versão impressa ISSN 0103-4014
STEINER, João E.. The origin of the universe. Estud. av. [online]. 2006, vol.20, n.58, pp. 231-248. ISSN 0103-4014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-40142006000300022.
THE VARIOUS cosmological models along history are briefly reviewed. The evolution of the ideas may be understood as successive models such as the flat earth, the geocentric models as well as the heliocentric and the galacto-centric ones. In the last century, a concept was developed, the big-bang theory, that describes the most sophisticated observations on hand today and shows that the universe had an origin that can be search with scientific methods. In recent decades this model was refined to a new concept: inflation. By the end of the century and millenium new discoveries showed that all known matter is only the tip of the iceberg in a universe dominated by dark energy and dark matter whose natures remain mysterious.
Palavras-chave : Universe; Cosmology; History of astronomy; Big Bang.