Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda serve as the primary texts preserving Norse cosmological beliefs. The Poetic Edda was compiled in the 13th century from earlier oral sources, while Snorri Sturluson wrote the Prose Edda during the same period.
The cosmos originated when rime formed from ice met heat from Muspell within the void of Ginnungagap. This interaction created the primordial giant Ymir who produced the first beings through his sweat and limbs.
Sól represents the sun goddess while Máni is the male moon entity. Jörð personifies Earth, Nótt embodies night, Dagr signifies day, and Rán along with her husband Ägir governs the sea and their Nine Daughters.
Yggdrasil acts as a cosmic tree connecting various realms where creatures dwell on and around it. Three roots extend into different locations including Urðarbrunnr, Hvergelmir, and Mímisbrunnr to support the tree.
Scholars propose identifications such as Ásgarðr, Vanaheimr, Álfheimr, Miðgarðr, Jötunheimr, Múspellsheimr, Svartálfaheimr, Niflheimr, and Niðavellir. No clear list exists in the Old Norse corpus if it provides them at all.
Mankind will be repopulated by Líf and Lífþrasir emerging from Yggdrasil after the world resurfaces anew. This cycle suggests destruction leads to rebirth rather than final extinction within Norse eschatology.