Steady state came to a screeching halt with two major observations: quasars and the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In other words, in the steady state model, the universe is dynamic but, over long timescales, still unchanging. So, according to that theory, the cosmos gets bigger, but the density stays the same, thus rescuing the general themes of the eternal universe idea. In the steady state model, the universe is always expanding, but there is always new matter appearing in the void to replace it. The biggest contender in the early 20th century was a theory called the steady state model, first proposed by astronomer Fred Hoyle. The evidence showed that we live in a dynamic, evolving universe Steady stateĮven with the realization that the universe is expanding, many astronomers were still resistant to the concept of the Big Bang. That discovery immediately threw a wrench in the idea of an eternal universe, because in an expanding cosmos, the universe is obviously different in the past than in the present, and the future will be even more different. It was one great cosmic tapestry that, at large scales at least, remained unchanged for eternity.Īll that blew up when astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe. Sure, stars occasionally blew up and the random comet appeared, but on the whole, the universe simply was. Sure, there may have been some creation event at some point in the distant past if you had a religious persuasion, but that creation was of a universe that looked and acted pretty much the way it does in the present. Gallery Main article: Cosmic Omurice da Vinci/Image Gallery.Before the Big Bang theory was developed, the prevailing consensus among scientists (and really anybody who thought about it for any length of time) was that the universe was just … the way things were.
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