Cosmogony
Cosmogony is any theory of the origin of the universe.[1][2][3]
Examples
Physics
In astronomy, cosmogony is the study of the origin of things like the universe, the Solar System, or the Earth–Moon system.[1][2] The popular cosmological model for the birth of the universe is the Big Bang theory.[4]
It is generally accepted that the universe began as a singularity, and when the singularity of the universe started to expand, the Big Bang occurred, which began the universe.
People disagree on the origins of the singularity.[5]
It may be like a black hole, which is a singularity sincegravity in a black hole becomes boundless.
Others like Stephen Hawking say "time" did not exist and was only born with the universe. Hence the universe does not have an origin story. Time did not exist before the creation of the universe.[5][6]
There is currently no theoretical model that explains the earliest moments of the universe's existence (during the Planck time). This is because we lack a testable theory of quantum gravity. Still, some researchers in string theory, M theory, and loop quantum cosmology have some ideas.[7][8]
Mythology
There are certain myths that also propose how the universe was created: for example creation myths in the Bible, the Dào Dé Jīng, and other genesis stories. These usually involve
- a supreme being or god
- birth via sex between male and female gods
- or birth via the cosmic egg[9]
The Eridu Genesis, written on Sumerian tablets, is one of the oldest creation myths. The universe was created from a sea (Abzu).[10][11] In Greek mythology, Zeus created the universe from chaos.[12] Aztec creation has four versions of earth being created and destroyed, before settling the fifth and current earth. In Bushongo creation, the great god Bumba vomited up the sun, then the earth and everything else.
It is not the same as cosmology
Cosmology studies the universe in general. You can still study the universe without thinking about its origin, which is what cosmonogy studies specifically.[4][6][13]
Cosmogony Media
The Creation of the Four Elements as published by Holland in 1589 from Ovid's book: Metamorphoses
The Big Bang theory, which states that the universe originally expanded from high or infinite density, is widely accepted by physicists.
The representation of the Universe as rooted in Serer religion and Cosmogony
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ridpath, Ian. A Dictionary of Astronomy (2012)Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Woolfson, Michael Mark. Cosmogony Today. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 20 (2) (1979). p. 97–114.
- ↑ Staff. γίγνομαι - come into a new state of being. Tufts University. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wollack, Edward J.. Cosmology: The Study of the Universe. Universe 101: Big Bang Theory (10 December 2010)NASA. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Carroll, Sean. A Universe from Nothing?. Science for the Curious (28 April 2012). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Carroll, Sean. Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity (2003)Pearson.
- ↑ String Theory/Holography/Gravity. Center for Theoretical Physics. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ↑ Becker, Katrin. String Theory and M-Theory (2007). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Long, Charles. Creation Myth. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ↑ Eridu Genesis Mesopotamia Epic. Encyclopaedia Britannica (20 July 1998)Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ↑ Morris, Charles. The Primeval Ocean. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 49 (1897). p. 12–17.
- ↑ Thury, Eva. Introduction to Mythology Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, 4th ed. (2017). Madison Avenue, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 4, 187.
- ↑ Smeenk, Christopher. Philosophy of Cosmology (Winter 2017). Retrieved 30 April 2019.