Hubble Space Telescope - Irregular Blue Galaxies (very early universe)
NO OTHER subject in astronomy may be more exciting or more controversial than cosmology. Virtually every culture throughout history has struggled with its own cosmology, attempting to explain the universe and the presence of life within it. Before the first decade of the 17th century, humanity's view of the universe was limited to what could be seen with the eyes. But when the telescope was invented, everything changed. For the first time in human history people were able to glimpse a cosmos of grand dimensions swarming with "bazillions" of objects. Though some people immediately thought of this new "instrument" as the work of the devil, others realized its significance and began using it to explore the heavens. Today, astronomers continue the search for our own cosmology, with ever bigger and better telescopes, spacecraft, and computers, hoping to capture the essence of the Big Bang and beyond. No doubt the cosmology of today will be altered by some future cosmology, that's the way science works. But for now we are no different than all our curious ancestors before us as we search the sky for answers to the ultimate questions.
A Knowledgebase for Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology.
Foundations of the Big Bang theory.
Tests of Big Bang Cosmology.
Ned Wright's Cosmology Tutorial.
Notes on Cosmology, lectures 22-24.
Ripples in Space, the Origin of Structures in the
Universe.
Isn't spotty puppy cute? Are her spots like galaxies in an
expanding cosmos? And what happens to her spots, aaa..., galaxies as she grows (expands)? What a conundrum!!