For other uses, see Cosmos (disambiguation). This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) The Ancient and Medieval cosmos as depicted in Peter Apian's Cosmographia (Antwerp, 1539). In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος (kosmos), meaning amongst others "order" but also "ornament"1 and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe (considered in its orderly aspect). The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same root. In many Slavic languages such as Russian and Bulgarian, the word Космос cosmos means also the "outer space". In Mandarin Chinese, cosmos is translated as 宇宙 yuzhou, which literally translated means space-time (宇 yu = space + 宙 zhou = time). Contents 1 Philosophy 2 Theology 3 Cosmology 4 Integral Philosophy 5 Ancient Greek conception of the cosmos 6 Age and size of the cosmos 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Philosophy The largest extent of the Universe so far

Pythagoras is said to have been the first philosopher to apply the term cosmos to the Universe, perhaps from application to the starry firmament. Russian cosmism is a cosmocentric philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in Russia in the early 20th century. Cosmicism is a philosophical position that mankind is an insignificant aspect of a universe at best indifferent and perhaps hostile. This philosophy, explored by writers such as H.P. Lovecraft (who some say is the original proponent of the philosophy) and later writers who actually represented the beliefs in books such as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Theology

In theology, the term can be used to denote the created Universe, not including the creator. The Septuagint uses both kosmos and oikumene for the inhabited world. In Christian theology, the word was also used synonymously with aion to refer to "worldly life" or "this world" as opposed to the afterlife. The cosmos as originated by Pythagoras is parallel to the Zoroastrian term aša, the concept of a divine order, or divinely ordered creation. Olaf Stapledon, in his science fiction novel Star Maker (1937), describes how God (the Star Maker) evolves by creating ever more complex cosmoses across multicosmic hypertime. Cosmology Main article: Cosmology Flammarion engraving, Paris 1888

Cosmology is the study of the cosmos in several of the above meanings, depending on context. All cosmologies have in common an attempt to understand the implicit order within the whole of being. In this way, most religions and philosophical systems have a cosmology. Image of distribution of the cosmic microwave background radiation 700,000 years after the Big Bang, generally assumed to have occurred about 13,700,000,000 years ago. In physical cosmology, the term cosmos is often used in a technical way, referring to a particular space-time continuum within the (postulated) multiverse. Our particular cosmos is generally capitalized as the Cosmos. Integral Philosophy

The philosopher Ken Wilber uses the term kosmos to refer to all of manifest existence, including various realms of consciousness. The term kosmos so used distinguishes a nondual Universe (which, in his view, includes both noetic and physical aspects) from the strictly physical Universe that is the concern of the traditional sciences. Ancient Greek conception of the cosmos The Ancient Greek natural philosopher Archimedes in his essay The Sand Reckoner, estimated the diameter of the cosmos to be the equivalent in stadia of what we call two light years. Age and size of the cosmos Main article: Observable universe

According to current scientific theory, the cosmos began 13.7 billion years ago short scale in the Big Bang. The current diameter of the observable cosmos is thought to be about 93 billion light years. The diameter of the entire cosmos is unknown and possibly infinite. In some meanings of "cosmos" the speaker is speaking of the infinite of space, even that which reaches beyond the edges of the universe. "Beyond the edges of the universe" meaning the points in space where the universe has yet to expand into. See also Anthropic principle Astronomy Cosmic Logos Cosmic View Cosmic Zoom Cosmology Cosmogram Cosmography Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (Carl Sagan's television documentary series) Fate of the universe Lambda-CDM model Large scale structure of the cosmos Macrocosm and microcosm Megaverse Multiverse Observable universe Omega point (de Chardin) Omega point (Tipler) Omniverse Timeline of the Big Bang References ^ κόσμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus External links Cosmos – an Illustrated Dimensional Journey from microcosmos to macrocosmos – from Digital Nature Agency Macrocosm and Microcosm, in Dictionary of the History of Ideas Encyclopedia of Cosmos merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmic