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The first and most compelling evidence of the universe's expansion was, and continues to be, the observed redshift of spectra from distant objects. This paper plays "devil's advocate" by providing an alternative explanation with elementary…
We analyze Hubble's approach to cosmology. In 1929 he accepted a finite expanding universe in order to explain the redshifts of distant galaxies. Later on he turned to an infinite stationary universe due to observational constraints. We…
In the year 1924, a paper by Carl Wirtz appeared in Astronomische Nachrichten, entitled 'De Sitter's cosmology and the radial motion of spiral galaxies'. This paper and its author remained largely unnoticed by the community, but it seems to…
The Hubble law, determined from the distance modulii and redshifts of galaxies, for the past 80 years, has been used as strong evidence for an expanding universe. This claim is reviewed in light of the claimed lack of necessary evidence for…
The objective of this paper is not simply to present an historical overview of Einstein's cosmological considerations, but to discuss the central role they played in shaping the paradigm of relativistic cosmology. This, we'll show, was a…
The meaning of the expansion of the universe, or the `expansion of space,' is explored using two phenomena: the motion of a test particle against a homogeneous background and the cosmological redshift. Contrary to some expectations, a…
We present a translation and analysis of a cosmic model published by Einstein in 1931. The paper, which is not widely known, features a model of a universe that undergoes an expansion followed by a contraction, quite different to his static…
Recently [arXiv:astro-ph/0612155] we presented a formal mathematical proof that, contrary to a widespread misconception, cosmological expansion cannot be understood as the motion of galaxies in non-expanding space. We showed that the…
The purpose of the paper is five-fold: (a) Argue that the question in the title can be presented in a meaningful manner and that it requires an answer. (b) Discuss the conventional answers and explain why they are unsatisfactory. (c)…
We review the main scientific pictures of the universe developed from ancient times to Albert Einstein and underline that all of them treated the universe as a stationary system with unchanged physical properties. In contrast to this, 100…
The redshift of galaxies is in general explained by the expansion of space. The flat space time theory of gravitation suggests an additional interpretation. In this theory gravitation is explained analogously to Maxwell's theory on a flat…
Recent observations of distant supernovae imply, in defiance of expectations, that the universe growth is accelerating, contrary to what has always been assumed that the expansion is slowing down due to gravity. In this paper a…
Arthur Stanley Eddington was one of the leading astronomers and theorists of his generation and a prominent proponent of the general theory of relativity. Yet when his former assistant Georges Lemaitre sent him a paper in 1927 suggesting…
The standard interpretation of the observed redshifted spectra and luminosities towards distant astrophysical objects is that the universe is expanding, an inference which is found to be consistent with other cosmological probes as well.…
Who discovered the expanding universe? Was it Hubble, or Lema\^itre, or was it just the end result of a long series of investigations? In this article we summarise the main steps and contributions that led to one of the most exciting…
The Big Bang frame of work for cosmology is a theoretical construct based upon one possible interpretation of the Hubble observation of the red shift from distant galaxies. Almost all of the scientific experimental evidence has been…
I will review some results of observational cosmology which critically cast doubt upon the foundations of the standard cosmology: 1) The redshifts of the galaxies are due to the expansion of the Universe; 2) The cosmic microwave background…
Attempts to measure extragalactic distances over the last 90 years are briefly described. It follows a short history of the discovery of the expansion of space. Reasons are discussed for the decrease of the Hubble constant from Ho~500…
New precision in measuring extragalactic distances using supernovae has confirmed with high probability an accelerating increase in redshift with distance. This has been interpreted as implying the existence of dark energy in an expanding…
In classes on cosmology, students are often told that photons stretch as space expands, but just how physical is this picture? Does space really expand? In this article, we explore the notion of the redshift of light with Einstein's general…