Cosmology
<p><b>Cosmology</b> (from the Greek κόσμος, <i>kosmos</i> "world" and -λογία, <i>-logia</i> "study of"), is the study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the <a title="Universe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe">universe</a>. <a title="Physical cosmology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_cosmology">Physical cosmology</a> is the scholarly and scientific study of the origin, <a title="Chronology of the universe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_universe">evolution</a>, large-scale structures and dynamics, and <a title="Ultimate fate of the universe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_fate_of_the_universe">ultimate fate of the universe</a>, as well as the <a title="Laws of science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_science">scientific laws</a> that govern these realities.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology_(metaphysics)#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup> <a title="Religious cosmology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_cosmology">Religious cosmology</a> (or mythological cosmology) is a body of beliefs based on the <a title="History" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History">historical</a>, <a title="Mythology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology">mythological</a>, <a title="Religion" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion">religious</a>, and <a title="Esotericism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esotericism">esoteric</a> literature and traditions of <a title="Creation myth" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth">creation</a> and <a title="Eschatology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology">eschatology</a>.
Physical cosmology is studied by <a title="Scientist" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientist">scientists</a>, such as <a title="Astronomy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy">astronomers</a>, and <a title="Theoretical physics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical_physics">theoretical physicists</a>; and academic <a title="Philosophy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy">philosophers</a>, such as <a title="Metaphysics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics">metaphysicians</a>, <a title="Philosophy of physics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_physics">philosophers of physics</a>, and <a title="Philosophy of space and time" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_space_and_time">philosophers of space and time</a>. Modern cosmology is dominated by the <a title="Big Bang" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang">Big Bang</a> theory, which attempts to bring together <a title="Observational astronomy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observational_astronomy">observational astronomy</a> and <a title="Particle physics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_physics">particle physics</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology_(metaphysics)#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup>
Although the word <i>cosmology</i> is recent (first used in 1730 in <a title="Christian Wolff (philosopher)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Wolff_(philosopher)">Christian Wolff</a>'s <i>Cosmologia Generalis</i>), the study of the universe has a long history involving <a title="Science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science">science</a>, <a title="Philosophy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy">philosophy</a>, <a title="Esotericism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esotericism">esotericism</a> and <a title="Religion" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion">religion</a>. Related studies include <a title="Cosmogony" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmogony">cosmogony</a>, which focuses on the origin of the Universe, and <a title="Cosmography" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmography">cosmography</a>, which maps the features of the Universe. Cosmology is also connected to <a title="Astronomy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy">astronomy</a>, but while the former is concerned with the Universe as a whole, the latter deals with individual <a title="Celestial object" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_object">celestial objects</a>.</p>