Explorer , also referred to as Explorer 66, was a satellite dedicated to physical cosmology. Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation of the universe and provide measurements that would help shape our understanding of the cosmos....
and WMAP satellites observing this background radiation have effectively, in many scientists' eyes, transformed cosmology from a highly speculative science into a predictive science, as these observations matched predictions made by a theory called Cosmic inflation

Cosmic inflation

Big Bang

Metaphysical cosmology

In philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
and metaphysics

Metaphysics

Metaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics....
, cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was founded in religion. The ancient Greeks did not draw a distinction between this use and their model for the cosmos. However, in modern use it addresses questions about the Universe which are beyond the scope of science. It is distinguished from religious cosmology in that it approaches these questions using philosophical methods (e.g. dialectic

Dialectic

Dialectic is a method of argument, which has been central to both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. The word "dialectic" originates in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato's Socratic dialogues....
s). Modern metaphysical cosmology tries to address questions such as:

What is the origin of the Universe? What is its first cause? Is its existence necessary? (see monism
Monism

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is one God, with many manifestations in different...
, pantheism
Pantheism

Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing Immanence abstract God. In pantheism the Universe, or nature, and God are equivalent....
, emanationism
Emanationism

Emanationism is Platonic monism, and an idea in the cosmology or cosmogony of certain religion or philosophy systems. Emanation from the Latin 'emanare' meaning "to flow from", is the mode by which all things are derived from the First Reality, or Principle....
and creationism
Creationism

Creationism is the religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were Creation myth in their original form by a deity or deities....
)
What are the ultimate material components of the Universe? (see mechanism
Mechanism (philosophy)

In philosophy, mechanism is a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. It can be contrasted with vitalism, the philosophical theory that vital forces are active in life, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism....
, dynamism
Dynamism (metaphysics)

Dynamism is a metaphysical concept conceived by Gottfried Leibniz and developed into a full system of cosmology. Dynamism in cosmology explains the material world in terms of active, pointlike forces, with no extension but with action at a distance ....
, hylomorphism
Hylomorphism

'Hylomorphism' is the philosophical theory, originating with Socrates, which conceptually identifies substance theory as matter and form. More exactly, substances are conceived as forms Inherence in matter....
, atomism
Atomism

In natural philosophy, atomism is the philosophical theses that was theoryzed by Leucippus in the fifth century BC. For it all the objects in the universe are composed of very small, indestructible building blocks ? atoms ....
)
What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the Universe? Does the cosmos have a purpose? (see teleology
Teleology

Teleology is the philosophy study of design and purpose. A teleological school of thought is one that holds all things to be designed for or directed toward a final result, that there is an inherent purpose or final cause for all that exists....
)

Religious cosmology

Many world religion

Religion

Dogma

Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it is authority and not to be disputed, doubted or heresy....
, but in some cases these are also extended through the use of philosophical and metaphysical arguments.

In some creation myths, the universe was created

Cosmogony

Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
who are also responsible for the creation of humanity

Human Race

The Human Race could be:* The Human species; see also World population* The Human Race , a comic book published by DC Comics* Human Race , a video game...
(see creationism

Creationism

Creationism is the religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were Creation myth in their original form by a deity or deities....
). In many cases, religious cosmologies also foretell the end of the Universe

Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
, either through another divine act or as part of the original design.

Both Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
and Judaism
Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
rely on the Genesis narrative
Creation according to Genesis

Creation according to Genesis is the creation myth found in the Hebrew Bible, . It describes the making of the Firmament and the Earth and of the first humans by God in Abrahamic religions ....
as a scriptural account of cosmology. See also Biblical cosmology
Biblical cosmology

The various authors of the Bible of the Hebrew Bible provide sporadic glimpses of their insight regarding astronomy and cosmology....
and Tzimtzum
Tzimtzum

In the kabbalah theory of creationism, Tzimtzum refers to the notion, based on the teachings of Isaac Luria , that God in Judaism "contracted" his Ein Sof light in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which a wiktionary:finite, seemingly independent world could exist....
.
Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
relies on understanding from the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
as its major source for explaining cosmology. See Islamic cosmology
Islamic cosmology

Islamic cosmology is mainly derived from the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah, and current Islamic as well as other pre-Islamic sources. In Islam cosmology is covered in great detail....
.
Certain adherents of Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
, Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
(See also Hindu cosmology
Hindu cosmology

According to Hindu mythology and cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. The life span of Brahma, the creator, is 100 years of Brahma....
) and Jainism
Jainism

Jainism is one of the oldest Indian religions that originated in India. Jains believe that every soul is divine and has the potential to achieve God-consciousness....
believe that the Universe passes through endless cycles of creation and destruction, each cycle lasting for trillions of years (e.g. 331 trillion years, or the life-span of Brahma, according to Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
), and each cycle with sub-cycles of local creation and destruction (e.g. 4.32 billion years, or a day of Brahma, according to Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
). The Vedic
Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
(Hindu) view of the world sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb.
A complex mixture of native Vedic gods, spirits, and demons, overlaid with imported Hindu and Buddhist deities, beliefs, and practices are the key to the Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
n cosmology.

The Australian Aboriginal concept of Dreaming
Dreaming (spirituality)

'Dreaming' is a common term among Indigenous Australians for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of formative creation and perpetual creating, as well as for the places and localities on Indigenous Australian traditional land where the uncreated creation spirits and totemic ancestors, or geniu...
explains the creation of the universe as an eternal continuum; everywhen. Through certain ceremonies, the past "opens up" and comes into the present. Each topographical feature is a manifestation of dormant creation spirits; each individual has personal Dreamings and ceremonial responsibilities to look after the spirits/land, determined at birth, within this belief framework.

Many religions accept the findings of physical cosmology, in particular the Big Bang

Big Bang

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, have embraced it as suggesting a philosophical first cause. Others have tried to use the methodology of science to advocate for their own religious cosmology, as in intelligent design

Intelligent design

Intelligent design is the term used for the assertion that "certain features of the universe and of life are best explained by an intelligent causality, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a modern form of the traditional teleological argument for the existence of God that avoids specifying the nature or identity of th...
or creationist cosmologies.

Esoteric cosmology

Many esoteric and occult teachings involve highly elaborate cosmologies. These constitute a "map" of the Universe and of states of existences and consciousness according to the worldview of that particular doctrine. Such cosmologies cover many of the same concerns also addressed by religious and philosophical cosmology, such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of the Universe and of consciousness

Consciousness

Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
and the nature of existence

Existence

In common usage, existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses, but in philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, and is often contrasted with essence....
. For this reason it is difficult to distinguish where religion or philosophy end and esotericism and/or occultism begins.

Common themes addressed in esoteric cosmology are emanation, involution, evolution

Spiritual evolution

Spiritual evolution is the philosophical, theology, Esoteric knowledge or Spirituality idea that nature and human beings and/or human culture evolve along a predetermined esoteric cosmology pattern or ascent, or in accordance with certain pre-determined potentials....
, epigenesis, planes of existence, hierarchies of spiritual beings

List of deities

This list of deities is an index to polytheistic deity of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world, listed by type and by region....
, cosmic cycles (e.g., cosmic year

Cosmic year

????According to Jeung san do, the universe generates and cultivates life through a cyclic process of birth, growth, harvest, and rest....
, Yuga

Yuga

Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga , the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga and finally the Kali Yuga....
), yogic

Yoga

Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in both Buddhism and Hinduism....
or spiritual disciplines, and references to altered states of consciousness. Examples of esoteric cosmologies can be found in modern Theosophy

Theosophy

Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Madame Blavatsky . In this context, theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Mahatma" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth....
, Gnosticism

Gnosticism

Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a Nature created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God, and is contrasted with a superior entity, ref...
, Tantra

Tantra

Tantra , or tantram is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of shakti and shiva....
(especially Kashmir Shaivism

Kashmir Shaivism

Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kasmir Saivism is a school of Saivism categorized by various scholars as monistic idealism . These descriptors denote a standpoint that Cit - consciousness - is the one reality....
), Kabbalah

Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
, or Sufism

Sufi cosmology

Sufi cosmology is a general term for cosmology doctrines associated with the mysticism of Sufism. These may differ from place to place, order to order and time to time, but overall show the influence of several different cosmographies:...
.

External links

from the American Institute of Physics
with a GFDL license footer

Cosmology

Disciplines

Historical cosmologies

Historical descriptions of the cosmos

Physical cosmology

Metaphysical cosmology

Religious cosmology

Esoteric cosmology

See also

External links