Cosmology is the empirical study of the organization, structure and evolution of the Universe. This study is not simply a dispassionate exercise in physics and math but rather a reflection of our insatiable desire to understand our environment and to feel connected to it. As such, a cosmological model is transcendent and often provides the basis for cultural value systems. In this first Chapter we will outline the relation between cultural values and cosmological models and how one shapes the other. The strong desire to understand our place in the Cosmos seems endemic to all cultures as they reach out and form some grand set of ideas about the nature of the World. While these grand ideas certainly evolve with time the root desire to feel connected to the Cosmos is all pervasive and may well be culturally invariant. Thus while the details of various cosmologies may be quite different, their existence is a testimony of the tenacity in which intelligent life strives for true understanding.
Greg Bothun, Author of Cosmology: Life in the Universe
Research Profile:
During the period 1980-2000 G. Bothun published 160 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. This record of productivity and the subsequent citation of these papers lead to Bothun being inducted as an inaugural member (in 2002) of the ISI Highly cited researcher in Space Sciences which recognizes the top 0.5% of all cited international scholars in the field of Space Sciences. During this same time period, Bothun produced 15 Ph.D students in observational astrophysics. In addition, Bothun wrote a graduate level textbook (Modern Cosmological Observations and Problems) which sold out its first printing and, also predicted that the Cosmological Constant must be part of the real cosmology at work, approximately 1 year before there was credible observational evidence in favor of it.
During this period of performance, Bothun was involved in many collaborations that resulted in many breakthrough moments in Extragalactic (the study of objects outside of our Galaxy) Astronomy. These moments include:
Overall Bothun’s work is characterized by innovative observations using then state of the art equipment convolved with a high ability to analyze large and complex data sets using clever statistical techniques. In recent years, he has taken that skill set and applied it to new research areas involving the characterization of climate change as well as the characterization of various forms of alternative energy production as scalable solutions to the coming world energy/electricity production problem
Chapter 1: The Transient Certainty of Cosmological Models: What History Tells Us
Chapter 2: The Role of the Anamoly in Correcting Comological Models
Chapter 3: Wait, the Universe is Exanding? Gravity is Curvature? The Universe if full of Dark Energy?
Chapter 4: The Universe You Can't Build in the Lab: A Strange and Rapidly Evolving Environment
Chapter 5: The Matter Dominated Universe: From Helium to Uranium
Chapter 6: Intelligent Life in the Universe: The Supernova Connection
Chapter 7: Is There Anybody Out There?