cosmology

Noun
  1. The metaphysical study of the origin and nature of the universe (synset 106172939)
    is a type of: metaphysics - the philosophical study of being and knowing
  2. The branch of astrophysics that studies the origin and evolution and structure of the universe (synset 106107802)
    associated with:
    • big bang theory, big-bang theory - (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature
    • nebular hypothesis - (cosmology) the theory that the solar system evolved from a hot gaseous nebula
    • planetesimal hypothesis - (cosmology) the theory that the solar system was formed by the gravitational accumulation of planetesimals
    • continuous creation theory, steady state theory - (cosmology) the theory that the universe maintains a constant average density with matter created to fill the void left by galaxies that are receding from each other
    • big bang - (cosmology) the cosmic explosion that is hypothesized to have marked the origin of the universe
    • inflation - (cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang
    • closed universe - (cosmology) a universe that is spatially closed and in which there is sufficient matter to halt the expansion that began with the big bang; the visible matter is only 10 percent of the matter required for closure but there may be large amounts of dark matter
    • cosmic string, string - (cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop
    • cbr, cmb, cmbr, cosmic background radiation, cosmic microwave background, cosmic microwave background radiation - (cosmology) the cooled remnant of the hot big bang that fills the entire universe and can be observed today with an average temperature of about 2.725 kelvin
    • hubble constant, hubble parameter, hubble's constant, hubble's parameter - (cosmology) the ratio of the speed of recession of a galaxy (due to the expansion of the universe) to its distance from the observer; the Hubble constant is not actually a constant, but is regarded as measuring the expansion rate today
    • ylem - (cosmology) the original matter that (according to the big bang theory) existed before the formation of the chemical elements
    • dark matter - (cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make up 90 percent of the universe; it is invisible (does not absorb or emit light) and does not collide with atomic particles but exerts gravitational force
    is a type of: astrophysics - the branch of astronomy concerned with the physical and chemical properties of celestial bodies
    same as: cosmogeny, cosmogony

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