Geosciences and Remote Sensing

Cosmology

Cosmology is the study of the universe, or cosmos, regarded as a whole. To cover the study of the entire universe in a single volume may seem like a megalomaniac’s dream. The universe, after all, is richly textured, with structures on a vast range of scales; planets orbit stars, stars are collected into galaxies, galaxies are gravitationally bound into clusters, and even clusters of galaxies are found within larger super clusters. Cosmology deals with distances that are very large, objects that are very big, and timescales that are very long. Some of the observations on which modern cosmology is based are highly complex, requiring elaborate apparatus and sophisticated data analysis. The field of science, cosmology involves the formation of theories or hypotheses about the universe which make specific predictions for phenomena that can be tested with observations.