Abstract
The development of modern cosmology was the result of the work of dedicated scientists over several centuries, who gave enormous sacrifices to bring us the perspective we have today. Our generation is fortunate to have answers to most of the questions about the physical nature of the universe. As a species, we have seen atoms, stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, and know how to determine their motions, temperatures, gravitational fields, and how to predict their future physical state using the laws of physics. We have also peered with giant telescopes to the edge of the universe, and this exploration has led us to even more questions—what is the universe made of? Where did the Big Bang come from? Individuals who have made these questions their life’s work are in the words of Bernard Shaw, “makers of universes.” The process that makes it possible is the scientific method.
There are great men who are great men among small men, but there are also great men who are great among great men … Napoleon and other great men of his type, they were makers of empires, but there is an order of men who get beyond that. They are not makers of empires, but they are makers of universes, and when they have made those universes, their hands are unstained by the blood of any human being on earth…
George Bernard Shaw, in a speech of 28 October 1930 (Danielson 2000, p. 392).
The larger the island of knowledge, the greater the shoreline of wonder
(Ralph W. Sockman)
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Penprase, B.E. (2017). The Development of Modern Cosmology. In: The Power of Stars. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52597-6_9
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