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The Beginning and End of the UniverseCosmology is the scientific study of how the Universe began more than 13 billion years ago, how its properties have changed, and what its future might be. The balance of forces and energy cause the Universe to expand, first accelerating, then decelerating and then accelerating again. Within this overall structure, the interplay of atoms and light with the mysterious dark matter and dark energy causes stars and galaxies to form and evolve, leading to galaxies like our own home, the Milky Way. Observational cosmology uses telescopes on Earth and in space to reach back in time to find the faint remaining echoes of the Big Bang and to trace the formation and evolution of the galaxies and structures that fill the Universe. In this lecture, Dr. Gardner will give an overview of cosmology, outlining the 13-billion year history of the Universe, and highlighting the very rapid progress this field has made in the last decade. He will discuss the role that NASA space telescopes have played in this progress and will continue to play in the years to come. He will give a time-based history of the Universe, discussing the successive processes that formed matter, particles, atoms, stars and galaxies. In particular, he will focus on cosmological inflation, the rapid accelerated expansion that marks the beginning of the Universe, and dark energy, a tenuous substance that overcomes gravity and whose properties will determine its final fate.
Document ID
20080031708
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Gardner, Jonathan P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
December 9, 2007
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: Colloquium at the University of Alabama
Location: Alabama
Country: United States
Start Date: December 9, 2007
End Date: December 10, 2007
Sponsors: Alabama Univ.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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