Reflections on the Rôle of Time in (Astro-) Physics

As inhabitants of the universe, understanding it is an integral part of our self-awareness and thus of our consciousness as parts of a greater whole. An important aspect in this context is the nature, the manifestation, and the experience of time. In this contribution, I will present some reflections on properties of time on scales of the universe. These properties go far beyond what we are used to in our everyday life. I will address how astrophysical processes define a unique arrow of time. And I will describe how astrophysics uses the immensity of the geometrical and temporal size of the universe, combined with a finite but universally identical maximum speed of communication to verify simulations of the evolution of cosmic objects.