Physical cosmology

Cosmology, as a branch of astrophysics, is the study of the universe on the largest scales and at the earliest times. Cosmology involves itself with studying the motions of the celestial bodies and the first cause. For most of human history, it has been a branch of metaphysics. Cosmology as a science originates with the Copernican principle, which implies that celestial bodies obey identical physical laws to those on earth, and Newtonian mechanics, which first allowed us to understand those motions. This is now called celestial mechanics. Physical cosmology, as it is now understood, began with the twentieth century development of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity and better astronomical observations of extremely distant objects.

External references

From groups

• http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/cos_home.html-from the Cambridge University(Public Home Page)
• Cosmology 101 - from the NASA WMAP group
• Origins, Nova Online - Provided by PBS.
• Cosmology -- Cosmology Of The Universe.
• Center for Cosmological Physics. University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas:
• Cosmic Images
• Cosmology from Antiquity to 1850
• Cosmology since 1850
• Cosmos - an Illustrated Dimensional Journey from microcosmos to macrocosmos - from DNA Digital Nature Agency

From individuals

• Gale, George, "Cosmology: Methodological Debates in the 1930s and 1940s", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
• Hoiland, Paul, "Modern Cosmology Examined"Musing on the Evolution of a Cosmos Gouldsboro, Maine.
• Jordan, Thomas F., "Cosmology calculations almost without general relativity". (arXiv.org)
• Madore, Barry F., "Level 5 : A Knowledgebase for Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology". Caltech and Carnegie. Pasadena, California, USA.
• Smith, Tony, "Cosmology -- At the Millennium, Experimental Observations tell us a lot about Cosmology".
• Tyler, Pat, and Phil Newman "Beyond Einstein". Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics (LHEA) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Wright, Ned. "Cosmology tutorial and FAQ". Division of Astronomy & Astrophysics, UCLA.