Cosmologists who study the structure and evolution of the universe have developed a number of theories to explain the its origins. One of the most popular was called the steady-state theory. The theory was first proposed by Thomas Gold and Hermann Bondi (1919-) in 1948. They suggested that the structure of the universe is homogeneous; it is the same everywhere, no matter in what part of the universe you are located. They called this assumption the cosmological principle. They went on to suggest that the universe was not only the same from everywhere, but also from "every-when." The cosmological principal is consistent; the universe should look the same not only from all locations, but at all times, past, present and future.
Edwin Powell Hubble had found that the universe was expanding, and the galaxies were all moving away from each other. To account for such observations, it was suggested that as the galaxies spread apart, new matter was constantly being created in the empty space left behind. This matter became new galaxies, and so the view of the cosmos remained unchanging.
Many astronomers, including Fred Hoyle, adopted the steady state theory enthusiastically. It was simple and had symmetry; the universe was infinite, unchanging and would last forever.
Unfortunately, the theory also had a number of problems. The most significant problem with the theory was the issue of continuous creation. According to the steady state theory, matter was being constantly created out of nothing throughout eternity. Hoyle, an extremely gifted astronomer and writer, said it was far easier to accept a steady state theory which involved continuous creation of a little bit of matter accumulating over the eons, than to believe that all the matter in the universe was created instantly in a single big bang, which became the name of the opposing theory of creation.
Another problem arose. If the steady state theory was correct, astronomers realized they should see some galaxies comprised of very old, evolved stars with others containing mostly new ones. This was not the case. All the galaxies had all ages of stars in them.
Proponents of both theories clashed for over 15 years. Finally, in 1963, the "steady-state" theory began to crumble when Maarten Schmidt (1929-) discovered quasars. Steady-state cosmology could not account for these strange energetic objects that were found only at apparently great distances. If matter were being created continuously, one would expect to see them spread evenly everywhere.
A year later, in 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert W. Wilson (1936-) detected the background microwave radiation which was predicted by the big bang theory as the remains of the initial explosion of creation. The steady-state theory was soon abandoned.
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