NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) defines cosmology as “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole” from its birth to its death. Theoretical astrophysicist David Spergel described cosmology as a “historical science” as “when we look out in space, we look back in time”. Astronomy, in contrast deals with individual celestial objects. Most cosmology knowledge is based off observational data and computer simulations.
Albert Einstein paved the way to cosmology through his Theories of Relativity, whereby to any observer the speed of an object depends on their time frame. If you were in a garden with your running sibling and a plane flew over at the same time, different speeds would be witnessed by you and the plane. Neither of these speeds are less accurate compared to the other but the difference is explained with the varied frames of reference the observer is in.
This underpinned our understanding of the Big Bang, the expansion of the universe, which is relative to the observers position in the Universe. The Universe originated 13.6 billion years ago and the elementary particles (photons, quarks, neutrinos and electrons) appeared 1/1,000,000 seconds later. Evidence of the Big Bang was shown by the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation leftover from the Big Bang. This was found by accident by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson who were later attributed a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.
Featured Courses
The CPD accredited courses are carefully crafted to help you gain in-depth knowledge on a topic of your interest.
Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)
This intermediate-level course provides a thorough overview of the field of next-generation sequencing, from its properties and strength and its major applications, to an overview of a typical sequencing workflow.
Molecular Microbiology
Molecular microbiology is a very progressive field of science, there is an enormous demand to understand the omnipresent microbes influencing our everyday life on sub-cellular level, which will be subject of this course.
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy is one of the youngest disciplines providing a novel way into treating diseases.
Cancer Biology: Exploring the Molecular and Genetic Aspects
This is an intermediate-level course that explores the molecular and genetic basis of cancer, its evolution, and cancer immunology.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is one of the most advanced and fastest growing sciences. The beginning of the 21st century has seen huge developments in techniques to study and understand how the brain works.
CRISPR: Revolutionising Genome Editing
This advanced-level course is designed to develop an understanding of complex concepts related to genomics, particularly CRISPR/Cas technology and its applications...
The first full-sky map came from NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer mission and through this cosmologists learnt about the origins of galaxies. The Big Bang also explains the formation of the first objects summarised in a simplified timeline:
- 13.7 billion years ago: Big Bang occurred while the first particles formed after milliseconds
- 13.4 billion years ago: the first generation of stars were formed
- 13.2 billion years ago: the second generation of stars were formed with no planets around them yet. The stars began to ignite as the universe expanded
- 12.6 billion years ago: Appearance of the first elements CHON (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen) abundant in life at least on planet Earth. Carbon (CO2) and Oxygen (O2) is necessary for water formation (H2O).
- 11.5 billion years ago: the largest structures in the Universe appeared with the formation of galaxy clusters such as our very own Milky Way galaxy.
- 4.5 billion years ago: Formation of planets for example our planet Earth where the impacting comets and asteroids created the Earth’s atmosphere
- 4 billion years ago: Appearance of key building blocks needed for life (DNA as the basis of hereditary information, amino acids for proteins etc)
