Abstract
Study of the Cosmos, at best, is considered a semi-scientific discipline, primarily because the la-boratory for carrying out measurements and tests of theories (the Cosmos) has been largely inac-cessible for centuries. The cosmic vista into the yonder, however, continued to fascinate humankind due to its inherent beauty and sheer curiosity. The invention of the optical telescope more than five centuries back, however, led to the opening of observational cosmology as a scientific discipline with firm experimental basis. However, the investigations based on visible light posed obvious limitations for the range of such observational cosmology. The advent of the radio telescope in the first half of the 20th century marked a fundamental new step in the progress of this branch of science. There has been no looking back in the march of knowledge in the discipline since then. A whole new vista was laid bare as a result of this development, leading to the discovery of altogether new celestial objects, such as quasars and pulsars and still newer galaxies. The parallel progress of the physics of fundamental constituents of the material world and their interactions led to an interesting merger of these two branches of physical sciences, yielding absolutely astounding knowledge of the nature and evolution of the Universe. New concepts of dark energy and dark matter thought to constitute the dominant share of the Universe were brought to light as a result of these new observations and theoretical ideas. This brief article aims to provide an overview of these exciting developments in the field of cosmology and the associated physics.
Highlights
The birth and evolution of the Universe, of which we are one of the tiniest parts, have been an enigma and a challenge to unravel ever since humankind started taking a rational view of things around him
Cosmology, as a branch of Physics, (Astrophysics) has been regarded more as soft science based on guesswork
As amazing new facts about the nature of the astronomical bodies and systems inhabiting the cosmos emerged as a result of availability of these advanced means to access distances hitherto thought beyond our means to explore, a coherent picture of the origin and evolution of the universe started to emerge by the late 20th century, culminating in the so called Standard Model of Cosmology
Summary
The birth and evolution of the Universe, of which we are one of the tiniest parts, have been an enigma and a challenge to unravel ever since humankind started taking a rational view of things around him. As amazing new facts about the nature of the astronomical bodies and systems inhabiting the cosmos emerged as a result of availability of these advanced means to access distances hitherto thought beyond our means to explore, a coherent picture of the origin and evolution of the universe started to emerge by the late 20th century, culminating in the so called Standard Model of Cosmology This was greatly helped by exciting new developments in the realm of particle physics heralded by the advent of large and expensive accelerator machines, allowing exploration of the structure of the tiniest of the constituents of matter and of our universe. Some of these unanswered questions will be touched upon towards the end of this article
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
