Our conception of the universe has changed dramatically since the Middle Ages (500-1500); before Galileo and Copernicus, we thought the earth was at the center of a bounded, and relatively small, universe. Even after Galileo discovered that the Sun was at the center of the universe, the idea of a bounded universe continued through the eighteenth-century's Enlightenment.

"Our solar system, once considered unique, now stands as merely the first known example of a planetary system. Since October of 1995, astronomers at ground-based observatories in Europe and the United States have announced that they've found evidence of at least seven alien planets orbiting other stars (84)": 51 Pegasi, 70 Virginis, 47 Ursae Majoris, 55 rho1 Cancri, Lelande 21185, and Psr 1257+12. The universe contains at least ten billion to at least fifty billion galaxies, with each galazy consisting of tens of billions to hundreds of billions of stars. And one in ten of those suns, astronomers speculate, has planets revolving around them" (Dava, Sobel, "Among Planets," The New Yorker, 84-90.)

"Cosmic Laws Like Speed of Light Might Be Changing, a Study Finds"

"The Universe Might Last Forever, Astronomers Say, but Life Might Not"

The purpose of the Hubble Space Telescope is to probe beyond our galaxy (the Milky Way) in order to determine the size, age, and fate of the universe --whether it will expand forever or eventually contract.