Cosmology

From Slackerpedia Galactica

Cosmology is the study of the universe. Not planets, stars, galaxies, or Paris Hilton, but the whole shebang. Where did it come from? Where is it going? What does it all mean? What do I mean by mean? What do I mean by do? What do I do by do? And why do I keep going on like this? Good night!

History

Cosmology is probably one of the oldest philosophical (if not truly scientific) endeavors. The rise of scientific cosmology -- an understanding of the physical universe gained through observation and analysis -- is remarkable for making the universe expand much faster than the speed of light. As little as four hundred years ago, the universe consisted of a handful of planets, the celestial sphere, and occasional cosmic miscreants like comets. Now the observable universe is several gigaparsecs in diameter. Inflation, indeed. Another interesting bit of scientific synergy has come from the fact that studies of the impossibly large are more often than not dependent upon the incredibly small; particle and quantum physics and cosmology are intimately related.

What's Going On Now?

Modern topics in cosmology include the study of the universe's origin, what it's made of (I'm thinking marshmallow fluff, personally), and how it's all going to end. We can get clues about these things by looking at the distribution of matter in the universe, or measuring the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background.