cosmogony, in astronomy, study of the evolutionary behaviour of the universe and the origin of its characteristic features.
For scientific theories on the unsolved problem of the origin of the solar system, see planetesimal; protoplanet; solar nebula..
Cosmos, in astronomy, the entire physical universe considered as a unified whole (from the Greek kosmos, meaning “order,” “harmony,” and “the world”).
Humanity's growing understanding of all the objects and phenomena within the cosmic system is explained in the article universe..
Cosmology is a branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of the universe, a theory or doctrine describing the natural order of the universe
The basic definition of Cosmology is the science of the origin and development of the universe
In modern astronomy the Big Bang theory is the dominant postulation
Nevertheless, even scientific cosmology poses a number of philosophical questions
The sum of these — and they are principally methodological and epistemological in character — constitutes the philosophy of scientific cosmology
The present entry is concerned with the philosophy of cosmology in this sense
