Cosmology Essay, Research Paper

Cosmology has always been an interesting area of study for me. For as long as I

can remember, every time I look up at the night sky, a million questions pop

into my head. Questions such as ?Is there an intelligent life out there??

?How large is space, does it expand infinitely, if it does, what does it

expand into?? These and many other questions still plague my mind. We can

define Cosmology as the study of the heavens as a whole, including theories

about its origin, evolution, large-scale structure, and future. I would

definitely agree to this description, and would like to explain my point of view

of the topics that Cosmology covers. Personally, I tend to believe that the big

bang theory may have an explanation for the current state of our universe. The

idea that all of this exploded from a super mass isn?t too hard to believe. It

gives good reason to the expansion of the universe, and the 360degree view of

the universe (this because the explosion would have sent mass outward in every

direction), but I wouldn?t think of it as the origin of the universe. I mean,

in my mind, something had to be there to cause this super mass. Was the universe

contracting until it formed this huge mass? I believe that we may never know how

the universe came about, rather have some idea as to what came directly before

it?s current state as well as before that and so on. We could come up with

ideas until we die, and someone would just continue in our footsteps. I do have

one idea as to how this super mass which is the being behind the big bang theory

came to be one mass. Scientists as well as philosophers and just about anyone

you talk to can tell you that the universe is still expanding today, possibly

because of the big bang. Though no one could tell you how this super mass came

to be, or how it originated. I believe that there is a never-ending cycle of the

expansion and contraction of the entire universe. The universe as we know it now

is in a state of expansion. Though there are millions of gravitational fields

out there opposing this expansion. What if there came a point in time where the

force of expansion (caused by the big bang) exhausted itself and the forces of

gravity took over and began contracting the universe back towards a center of

equalized gravity and into a super mass? (You could probably find a mass in the

universe today that is the largest and has the strongest gravitational force of

any other mass, and name that the possible center of a new super mass). We would

then have an answer to the theory of a big bang, and there would definitely be

chaos in the distant future of Earth. Though, we still would have no idea how

any mass was formed, nor how it appeared in space. There is also still the

question of space, what is it, what is containing it if anything, how did it

come about? And many more questions like that. Maybe all of these questions can

be answered with death. They could be answered by proving the existence of God

and asking these questions. I personally believe in God. I want to tell myself

that there is a being that gives us some direction, while giving us free will to

a certain extent. And while watching over life, takes care of the universe. With

all this belief, there is still a question in my mind as to what came before

anything and what came before that and so on. It?s like the question of the

chicken and the egg, we could go on forever and still not be certain which came

first unless we get into evolution, but I?m looking for the principal of the

thing. This is why I believe that some things may be infinite. As far as

infinity is concerned, I believe that such a phenomenon exists, I mean how

better to explain many questions about the universe? I want to believe that

somewhere, somehow there is a beginning point for everything, but then what was

the beginning of that point, and so on? I believe that numbers, especially those

measuring distance, can have infinite capabilities. For instance, with the

expansion or contraction of the universe, it is hard to measure the exact

distance between two galaxies at a given time. As long as the universe is

expanding or contracting, the measurement number will stay unfixed. Infinity may

just be a constant circle or figure eight of events, where something is stuck on

?replay?, if you will. There still is the notion of a starting point in my

mind that will never rest. I think that along with the known dimensions of

reality, time can be added as another. I believe that time exists in it?s own

dimension simply because without it, things would not work correctly. I say this

because we as educated beings adapted this form of relevancy to things and we

are used to it applying to just about everything we do or experience. Timing is

a big factor to everything working correctly and running smoothly. Without time,

there would be chaos, and many theories and explanations wouldn?t be true or

work out right without time. So I see time as a whole complexity in itself and

since many things as we know them could not function without time, I believe

that it has a part in everything. Of course I could be wrong, I only see things

as how the world is aware of them, as for everyone else. I may not know that

time only exists because we need it to in order to function as a human race. For

the subject of other intelligent life in the universe, I hope there is,

otherwise we are a complete freak of nature. If there is other intelligent life,

then someday we will learn of this and can look forward to contact. This would

kill off that question that lives inside our minds and bring some into happiness

and others into fear. On the other hand, if no such creature exists, existed,

nor ever will exist, we shall not find it and always carry an unanswered

question with us. I do believe in other intelligent life out there somewhere,

and there is a possibility that they could be hostile towards us as well as more

technologically advanced, and vice-versa. The possibility that Earth could be

the only planet to ever sustain life is very low in my mind. We aren?t even

the proven original inhabitants of this planet Earth. It is very possible that

the first life form that could have evolved into a human was brought here, to

Earth by an asteroid, comet, or meteor.