Cosmology is the science about the structure and evolution of the Universe on the large scale, its past, present and future This is a very broad and rapidly developing science It is based on modern fundamental Physics, Astronomy and employs a variety of mathematical methods
Why study Astronomy 1 • A fascinating subject in its own right – The origin and Evolution of the universe • The Big Bang – formation of Hydrogen and Helium • Dark Matter and Dark Energy – The life of stars • Nuclear synthesis – forming heavier elements • Ending their lives as exotic objects such as black holes in
cosmology are introduced as needed Unfortunately, the National Bureau of Standards has not gotten around to establishing a standard notation for cosmological equations It seems that every cosmology book has its own notation; this book is no exception My main motivation was to make the notation as clear as possible for the cosmological novice
The cornerstone ofmodem cosmology is the belief that the place which we occupy in the Universe is in no way special This is known as the cosmological principle, and it is an idea which is both powerful and simple
ÐIntergalactic astronomy ÐPlanetary science ÐParticle physics ÐNuclear physics ÐChemical physics ÐCondensed matter physics ÐEtcÉ ¥Cosmology puts everything together to make sense of the universe Ancient Cosmology ¥The history of cosmology is the history of human beingsÕ appreciation of nature ¥Primitive cosmology: Anthropomorphic
Cosmology studies the universe as we see it Due to our inherent inability to experiment with it, its origin and evolution has always been prone to wild speculation However, cosmology was born as a science with the advent of general relativity and the realization that the geometry of space-time,and thus