Cosmology:
The Origin, Evolution &
Ultimate Fate of the Universe
An Introductory Resource Guide for College Instructors
Spring 2014
An all-sky image of the Cosmic Microwave Background (Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration)
About the Guide
Spring 2014
NASA missions, educational projects around the country, and cosmologists themselves have produced a wide
range of materials that astronomy instructors (and their students) can use to learn about the latest developments
in modern cosmology. Too often, however, these materials go unused because instructors are not familiar
with them or don’t have them accessible at the time that they need them. This annotated guide is designed to
highlight useful materials on the web and in print. It was produced in consultation with a panel of Astronomy
101 instruc¬tors, who were interviewed about their teaching, and NASA education specialists, who suggested
resources that may not have been well known.
Cosmology is an enormous field, and the number of educational resources can be a bit overwhelming. This guide
includes only a sampling of non-technical materials that instructors around the U.S. have been using and are likely
to have access to. Items were selected based on their level of difficulty (Astro 101 level and below), the likelihood of
easy access by a college audience, and their potential usefulness for teaching and learning.
Please note that cosmology is a fast-developing field and some resources fall out of date within a couple of years.
We will make every effort to update this guide on a yearly basis, so please check the date under the title to ensure
you have the most recent version.
Compiled by Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College and Astronomical Society of the Pacific)
Coordination: NASA Astrophysics Science Education and Public Outreach Forum
Cover Image: An all-sky image of the cosmic microwave background. Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Selected Web Sites on Modern Cosmology
Animations and Simulations on the Web
Selected Web Sites on the History of Cosmology
Selected Talks on Cosmology Available on the Web
Some Cosmology Lab Activities on the Web
Selected Books about Modern Cosmology
Selected Books about the History of Cosmology
Overview Articles:
Articles about Dark Energy and Acceleration
Articles about Inflation
Articles about the Study of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Articles about Dark Matter
Articles about Other Specific Topics in Modern Cosmology
Articles about “Far Out” Ideas in Cosmology
Articles about Understanding Cosmological Distances
A Few Articles about the History of Cosmology
Papers and Articles on Teaching Cosmology
Notes and Acknowledgements
2
Web Sites
Selected Web Sites on Modern Cosmology
A graphic cosmic timeline, from the Big Bang to the
present day. Note that the present day is denoted
as 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang, but has been
refined to 13.8 billion years by recent Planck results. At
time of printing, no cosmic timeline diagrams have been
amended with the revised age. (Credit: NASA/WMAP
Science Team)
NASA Resources
NASA Universe Forum Big Bang Pages (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): http://www.cfa.harvard.
edu/seuforum/bigbanglanding.htm (brief, basic introduction to some of the key ideas)
Planck Mission Education and Outreach Materials (Caltech): http://planck.caltech.edu/epo/epo-intro.html (some
basic, some more advanced, information, focusing on the cosmic microwave background radiation)
Universe 101: WMAP Mission Introduction to the Universe (NASA): http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/
(Concise primer on cosmological ideas from the WMAP mission team)
Dark Energy (Part of the Hubble Discoveries Series): http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/
(Flash-based multimedia tutorial on the discovery and meaning of dark energy; includes information on
the origin and fate of universe)
Resources from Other Sources
Sean Carroll’s Cosmology Primer (Caltech): http://preposterousuniverse.com/writings/cosmologyprimer/index.
html (Astrophysicists Carroll offers a non-technical site with brief overviews of many key topics in modern
cosmology.)
Ned Wright’s Cosmology Tutorial (UCLA): http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm (Astronomer Wright
keeps a rich web site where he explains many ideas in cosmology using basic algebra and geometry.)
The Universe Adventure (Lawrence Berkeley Labs): http://www.universeadventure.org/index.html (A flashy
introduction to cosmology, designed for the public, but probably best read by those who already know a bit.)
Everyday Cosmology: http://cosmology.carnegiescience.edu/ (An educational website from the Carnegie
Observatories with a timeline of cosmological discovery, background materials, and activities.)
Great Debates in Astronomy: http://apod.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/debate.html (Between 1995 and 1998,
astronomers Robert Nemiroff & Jerry Bonnell put together some cosmological debates in the same hall at
the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History (and along the same lines) as the Shapley-Curtis debate, with
some of the leading cosmologists of our day; sometimes technical)
Runaway Universe (2000 NOVA TV series episode web site): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/universe/ (Focuses on
the discovery of the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, using supernovae as distance indicators)
Brent Tully’s “How Big is the Universe?”: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/how-big-universe.html (This
clear essay by a noted astronomer summarizes some key ideas in cosmologist and introduces the notion
of the acceleration of the universe; it was written for the Runaway Universe program)
3
Animations and Simulations on the Web
A pie chart showing the mass and energy contents of the universe as refined by the Planck
mission (right) from the WMAP results (left)
(Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration)
NASA Resources
Jellybean Visual Analogy for the Fraction of Ordinary Matter in the Universe (Chandra animation):
http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/flash/univ_pie.html
The Chemical Universe (NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory page with an “astronomer’s version” of the periodic
table, showing the cosmic abundances of elements):
http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/flash/periodic_tables.html (Click on “Periodic table for astronomy”)
Cosmology Visualizations from the NASA Universe Forum: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/einstein/
resources_visual.htm#featcos (A series of computer visualizations of the evolution and structure of the
universe, available in a number of formats.)
WMAP Mission Concept Animations: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/resources/animconcepts.html (Brief
animation showing evolution of the early universe and ideas associated with studying the cosmic
microwave background)
The Cosmic Microwave Background on a Beach Ball (An inflatable globe with the full-sky image of the microwave
background from the WMAP Mission): http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/resources/edactivity1.html
Resources from Other Sources
Origin of the Elements (Flash movie from Don York’s group at the U. of Chicago): http://ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/
originsoftheelements/
Supercomputer simulations of the formation of structure in the universe by Andrey Kravstov: http://cosmicweb.
uchicago.edu/sims.html
Making Galaxies: http://svl.adlerplanetarium.org/astroviz/makinggalaxies.html (8-min movie on evolution and
large-scale structure of galaxies from the Adler Planetarium Visualization Lab)
Dark Matter, First Stars: http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~kaehler/movies/ (Some beautiful short visualizations by
Stanford’s Ralf Kaehler)
4
Selected Web Sites on the History of Cosmology
Albert Einstein and Georges Lemaitre
(Credit: Wikimedia public domain images)
NASA Resources
Cosmic Times Project (from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center): http://cosmictimes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (James
Lochner and Barbara Mattson have compiled a rich resource of 20th-century cosmology history in the
form of news reports on key events)
Shapley-Curtis Debate in 1920: The Scale of the Universe (a nice summary by Robert Nemiroff & Jerry Bonnell):
http://apod.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/debate20.html
Resources from Other Sources
Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology (from the American Institute of Physics Center for the History
of Physics): http://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/ (a web “exhibit” on the history of our thinking, with
images and biographies)
Edwin P. Hubble: 1938 Bruce Medalist (excellent guide to written and web resources about Hubble’s life & work
by Joseph Tenn): http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/hubble/Hubble.html
Brief Profile of Georges Lemaitre: http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/cosmic/
p_lemaitre.html (from the American Museum of Natural History, an excerpt from the book Cosmic Horizons)
Short Videos from the Texas Cosmology Center: http://www.tcc.utexas.edu/video.html
Selected Talks on Cosmology Available on the Web
The 2011 Nobel Prize winners in physics,
Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and
Adam Riess (Credit: The Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences/KVA TV )
Marcia Bartusiak: “The Day We Found the Universe” (May 21, 2009; the distinguished science writer discusses
Hubble’s work and the discovery of the expansion of the cosmos—one of the Observatory Night lectures at
the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics):
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/mon_video_archive09.html
5
Roger Blandford (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center): “The Runaway Universe” (Oct. 26, 2004; public lecture on
the discovery and meaning of cosmic acceleration and dark energy):
https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/community/past-lectures/runaway-universe
Patricia Burchat (Stanford University): “The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy” (May 20,
2009 in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series):
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html
Sean Carroll (Caltech): “The Origin of the Universe and the Arrow of Time” (Aug. 13, 2010; Google Tech Talk):
http://sciencestage.com/v/39811/the-origin-of-the-universe-and-the-arrow-of-time.html
Alex Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley): “Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe” (October 4, 2006 in
the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series): http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html
John Mather (NASA Goddard): “From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize” (Jan. 16, 2009): http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/
vis/a010000/a010300/a010370/index.html (His Nobel Prize talk from Dec. 8, 2006 can be found at:
http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=74&view=1)
Adam Reiss (STScI): “Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe” (March 7, 2006 at the Space Telescope Science
Institute): https://webcast.stsci.edu/webcast/detail.xhtml?talkid=1961&parent=1
Brian Schmidt’s non-technical Nobel Prize lecture about discovering the acceleration of the universe (Dec. 8,
2011); on the same page, you can find links to the lectures by Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter, which
connect to and follow his: http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1727
George Smoot’s Nobel Prize lecture (Dec. 8, 2006) on his work with the COBE Satellite:
http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=75
Risa Wechsler (SLAC): “Dark Energy: What the? (or What Is the Universe Made of?)” (Oct. 30, 2007; public lecture
on the nature of dark energy and the future of the universe):
https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/community/past-lectures/dark-energy-what
Ned Wright (UCLA): “Observing the Origins of the Universe: A Century of Progress in Cosmology” (Oct. 28, 2008;
UCLA Faculty Research Lecture): http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15879
“New Light on Dark Energy” (Apr. 25, 2011 panel on cosmology from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory):
http://www.youtube.com/user/BerkeleyLab?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/K171B6EvA6c
6
Some Cosmology Lab Activities on the Web
The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field image,
showing some of the faintest galaxies
ever observed. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and
S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team)
NASA’s Universe Forum developed a series of “Modeling the Universe” activities which could be adapted to be
part of a lab section or a class activity sequence. Generally for grades 8 - 12. See:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/learningresources.htm#lesson
Hubble’s Law Lab (shorter) (U. of Washington): http://www.astro.washington.edu/courses/labs/clearinghouse/
labs/HubbleLaw/hubbles_law_procedure.html (Derive Hubble’s constant from galaxy data and calculate
the Hubble time; for university students.)
Hubble’s Law Lab (longer) (U. of Washington): http://www.astro.washington.edu/courses/labs/clearinghouse/
labs/HubbleLaw/hubbletitle.html (A longer version of the above lab, which includes more discussion of
the nature of galaxies.)
The CLEA Project (Gettysburg College) has two college-level cosmology labs, one on the Hubble Law and
one on the large-scale structure of the universe. Go to: http://www3.gettysburg.edu/~marschal/clea/
CLEAhome.html and click on the software button.
7
BOOKS
Selected Books about Modern Cosmology
Artist’s illustration of the COBE
satellite in orbit around the Earth
(Credit: NASA)
Adams, Fred & Laughlin, Greg The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity. 1999, Free Press. Two
astronomers consider the distant past and far future.
Carroll, Sean From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time. 2010, Plume Books. On modern
ideas of time as they relate to cosmology.
Duncan, Todd & Tyler, Craig Your Cosmic Context: An Introduction to Modern Cosmology. 2009, Addison-Wesley/
Pearson. The first non-majors textbook on cosmology done without a lot of math.
Ferris, Timothy The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe Report. 1997, Simon & Schuster. A distinguished
science journalist reports on cosmology, as of the mid 1990’s. Full of good analogies and profiles of the key
scientists.
Greene, Brian The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. 2004, Knopf. An introduction
to some of the physics ideas behind our modern picture of cosmology, by a physicist who is a master
explainer.
Harrison, Edward Cosmology: The Science of the Universe, 2nd ed. 2000, Cambridge U. Press. This literate and
thought-provoking introductory textbook, using some math, is one of the best guides to thinking about
cosmology.
Impey, Chris How it Began: A Time Traveler’s Guide to the Universe. 2012, W. W. Norton. A tour of the universe,
moving outward from Earth and back in time, with well-written sections on modern cosmology.
Kirshner, Robert The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Universe. 2002,
Princeton U. Press. A readable, personal recounting of the use of supernovae in the discovery of dark
energy and our new view of the universe.
Livio, Mario The Accelerating Universe: Infinite Expansion, the Cosmological Constant, and the Beauty of the
Cosmos. 2000, John Wiley. Beautifully written, layperson’s introduction to key cosmological ideas of our day.
Panek, Richard The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality.
2011, Houghton Mifflin. A journalist recounts the story of the discovery of the acceleration of the universe in
this widely praised account.
Silk, Joseph The Big Bang, 3rd ed. 2001, W. H. Freeman. A cogent introduction to the universe and our
observations relating to it, for the intelligent layperson.
8
Singh, Simon Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe. 2004, HarperCollins. British physicist and science writer
treats both the history and current status of cosmology; good for beginners.
Vilenkin, Alex Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes. 2006, Hill and Wang. A noted Russian
cosmologist tells the story of the inflationary universe and multi-verses with verve and humor.
Selected Books about the History of Cosmology
Astrophysicist Vera Rubin
(Credit: Astronomical
Society of the Pacific)
Bartusiak, Marcia The Day We Found the Universe. 2009, Pantheon/Random House. Well-written, popular-level
history of the discovery that galaxies exist and the beginnings of observational cosmology.
Ferris, Timothy Coming of Age in the Milky Way. 1988, Morrow. History of cosmological ideas, starting with the
Greeks.
Frank, Adam About Time: Cosmology and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang. 2011, Free Press. A history of
human concepts of time as they relate to the universe at large.
Gleiser, Marcelo The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang. 1997, Dutton. A physicist chronicles the long history of human thinking about the origin of the universe.
Guth, A. The Inflationary Universe. 1997, Addison-Wesley. One of the key scientists responsible for the inflationary
hypothesis describes how it came about.
Kragh, Helge Conceptions of Cosmos: From Myths to the Accelerating Universe. 2007, Oxford U. Press. A
scholarly history of cosmology.
Lightman, Alan & Brawer, Roberta Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists. 1990, Harvard U.
Press. Interesting interviews with active researchers in the field.
Nussbaumer, Harry & Bieri, Lydia Discovering the Expanding Universe. 2009, Cambridge U. Press. Carefully
researched, detailed history of both the theory and the observations that led to our modern day view.
9
ARTICLES
Overview Articles
The Hubble Space Telescope in
orbit around the Earth
(Credit: NASA)
Kruesi, L. “Cosmology: 5 Things You Need to Know” in Astronomy, May 2007, p. 28. Five questions students
often ask, and how modern cosmologists answer them.
Lineweaver, C. & Davis, T. “Misconceptions about the Big Bang” in Scientific American, Mar. 2005, p. 36. Some
basic ideas about modern cosmology clarified, using general relativity.
Pendrick, D. “Is the Big Bang in Trouble?” in Astronomy, Apr. 2009, p. 48. This sensationally titled article is really
more of a quick review of how modern ideas and observations are fleshing out the big bang hypothesis
(and raising questions.)
Turner, M. “The Origin of the Universe” in Scientific American, Sep. 2009, p. 36. An introduction to modern
cosmology.
Wakeley, S. “The Universe is in the Details” in Astronomy, Sep. 2006, p. 42. 5-page overview of how particle
physics can assist cosmology.
Articles about Dark Energy and Acceleration
Chart illustrating three potential fates of
our Universe according to theories of dark
energy (Credit: NASA/STScI)
Appell, D. “Dark Forces at Work” in Scientific American, May 2008, p. 100. A profile of Nobel laureate Saul Perlmutter, the leader of one of the teams whose work with supernovae led to the discovery of the universe’s
acceleration.
10
Carroll, S. “Dark Energy & the Preposterous Universe” in Sky & Telescope, Mar. 2005, p. 32. 7-page review;
explains the observations and gives candidates for the source of dark energy.
Conselice, C. “The Universe’s Invisible Hand” in Scientific American, Feb. 2007, p. 34. An introduction to dark
energy and the effects it has on the structure and evolution of the universe.
Krauss, L. & Turner, M. “A Cosmic Conundrum” in Scientific American, Sep. 2004, p. 70. On Einstein’s cosmological constant, the acceleration of the universe, and dark energy.
Kruesi, L. “Will Dark Energy Tear the Universe Apart?” in Astronomy, Feb. 2009, p. 34. On how acceleration will
determine the ultimate fate of the universe.
Nadis, S. “Tales from the Dark Side: Understanding Dark Energy” in Astronomy, Sep. 2006, p. 30.
Five page overview.
Nadis, S. “Dark Energy’s New Face: How Exploding Stars are Changing our View” in Astronomy, July 2012, p. 45.
About our improving understanding of the complexities of Type Ia supernovae.
Panek, R. “Going Over to the Dark Side” in Sky & Telescope, Feb. 2009, p. 22. A history of the observations and
theories about dark energy.
Riess, A. & Turner, M. “From Slowdown to Speedup” in Scientific American, Feb. 2004, p. 62. On observations of
supernovae and what they tell us about the acceleration of the universe’s expansion.
Articles about Inflation
An illustration of how the nature of the early
Universe led to the large-scale structure of the
present-day Universe (Credit: NASA/WMAP
Science Team)
Bucher, M. & Spergel, D. “Inflation in a Low-Density Universe” in Scientific American, Jan. 1999, p. 62. On new
and improved inflation theories.
Ferris, T. “Inflating the Cosmos” in Astronomy, July 1997, p. 38. On the inflationary hypothesis.
Guth, A. and Steinhardt, P. “The Inflationary Universe” in Scientific American, May 1984, p. 116. Early report from
the scientist who came up with the idea.
Nadis, S. “Sizing Up Inflation” in Sky & Telescope, Nov. 2005, p. 32. Nice review of the origin and modern variants
on the inflationary idea.
11
Articles about the Study of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Comparison of observations of the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) in 10-squaredegree patches from (from left to right) COBE,
WMAP, and Planck. The comparison illustrates
how the resolution of these images improves
with each successor (left to right). (Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA)
Bennett, C., et al. “A Cosmic Cartographer” in Scientific American, Jan. 2001, p. 44. A brief preview of the MAP
mission to examine details of the cosmic microwave background (later renamed WMAP).
Caldwell, R. & Kamionkowski, M. “Echoes from the Big Bang” in Scientific American, Jan. 2001, p. 38. On
studying the details of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
Dorminey, B. “Europe’s Space Revolution” in Astronomy, Sep. 2008, p. 28. Preview of Herschel and Planck
missions and how they will study the CMB.
Hishaw, G. & Naeye, R. “Decoding the Oldest Light in the Universe” in Sky & Telescope, May 2008, p. 18. How
the WMAP mission uses acoustic waves in the CMB to probe the structure of the early universe.
Hu, W. & White, M. “The Cosmic Symphony” in Scientific American, Feb. 2004, p. 44. On oscillations in the early
universe and how we can learn about them from the microwave background.
(On the Web at: http://background.uchicago.edu/~whu/SciAm/sym1.html )
Starkman, G. & Schwarz, D. “Is the Universe out of Tune?” in Scientific American, Aug. 2005, p. 48. On discrepancies between the theory and observations of the harmonics of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
12
Articles about Dark Matter
Composite visible light and x-ray enhanced color
image of galaxy cluster IE 0657-56, which is used
as strong evidence for the existence of dark matter. (Credit: Xray: NASA/CXC/CfA/M. Markevitch et al.;
Optical: NASA/STScI; Magellan/U. Arizona/D. Clowe et
al.; Lensing Map: NASA/STScI; ESO WFI; Magellan/U.
Arizona/D. Clowe et al.)
Bartusiak, M., et al. “The New Dark Age of Astronomy” in Astronomy, Oct. 1996, p. 36. A special issue focusing
on the theory and observations of dark matter.
Kruesi, L. “What do We Really Know about Dark Matter?” in Astronomy, Nov. 2009, p. 28. Focuses on what dark
matter could be and experiments to find out.
Articles about Other Specific Topics in Modern Cosmology
Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy
cluster Abell 370 in which background galaxies
are visible due to gravitational lensing.
(Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble SM4
ERO Team, and ST-ECF )
Burgess, C. & Quevedo, F. “The Great Cosmic Roller Coaster Ride” in Scientific American, Nov. 2007, p. 52. On
inflation, brane theory, multiverses, string theory and new ideas to help understand the properties of the
cosmos.
Carroll, Sean “The Comic Origins of Time’s Arrow” in Scientific American, June 2008, p. 48. The direction of time
in the universe, entropy, and the notion of a much larger scope for the universe.
Dorminey, B. “Where Has All the Lithium Gone?” in Astronomy, Feb. 2011, p. 42. What we can learn about the
early stages of the universe from the abundance of this light element.
Dorminey, B. “What Triggered the Big Bang?” in Astronomy, Oct. 2011, p. 25. Some of the ideas about eternal
inflation and cyclic universe models.
13
Frank, A. “How the Big Bang Forged the First Elements” in Astronomy, Oct. 2007, p. 32. On how the hot phase of
the big bang synthesized elements, and what their abundance today can tell us about the properties of the
universe.
Frank, A. “The First Billion Years” in Astronomy, June 2006, p. 30. On the early eras in cosmic history and the
formation of structure.
Hellemans, A. “Understanding Antimatter” in Astronomy, Aug. 2011, p. 24. On the discovery of antimatter and its
relationship to cosmology.
Jayawardhana, Ray “Does Antimatter Matter?” in Astronomy, Dec. 2006, p. 30. On how matter came to dominate
in the early universe.
Krauss, L. & Starkman, G. “The Fate of Life in the Universe” in Scientific American, Nov. 1999, p. 58. Cosmology,
thermodynamics, and the far future.
Larson, R. & Bromm, V. “The First Stars in the Universe” in Scientific American, Dec. 2001, p. 64. On the “dark
ages” after the big bang and before stars formed, and how they ended.
Loeb, A. “The Dark Ages of the Universe” in Scientific American, Nov. 2006, p. 47. Using radio arrays to look back
to the period after the big bang faded.
Nadis, S. “Searching for the Shape of the Universe” in Astronomy, Apr. 2008, p. 28. On string theory, branes,
additional dimensions and their implications for cosmology.
Nadis, S. “The Big Bang Plus 1 Second” in Astronomy, Apr. 2007, p. 38. On the search for the cosmic neutrino
background from the big bang.
Primack, J. & Bell, T. “Universe on Fast Forward” in Sky & Telescope, July 2012, p. 28. Using supercomputer
simulations to model modern cosmological ideas.
Riordan, M. & Zajc, W. “The First Few Microseconds” in Scientific American, May 2006, p. 34. Experiments to
reproduce conditions right after the big bang.
Strauss, M. “Reading the Blueprints of Creation” in Scientific American, Feb. 2004, p. 54. On large-scale surveys
of galaxies and what they tell us about the organization of the early universe.
14
Articles about New Ideas in Cosmology
An artist’s impression of the concept of
the multiverse. (Credit: Wikimedia public
domain images)
Ambjorn, J., et al. “The Self-Organizing Quantum Universe” in Scientific American, July 2008, p. 42. On new ideas
in quantum gravity and how the universe could assemble from quantum components. Mostly physics.
Arkani-Hamed, N., et al. “The Universe’s Unseen Dimensions” in Scientific American, Aug. 2000, p. 62. On grand
unified theories of physics, dimensions, and parallel universes.
Barrow, J. & Webb, J. “Inconstant Constants: Do the Inner Workings of Nature Change with Time?” in Scientific
American, June 2005, p. 56. Possible astronomical evidence that the fine-structure constant has changed
over cosmic periods.
Bojowald, M. “Follow the Bouncing Universe” in Scientific American, Oct. 2008, p. 44. On theories of quantum
gravity, and a universe that may have had events before the big bang.
Clifton, T & Ferreira, P. “Does Dark Energy Really Exist?” in Scientific American, Apr. 2009, p. 48. Posits another
explanation for the Type Ia supernova observations: that the universe is seriously inhomogeneous.
Dorminey, B. “What Triggered the Big Bang?” in Astronomy, Oct. 2011, p. 24. “Next-generation” ideas about what
came before the beginning of our universe.
Nadis, S. “How We Could See Another Universe” in Astronomy, June 2009, p. 24. On modern ideas about
multiverses and how such bubbles of space-time might collide.
Steinhardt, P. “Why the Universe Had No Beginning” in Astronomy, Apr. 2009, p. 28. On brane theory and the
author’s “cyclic universe” ideas.
Tegmark, M. “Parallel Universes” in Scientific American, May 2003, p. 40. Ideas about a “multiverse”: physical
theories that permit or demand other universes.
Veneziano, G. “The Myth of the Beginning of Time” in Scientific American, May 2004, p. 54. Ideas from string
theory about space, time, and branes that pre-date the big bang.
15
Articles about Understanding Cosmological Distances
Image of galaxy NGC 4526 within which lies the
bright Supernova 1994d. (Credit: NASA/ESA, The
Hubble Key Project Team and The High-Z Supernova
Search Team)
Dodelson, S. “Seeing the Red Limit: How Astronomers Measure Cosmic Distances” in Astronomy, May 2007, p.
40. Redshift, lookback time, co-moving distance, scale factor, etc.
Corwin, M. & Wachowiak, D.: “Lookback Time: Observing Cosmic History” in Physics Teacher, Oct. 1989, p. 518.
On the effect cosmological models have on the scales of space and time.
A Few Articles about the History of Cosmology
Artist’s drawing of the largest telescope built by William Herschel,
who made significant progress in understanding the structure of the
Universe, as we knew it, in the 1700’s. (Credit: Wikimedia public
domain images; scanned from Leisure Hour, Nov. 2, 1867, page 729)
Bartusiak, M. “The Cosmologist Left Behind” in Sky & Telescope, Sep. 2009, p. 30. On V. M. Slipher and his
measurements of galaxy motions.
Brush, S. “How Cosmology Became a Science” in Scientific American, Aug. 1992, p. 62. By a noted historian.
Christianson, G. “Mastering the Universe” in Astronomy, Feb. 1999, p. 60. Brief introduction to Hubble’s
life and work.
Golden, F. “Astronomy’s Feisty Old Man” in Astronomy, Dec. 1997, p. 54. A profile of Allan Sandage and his work
in pinning down the Hubble constant.
Naze, Y. “The Priest, the Universe, and the Big Bang” in Astronomy, Nov. 2007, p. 40. On the life and work of
Georges Lemaitre.
Osterbrock, D. “Edwin Hubble and the Expanding Universe” in Scientific American, July 1993, p. 84.
Smith, R. “The Great Debate Revisited” in Sky & Telescope, Jan. 1983, p. 28. On the Shapley-Curtis debate
concerning the nature of galaxies and the scale of the cosmos.
Voller, R. “The Man Who Measured the Cosmos” in Astronomy, Jan. 2012, p. 52. About Milton Humason.
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Papers and Articles on Teaching Cosmology
Image of the Cosmic Times newspaper, where readers
can find articles related to physics events during various times in the past century (Credit: NASA).
Lightman, A. & Miller, J. 1989, “Contemporary Cosmological Beliefs,” Social Studies of Science, vol. 19, p. 127.
Miller, E. 2003, “The Gender Gap in Cosmology: Results from a Small Case Study of Undergraduates,”
Astronomy Education Review, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 35, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2002004
Prather, E., et al. 2002, “Hints of a Fundamental Misconception in Cosmology,” Astronomy Education Review, vol.
1, no. 2, p. 28, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2002003
Wallace, Colin An Investigation into Introductory Astronomy Students’ Difficulties with Cosmology, and the
Development, Validation, and Efficacy of a new Suite of Cosmology Lecture-Tutorials. 2011,
PhD dissertation, University of Colorado.
On line at: http://www.colorado.edu/physics/EducationIssues/papers/WallaceDissertation.pdf
Wallace, C., Prather, E., and Duncan, D. 2011, “A Study of General Education Astronomy Students’ Understandings of Cosmology. Part I. Development and Validation of Four Conceptual Cosmology Surveys,” Astronomy Education Review, 10(1), 010106, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011029.
Wallace, C., Prather, E., and Duncan, D. 2011, “A Study of General Education Astronomy Students’ Understandings of Cosmology. Part II. Evaluating Four Conceptual Cosmology Surveys: A Classical Test Theory Approach,” Astronomy Education Review, 10(1), 010107, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011030.
Wallace, C., Prather, E., and Duncan, D. 2011, “A Study of General Education Astronomy Students’ Understandings of Cosmology. Part III. Evaluating Four Conceptual Cosmology Surveys: An Item Response Theory
Approach,” Astronomy Education Review, 11(1), 010103, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011031.
Wallace, C., Prather, E., and Duncan, D. 2011, “A Study of General Education Astronomy Students’ Understandings of Cosmology. Part IV. Common Difficulties Students Experience with Cosmology,” Astronomy Education Review., 11(1), 010104, http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011032.
Wallace, C., Prather, E., and Duncan D. 2012 “A Study of General Education Astronomy Students’ Understandings
of Cosmology. Part V. The Effects of a New Suite of Cosmology Lecture-Tutorials on Students’ Conceptual
Knowledge,” International Journal of Science Education, 34(9), 1297. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/
10.1080/09500693.2012.677960
Wallace, C. and Prather, E. 2012, “Teaching Physics with Hubble’s Law and Dark Matter,” American Journal of
Physics, 80, 382. http://scitation.aip.org/content/aapt/journal/ajp/80/5/10.1119/1.3684469
17
Notes
This Guide is intended to support the higher education community by making relevant NASA Science Mission
Directorate E/PO materials and other resources of potential interest easier to find. NASA-supported education
products have passed NASA’s Education Product Review. The selection of non-NASA materials and any opinions
expressed in the Guide are those of the compiler, and do not imply endorsement by NASA or the Astrophysics
Science Education and Public Outreach Forum.
Comments about the Cosmology Resource Guide and the needs of the astrophysics higher education community can be directed to the Astrophysics Forum Liaison to the NASA Science Mission Directorate Higher Education
Working Group: Greg Schultz (Astronomical Society of the Pacific), gschultz {at} astrosociety.org.
Acknowledgements
The Cosmology Resource Guide was produced in collaboration with the NASA Astrophysics education and
public outreach (E/PO) community. We also gratefully acknowledge the Astronomy 101 instructors whose input
on the needs of the higher education community helped shape this Guide.
Contributing NASA Astrophysics E/PO programs include: Astronomy Picture of the Day, the Chandra X-ray
Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the NASA Goddard Astrophysics Science Division, the Planck mission, the Sonoma State University E/PO group (Fermi, NuSTAR, Swift, XMM-Newton, Using the Big Ideas in
Cosmology), the former Structure and Evolution of the Universe Education Forum, the University of Arizona / JPL
Exoplanet Exploration Program Center for Astronomy Education, the University of Chicago E/PO group, and the
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).
The Astrophysics Forum is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate under Cooperative Agreement
NNX09AQ11A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Adler Planetarium
and Astronomy Museum, and Johns Hopkins University. Contributing Team Members: Higher Education Liaison,
Greg Schultz (Astronomical Society of the Pacific); NASA Content Additions, Mangala Sharma (Space Telescope
Science Institute); Image Caption Support, Brandon Lawton (Space Telescope Science Institute); Graphic Design:
Pam Jeffries (Space Telescope Science Institute).
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