Technology's Role in Unraveling Cosmological Mysteries

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Cosmology is a field of astronomy that focuses on the framework, and emergence of the universe. Over the years, many cosmologists have contributed to the subject, using many forms of technology, to make a multitude of discoveries. Improvements in technology are responsible for superlative discoveries, chiefly about the Big Bang, the origin of our universe. The works of various cosmologists, such as Galileo Galilei, Edwin Hubble, Robert Dicke, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, and Vera Rubin have changed the way humanity views the universe, through their use of technology, and through their brilliance.
Galileo was an Italian astronomer, who lived from 1564 to 1642. In 1609, Galileo learned of the telescope, which is controversially …show more content…

After hearing of this great invention, Galileo was quick to develop himself a telescope; providing the means to make revolutionary discoveries about the universe, that accosted orthodox doctrine of the time. In 1609, Galileo first looked up to the heavens with his telescope. In doing so, he discovered Venus’ phases, and some of Jupiter’s moons, which are now named the Galilean moons. The discovery of Venus’ phases showed that Venus orbited the sun, and the discovery of the moons of Jupiter proved not everything orbited the Earth; these were two crucial components of the Copernican theory. The Copernican theory stated that the solar system was heliocentric, which defied Aristotle’s and the church’s doctrine of the geocentric theory. Later, Galileo discovered sunspots, further abnegating Aristotle’s long held doctrine, which stated the sun was perfect. The Catholic Church …show more content…

Dark matter was first proposed by a man named Fitz Zwicky, who was observing a galaxy cluster, and noticed it was much more massive than to be expected, considering the cluster’s luminosity. Zwicky proposed something that he could not see was there, causing this; he dubbed this dark matter. However, Zwicky was ridiculed for this idea. In the 1960s, Kent Ford designed what is now called a spectrograph, a device that disperses electromagnetic radiation, making the radiation visible to the user. This innovation allowed Ford and Vera Rubin to observe the orbital speeds of stars and gases in galaxies from different distances from the central black hole of that galaxy. When doing so, Rubin observed that the Newtonian laws of gravity. The stars closer to the black hole should have been orbiting it at a more accelerated pace than the stars farther away, although this was not happening. Rubin then lead a team of astronomers to observe many galaxies, and in their observations, they noticed that the galaxies evidently had a form of invisible mass at work. The research team discovered spirals encapsulated in what appears to be dark matter. The mass of dark matter is believed to be far greater than the mass of visible matter in the universe. Dark matter is called dark matter for the reason that it does not appear to interact with regular matter in any form,

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