What did Galileo reveal about the Milky Way when he observed it through his telescope?
That it was composed of myriad stars.
p.6
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What did Immanuel Kant call the many nebulae observed as diffuse stains?
He called them 'island universes'.
p.6
Evolution of Cosmological Models
Who was the first to build large telescopes capable of viewing the fainter objects of the Heavens with more precision?
Wilhelm Herschel, German-born English astronomer and musician.
p.13
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
What are the components of mass-energy in the universe?
4% normal matter, 22% dark matter, and 74% dark energy.
p.13
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What does the inflation theory claim about the universe?
It claims that the universe expanded exponentially in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.
p.8
Expansion of the Universe
What does Hubble's Law prove about the universe?
That our universe is in expansion.
p.10
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What technology is needed to observe the moment the galaxies were born?
Instruments that allow us to look back through 12 billion light-years of space.
p.2
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What was the cosmovision of ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Arabs, Incas, Mayas, and Tupi-Guaranis?
They had interpretations of the physical or cultural reality, fitting in the visible face of the Earth, the sky, the realm of the dead, and the domains of the gods and demons.
p.14
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What fundamental characteristics of the universe can the Cosmic Inflation Theory help calculate?
It enables us to calculate the fundamental characteristics of the universe.
p.7
Expansion of the Universe
How can the observed recession velocity of galaxies be explained?
By the expansion of the universe.
p.2
Origin of the Universe
What is cosmology?
The study of the structure of the universe.
p.15
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What is the Steady State theory based on?
The Perfect Cosmological Principle, which states that the universe is homogeneous, isotropic, and constant in time.
p.14
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What historical concept of the universe has evolved through various stages?
Our concept of the universe.
p.5
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What interpretation gradually began to take hold with the understanding of incredibly long stellar distances?
That the stars and the Sun were not fixed in position.
What did Galileo discover when he focused his telescope on Jupiter?
Jupiter's first four moons.
p.6
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What did Herschel find when studying the clusters of stars?
He found that the stars were not randomly distributed, but followed a certain configuration, which we now call galaxies.
p.1
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What is cosmogony?
A history of how the world began and continues, of how mankind was created, and of what the gods expect of us.
p.6
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
What did Edwin Hubble seek to establish in the 1920s?
A relationship between the distance of a galaxy and the speed at which it is either approaching or moving away from our own.
p.5
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What notion was dispelled with the determination of stellar distances?
The notion of a sphere of fixed stars.
p.6
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
Who proposed the idea that the solar system originated from the condensing of a gas disk?
Immanuel Kant, German philosopher.
p.2
Origin of the Universe
What is cosmogony?
The study of the origins of the universe.
p.7
Origin of the Universe
What do the dark patches in Figure 3 represent?
Dense concentrations of gas and dust blocking out the stars behind them.
p.16
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What is the Inflation Theory incompatible with?
The idea of a closed universe.
p.10
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
What did George Gamow suggest about the initial explosion of the universe?
That it may have left observable traces, such as light with a characteristic temperature that would have dropped with expansion.
What did Aristarchus of Samos conclude about the Earth and the Sun?
He concluded that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
p.7
Expansion of the Universe
What is depicted in Figure 3?
A mapa mundi of the sky obtained by pasting together a series of photos as a planisphere.
p.11
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What is the approximate diameter of a spiral galaxy like the one in which we live?
Roughly 100 thousand light-years.
p.15
Origin of the Universe
How many galaxies are observable on the accessible cosmic horizon?
Around 100 billion galaxies.
p.15
Implications for Human Culture
What is the role of scientific cosmology?
To understand and express the human sense of the cosmos.
p.1
Origin of the Universe
What has always been a central concern for humanity?
The origin of the stones, the animals, the plants, the planets, the stars, and the universe as a whole.
p.10
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
What did Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson's discovery confirm?
The Big Bang theory, through the discovery of cosmic background radiation with a temperature close to absolute zero.
p.9
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
Who first suggested that the universe originated from an explosion?
Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian abbot.
p.7
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What are the four dimensions that constitute the spacetime universe?
Three-dimensional space and time.
p.10
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What is the concept of looking far into the distance in cosmology?
To look far into the distance is to look back into time.
p.13
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What are the fluctuations in the 'Mapa mundi of the Microwave Sky' a photograph of?
The universe when it was only around 300 thousand years old.
p.9
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What event is commonly referred to as the Big Bang?
The explosion that marked the origin of the universe.
p.6
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
What correlation did Hubble identify after painstaking research?
A correlation between the distance and the speed of the galaxies he was studying.
p.9
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
In the balloon model of the universe, where did the Big Bang occur?
At the centre of the balloon, not on its surface.
p.7
Origin of the Universe
What does the white band in Figure 3 represent?
The light from 100 billion stars in the Milky Way.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What was the Babylonian's imagination of the universe?
In two tiers joined by a cosmic staircase.
p.8
Expansion of the Universe
What does the astronomer-ant observe when the balloon begins to deflate?
All of the galaxies edging closer to each other.
p.5
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What did the development of optical, mechanical, and photographic techniques help determine?
The distances of the nearest stars.
p.10
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
How did the confirmation of cosmic background radiation strengthen the Big Bang theory?
It was a point for the Big Bang, which achieved total supremacy in the field of cosmology.
p.7
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What is the two-dimensional analogy used to explain the universe?
The surface of a child’s balloon as a two-dimensional universe.
p.11
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What was the universe's age when it underwent an extraordinary expansion according to the Inflationary Big Bang theory?
A trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second old.
p.8
Expansion of the Universe
What does the logic of Hubble's Law imply about the past of the universe?
The further back in the past, the smaller the universe.
p.13
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What do the fluctuations in the 'Mapa mundi of the Microwave Sky' prove?
They prove the inflation theory.
p.14
Origin of the Universe
What did the discovery about the universe's evolution and origin demonstrate?
That the universe had an origin and evolved in a manner that can be rationally analyzed.
p.11
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What did the Inflationary Big Bang theory dispense with?
A number of theoretical problems.
p.8
Expansion of the Universe
What does the astronomer-ant observe when the balloon expands?
The galaxies closest to him recede slowly while those more distant shuttle away at a faster speed.
p.16
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
What new discoveries showed that all known matter is only the tip of the iceberg in a universe dominated by dark energy and dark matter?
Discoveries by the end of the century and millennium.
p.15
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What is the origin of the chemical elements indispensable to our physical structure?
The heavier chemical elements were all synthesized in the cores of stars and launched into space upon their deaths.
p.8
Expansion of the Universe
How does the size of the universe change over time according to Hubble's Law?
It will be larger in the future and it was smaller in the past.
p.14
Evolution of Cosmological Models
Why do we believe in Quantum Mechanics?
Because it works, not necessarily because it seems to make sense.
p.15
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
What evidence supports the Big Bang theory?
The fact that the universe evolved over time and galaxies age, becoming laden with more heavy chemical elements.
p.7
Expansion of the Universe
What happens to galaxies farther away from ours in terms of recession velocity?
They withdraw more quickly.
p.1
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What were the foundations of explanations about the universe in ancient civilizations?
Religious, mythological, or philosophical foundations.
p.1
Evolution of Cosmological Models
Who is considered a milestone in terms of experimental scientific method?
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642).
p.12
Big Bang Theory Confirmation
How did the Cobe satellite contribute to inflation theory?
It proved the existence of small fluctuations in the temperature of cosmic background radiation, behaving exactly as predicted by inflation theory.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What was the Mayan civilization heavily dependent on?
Corn and the often sparse rains that fell from the sky.
p.9
Expansion of the Universe
What does Hubble's Law confirm about the universe?
That it has been expanding ever since the Big Bang.
Who set down his own heliocentric model in the work Commentariolus?
Copernicus (Nicolaus Copernicus).
p.12
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What is the consensus about the cause of inflation in the universe?
It must have been a phase transition, similar to when water turns to ice, releasing latent energy and causing rapid expansion.
p.12
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
What did Fritz Zwicky's research on galaxy clusters reveal?
The mass of a galaxy cluster was 400 times heavier than the sum of its individual galaxies, indicating the presence of 'dark matter' maintaining stability.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
How did the Hindus imagine the universe?
As an egg encased in seven concentric shells, each wrought of a different element.
Who proposed an initial version of the geocentric model?
Eudoxus of Cnidus, a Greek astronomer and mathematician born in present-day Turkey.
p.9
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
According to the most recent estimates, how long ago did the Big Bang occur?
13.7 (±0.2) billion years ago.
p.14
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What does the author suggest about the previous cosmological theories?
They were incomplete rather than wrong.
p.1
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What is surprising about the physical universe?
That it can be understood in a rational manner and researched through the methods of physics and astronomy.
What was one of the revisions of the geocentric model proposed by Aristotle?
Demonstrating that the Earth was a sphere and calculating its size to be 50% larger than it really is.
What role did Tycho Brahe play in advancing the heliocentric model?
He advanced instrument-based techniques for making precise measurements with the naked eye.
p.14
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What does the author imply about the Big Bang theory?
It should be rationalized and mined for detail.
p.9
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
Where did the explosion of the Big Bang occur?
At the beginning of time, not in space.
p.12
Expansion of the Universe
What was discovered about the universe's expansion in 1998?
The universe is not slowing down, but actually speeding up, indicating the existence of 'dark energy' working against gravity.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What did the Book of Genesis state about the creation of the world?
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. The Earth, however, was shapeless and void; the darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light’. And there was light. God saw that the light was good and separated darkness from light. God called the light DAY and the darkness NIGHT. There was evening and there was morning, one day”.
p.2
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What was the universe like according to the ancient Egyptians?
A flat island divided by a river and covered over by an arched roof supported on four.
p.12
Inflationary Big Bang Theory
What does inflation theory argue about the universe's origin?
It derived from seeds generated during the inflationary period by quantum fluctuations, multiplied by the factor of inflation.
p.14
Implications for Human Culture
What does the author suggest about the laws developed on Earth?
They apply to the entire universe with no measurable discrepancy.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
What was the cosmological belief shared by various ancient Indian civilizations?
The notion of reincarnation that the physical conditions of the world had to accommodate in all the various levels of heavens and hells.
p.1
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What methods did the Greeks develop for measuring the orbits and sizes of celestial bodies?
Sophisticated geometrical methods.
What does the Flammarion woodcut illustrate?
The Flat-Earth cosmology, where the Earth seems flat from the observer's village.
p.14
Evolution of Cosmological Models
What did the concept of the universe in the 17th century incorporate?
Newtonian notions of space and time.
What did Johannes Kepler establish using Tycho Brahe's measurements?
His laws of planetary motion, showing that the planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus.
Who revised Aristotle’s model by introducing epicycles?
Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolomeus, 2nd Century BC, Egyptian astronomer and geographer).
p.12
Expansion of the Universe
What is the outcome of the universe's future expansion based on its mass content?
If mass is very high, the universe will slow to a halt and may begin to shrink (closed universe model). If mass is low, the universe will continue expanding forever (open universe model).
p.12
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
What is the mass relationship between dark matter and visible matter in the Milky Way?
Dark matter outweighs visible matter in the form of stars and gas by ten to one.
p.3
Cosmogony in Different Civilizations
According to the Judeo-Christian Old Testament, how was the Earth canopied?
By a mysterious firmament dividing the waters, the gates of the Abyss, Limbo, and the House of the Winds.
