Abstract
Whether majoring in science or not, students at high school and undergraduate university level are confronted with issues of cosmology, a subject which has only attracted a limited amount of attention in the context of science education (Kragh 2011a ). It is important that when students are introduced to cosmology, this is done
correctly not only in the technical sense but also in a conceptual sense. As shown by several studies, misconceptions abound in both areas. They include some of the philosophical aspects that are so closely intertwined with cosmology in the wider sense and to which a large part of cosmology’s popular appeal can be attributed.
These aspects need to be addressed and coordinated with the more standard, scientific aspects. In this respect it is often an advantage to refer not only to the modern big
bang theory but also to older developments that may illuminate modern problems in cosmology in a simple and instructive manner.
