on the fundamental theories of physicsthermodynamics, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and special and general relativityand on several branches of philosophyphilosophy of physics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, and epistemology. Religious cosmology In theology, the cosmos is the created heavenly bodies (sun, moon, wandering stars, and fixed stars). The concept of cosmos as the created universe and its arrangement has been important in Christendom since its very inception, as it is heavily used in the New Testament and occurs over 180 times. In Christian theology, the word is sometimes used synonymously with aion to refer to "worldly life" or "this world" or "this age" as opposed to the afterlife or world to come, although "aion/aeon" is also at times used in a more other-worldly sense as the eternal plane of the divine Cosmology’s Standard Model Physical cosmology has achieved a consensus Standard Model (SM), based on extending the local physics governing gravity and the other forces to describe the overall structure of the universe and its evolution. According to the SM, the universe has evolved from an extremely high temperature early state, by expanding, cooling, and developing structures at various scales, such as galaxies and stars. This model is based on bold extrapolations of existing theoriesapplying general relativity, for example, at length scales 14 orders of magnitude larger than the those at which it has been testedand requires several novel ingredients, such as dark matter and dark energy. The last few decades have been a golden age of physical cosmology, as the SM has been developed in rich detail and substantiated by compatibility with a growing body of observations. Here we will briefly introduce some of the central concepts of the SM to provide the minimal background needed for the ensuing discussion. See also Carl Sagan Cosmos (Carl Sagan book) Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Cosmic View Cosmic Zoom Cosmonaut Cosmicism Cosmogony Cosmogram Cosmography Macrocosm and microcosm Megaverse (disambiguation) Oikeiôsis (Stoic cosmopolitanism) Omega point (de Chardin) Omniverse (disambiguation) Rerikhism Russian cosmism References Further reading Greene, B. (1999). The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. W.W. Norton, New York Hawking, S.W. (2001). The Universe in a Nutshell. Bantam Book. Yulsman, T. (2003). Origins: The Quest for our Cosmic Roots. Institute of Physics Publishing, London. External links Cosmos – an Illustrated Dimensional Journey from microcosmos to macrocosmos – from