RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Planets, Stars & Galaxies

 The Universe is is a large collection of billions of galaxies

o It is also the name given to the entirety of space
 A galaxy is a large collection of a billions of stars
o Stars are astronomical objects such as the Sun
 These stars are part of Solar systems
o Our Solar system is in the Milky Way galaxy
 Each Solar system has a number of planets
o Our planet, the Earth, is the third of eight planets in our Solar System
o The Sun is at the centre of our Solar System
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

8.1.2 Gravitational Field Strength

Gravitational Field Strength

 The strength of gravity on different planets after an object’s weight on that planet
 Weight is defined as:

The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction

 Planets have strong gravitational fields

o Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong gravitational force
 Because of weight:
o Objects stay firmly on the ground
o Objects will always fall to the ground
o Satellites are kept in orbit

Objects are attracted towards the centre of the Earth due to its gravitational field strength

 Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g differs
between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space, including the
Moon because of the planet or moon’s mass
o The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field strength
o A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards the
centre of that planet or moon
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is roughly
the same
 However, the value of g varies dramatically for different planets and moons

 The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg

 The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the Earth
o This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than on the
Earth
 The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and Saturn)
is more than on the Earth
o This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the Earth

Value for g on the different objects in the Solar System

 On such planets such as Jupiter, an object’s mass remains the same at all points in space
 However, their weight will be a lot greater meaning for example, a human will be unable to
fully stand up
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up

8.1.3 Orbital Motion

Orbital Motion

 There are many orbiting objects in our solar system and they each orbit a different type of
planetary body

Orbiting Objects or Bodies in Our Solar System Table

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body

o For example, a planet orbiting a Sun
 In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling
things towards that body
o Gravity provides this force
 The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always
attractive
o Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger body
 The gravitational force will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path

Gravitational attraction causes the Moon to orbit around the Earth

 Gravity causes different astronomical orbits to orbit certain others

 In general:
o Planets orbit the Sun
o Moons orbit planets
o Comets orbit the Sun
o Artificial satellites to orbit the Earth or any body in the Solar System

Differences in Orbits
Orbits of Planets

 There are several similarities in the way different planets orbit the Sun:
o Their orbits are all slightly elliptical (stretched circles) with the Sun at one focus
(approximately the centre of the orbit)
o They all orbit in the same plane
o They all travel the same direction around the Sun

 There are also a few differences:

o They orbit at different distances from the Sun (different orbital radius)
o They orbit at different speeds
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

o They all take different amounts of time to orbit the Sun

 The further away a planet is from the Sun, the slower it travels and therefore the longer it
takes to orbit

The orbits of planets around the Sun

Orbits of Moons

 Moons orbit planets in a circular path

 Some planets have more than one moon
 The closer the moon is to the planet:
o The shorter the time it will take to orbit
o The greater the speed of the orbit

Comets

 The orbits of comets are very different to those of planets:

 Their orbits are highly elliptical (very stretched) or hyperbolic
o This causes the speed of the comets to change significantly as their distance from
the Sun changes
o Not all comets orbit in the same plane as the planets and some don’t even orbit in
the same direction

 As the comet approaches the sun, its speed increases

 As it moves further away from the sun, its speed decreases
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

The elliptical orbit of a comet

8.1.4 Orbital Period

Calculating Orbital Period

 When planets move around the Sun, or a moon moves around a planet, they orbit
in circular motion
o This means that in one orbit, a planet travels a distance equal to the circumference
of a circle (2πr) describing that orbit

 Using the relationship between speed, distance and time, the orbital speed of an object can
be defined by the equation:

 Where:
o v = orbital speed in metres per second (m/s)
o r = orbital radius in metres (m)
o T = time period in seconds (s)

 This time period is defined as:

The time taken for an object to complete one orbit

 The orbital radius r is always taken from the centre of the object being orbited to the object
orbiting
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Orbital radius and orbital speed of a planet moving around a Sun

Worked Example

The Hubble Space Telescope moves in a circular orbit. Its distance above the Earth’s surface is 560 km and
the radius of the Earth is 6400 km. It completes one orbit in 96 minutes.

Calculate its orbital speed in m/s.

Step 1: List the known quantities


o Radius of the Earth = 6400 km
o Distance of the telescope above the Earth’s surface = 560 km
o Time period, T = 96 minutes

Step 2: Write the relevant equation

Step 3: Calculate the orbital radius, r


o The orbital radius is the distance from the centre of the Earth to the telescope

r = Radius of the Earth + Distance of the telescope above the Earth’s surface

r = 6400 + 560 = 6960 km

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Step 4: Convert any units


o The time period needs to be in seconds

1 minute = 60 seconds

96 minutes = 60 × 96 = 5760 s


o The radius needs to be in metres

1 km = 1000 m

6960 km = 6 960 000 m

Step 5: Substitute values into the orbital speed equation

8.2.1 Classification of Stars

Classification of Stars

 Stars come in a wide range of sizes and colours, from yellow stars to red dwarfs, from blue
giants to red super giants
o These can be classified according to their colour
 Warm objects emit infrared and extremely hot objects emit visible light as well
o Therefore, the colour they emit depends on how hot they are

 A star’s colour is related to its surface temperature

o A red star is the coolest (at around 3000 K)
o A blue star is the hottest (at around 30 000 K)

The colour of a star correlates to its temperature

 This is why white dwarfs, for example, are very hot and red giants are red because they
are cool
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 Astronomical objects cool as they expand and heat up as they contract, such as when a
star reaches the end of its life and becomes a red giant
o This means that their colour will also change accordingly with their temperature

8.2.2 The Life Cycle of Solar Mass Stars

The Life Cycle of Solar Mass Stars
1. Nebula

 All stars form from a giant cloud of hydrogen gas and dust called a nebula

2. Protostar

 The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer together until it forms a hot
ball of gas, known as a protostar
 As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar will increase
o This will result in more frequent collisions between the particles which causes
the temperature to increase

3. Main Sequence Star

 Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions occur within its core
o The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
o Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which keeps the core hot
 Thermal expansion from fusion reactions occur within its core due to fusion and the force
of gravity keeps the star in equilibrium
 At this point, the star is born, and it becomes a main-sequence star
 During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to be stable
o The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward pressure force which
results from the expanding hot gases inside the star

4. Red Giant

 After several billion years the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in the star will begin to
run out
 Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down
 This causes the core to shrink and heat up
o The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity will
become greater than the outward force due to the pressure dies down
 A new series of reactions will then occur around the core, for example, helium nuclei will
undergo fusion to form beryllium
 As the core shrinks, more reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand
 It will become a red giant
o It is red because the outer surface starts to cool

5. White Dwarf

 The star will eventually become unstable and eject the outer layer of dust and gas
 The core which is left behind will collapse completely, due to the pull of gravity, and the
star will become a white dwarf
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 The white dwarf will be cooling down and as a result, the amount of energy it emits
will decrease

The lifecycle of a solar mass star

Exam Tip

Make sure you remember the life cycle for a solar mass star and ensure you can describe the sequence in a
logically structured manner in case a 6 marker comes up in the exam!

Ensure you can remember the end stages for a solar mass star clearly (red giant, planetary nebula, white
dwarf) as this is different for a star that is much larger than our Sun!
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

8.2.3 The Life Cycle of Larger Stars

The Life Cycle of Larger Stars

 A large star is one that is much larger than the Sun

o Stars that are larger than the Sun have much shorter lifespans – in the region of
hundreds of millions of years (instead of billions)
 The life cycle of a star larger than the Sun starts in the same way as a solar mass star

1. Nebula

 All stars form from a giant cloud of hydrogen gas and dust called a nebula

2. Protostar

 The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer together until it forms a hot
ball of gas, known as a protostar
 As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar will increase
o This will result in more frequent collisions between the particles which causes
the temperature to increase

3. Main Sequence Star

 Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions occur within its core
o The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
o Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which keeps the core hot
 Thermal expansion from fusion reactions occur within its core and the force of gravity
keeps the star in equilibrium
 At this point, the star is born, and it becomes a main-sequence star
 During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to be stable
o The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward pressure force which
results from the expanding hot gases inside the star

4. Red Supergiant

 Eventually, the main sequence star will reach a stage when it starts to run out of hydrogen
gas in its core
 Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down
 This causes the core to shrink and heat up
o The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity is greater than
the outward force due to the pressure of the expanding gases
 A new series of fusion reactions will then occur around the core, for example, helium nuclei
will undergo fusion to form beryllium
 These fusion reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand and it will become
a super red giant
o A super red giant is much larger than a red giant

5. Supernova

 Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the core of the star
will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion
o This is called a supernova
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
 The outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during a supernova

6. Neutron Star (or Black Hole)

 At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
 In the case of the largest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will continue
to collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole
o A black hole is an extremely dense point in space that not even light can escape
from

Lifecycle of stars much larger than our Sun

Exam Tip

Make sure you remember the life cycle for a high mass star and ensure you can describe the sequence in a
logically structured manner in case a 6 marker comes up in the exam!

Ensure you can remember the end stages for a high mass star clearly (red supergiant, supernova, neutron
star/black hole) as this is different for a star that is a similar size to the Sun!
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

8.2.4 The Brightness of Stars

Absolute Magnitude

 Astronomers measure the brightness of stars at a standard distance using the absolute magnitude scale
 This is because a really bright star far away will look the same as a dim star nearby, so it is difficult to
measure the brightness directly
 This scale runs back to front:
o The brighter the star, the smaller the magnitude
o The dimmer the star, the larger the magnitude
 The brightness of a star depends on two main factors:
o How much light the star emits
o How far away the star is (more distant stars are usually fainter than nearby stars)
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Examples of the apparent magnitude of different bodies in the Solar System

 The absolute magnitude of stars is a measure of how bright they would be if they were all the same
distance away from Earth
o More specifically, if it was 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years or 3.04 × 1014 km) away from the Earth
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

8.2.5 Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams

 Stars are classified using the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram

 This is a plot of:
o The luminosity on the y-axis
 This is from dim (at the bottom) to bright (at the top)
o The temperature on the x-axis
 This is from hot (on the left) to cool (to the right)
 This is normally in Kelvin

The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 The main features of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are:

o Most stars lie on the Main Sequence. This is the band of stars going from top left to
bottom right
o Below the main sequence (and slightly to the left) are the White Dwarfs
o Above the main sequence on the right-hand side are the Red Giants
o Above those are the Red Supergiants

 This means the white dwarfs are dimmer and hotter than the red giants which
are brighter and cooler
 Sometimes, the absolute magnitude is on the y-axis instead
o Remember this will still go from dimmest (highest number) at the bottom to brightest
(lowest number) at the top!

Exam Tip

Make sure you remember the key components of this diagram to be able to draw this diagram from memory,
more specifically which way around the axis go – the x-axis is the opposite way round to what you might be
used to!

8.3.1 The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory

 Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region that
was extremely hot and dense
 Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the Big Bang
 This caused the universe to expand from a single point, cooling as it does so, to form the
universe today
 Each point expands away from the others
o This is seen from galaxies moving away from each other, and the further away they
are the faster they move
 As a result of the initial explosion, the Universe continues to expand
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

All galaxies are moving away from each other, indicating that the universe is expanding

 An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where the balloon represents space and the
points as galaxies
 When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close together and an equal distance apart
 As the balloon expands, all the points become further apart by the same amount
 This is because the space itself has expanded between the galaxies
o Therefore, the density of galaxies falls as the Universe expands
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

A balloon inflating is similar to the stretching of the space between galaxies

Single Science Only

Evidence for the Big Bang

 Since there is more evidence supporting the Big Bang theory than the Steady State theory,
it is the currently accepted model for the origin of the Universe
 The main pieces of evidence for the Big Bang are
o Galactic red-shift
o Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation

Evidence from Galactic Red-Shift

 By observing the light spectrums from supernovae in other galaxies there is evidence to
suggest that distant galaxies are receding (moving further apart) even faster than nearby
galaxies
o These observations were first made in 1998

 The light spectrums show that light from distant galaxies is redshifted, which is evidence
that the universe is expanding
 As a result, astronomers have concluded that:
o All galaxies are moving away from the Earth
o Galaxies are moving away from each other
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 This is what is expected after an explosion

o Matter is first densely packed and as it explodes it, it moves out in all directions
getting further and further from the source of the explosion
o Some matter will be lighter and travel at a greater speed, further from the source of
the explosion
o Some matter will be heavier and travel at a slower speed, closer to the source of
the explosion

 If someone were to travel back in time and compare the separation distance of the
galaxies:
o It would be seen that galaxies would become closer and closer together until the
entire universe was a single point
 If the galaxies were originally all grouped together at a single point and were then exploded
a similar effect would be observed
o The galaxies that are the furthest are moving the fastest – their distance is
proportional to their speed
o The galaxies that are closer are moving slower

Tracing the expansion of the universe back to the beginning of time leads to the idea the universe began
with a “big bang”
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Evidence from CMB Radiation

 The discovery of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) led to the Big Bang theory
becoming the currently accepted model
o The CMB is a type of electromagnetic radiation which is a remnant from the early
stages of the Universe
o It has a wavelength of around 1 mm making it a microwave, hence the name
Cosmic Microwave Background

 In 1964, Astronomers discovered radiation in the microwave region of the electromagnetic

spectrum coming from all directions and at a generally uniform temperature of 2.73 K
o They were unable to do this any earlier since microwaves are absorbed by the
atmosphere
o Around this time, space flight was developed which enabled astronomers to send
telescopes into orbit above the atmosphere

 According to the Big Bang theory, the early Universe was an

extremely hot and dense environment
o As a result of this, it must have emitted thermal radiation

 The radiation is in the microwave region

o This is because over the past 14 billion years or so, the radiation initially from the Big
Bang has become redshifted as the Universe has expanded
o Initially, this would have been high energy radiation, towards the gamma end of the
spectrum
o As the Universe expanded, the wavelength of the radiation increased
o Over time, it has increased so much that it is now in the microwave region of the
spectrum

The CMB is a result of high energy radiation being redshifted over billions of years

 The CMB radiation is very uniform and has the exact profile expected to be emitted from
a hot body that has cooled down over a very long time
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

o This phenomenon is something that other theories (such as the Steady State
Theory) cannot explain

 The CMB is represented by the following map:

The CMB map with areas of higher and lower temperature. Places with higher temperature have a higher
concentration of galaxies, Suns and planets

 This is the closest image to a map of the Universe

 The different colours represent different temperatures
o The red / orange / brown regions represent warmer temperature indicating a higher
density of galaxies
o The blue regions represents cooler temperature indicating a lower density of
galaxies

 The temperature of the CMB is mostly uniform, however, there are minuscule temperature
fluctuations (on the order of 0.00001 K)
o This implies that all objects in the Universe are more or less uniformly spread out
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

8.3.2 Doppler Shift

The Doppler Effect

 Usually, when an object emits waves, the wavefronts spread out symmetrically
o If the wave source moves, the waves can become squashed together or stretched
out
 Therefore, when a wave source moves relative to an observer there will be a change in the
observed frequency and wavelength

Wavefronts are even in a stationary object but are squashed in the direction of the moving wave source

 A moving object will cause the wavelength, λ, (and frequency) of the waves to change:
o The wavelength of the waves in front of the source decreases (λ – Δλ) and
the frequency increases
o The wavelength behind the source increases (λ + Δλ) and the frequency
decreases
o This effect is known as the Doppler effect or Doppler shift

 Note: Δλ means ‘change in wavelength‘

Calculating Doppler Shift of Light

 Doppler shift can be calculated using the equation:

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

 Where:
o λ = observed wavelength of the source in metres (m)
o λ0 = reference wavelength in metres (m)
o Δλ = change in wavelength in metres (m)
o v = velocity of a galaxy in metres per seconds (m/s)
o c = the speed of light in metres per second (m/s)

 This means that the change in wavelength, Δλ:

Δλ = λ – λ0

 This equation can be used to calculate the velocity of a galaxy if its wavelength can be
measured and compared to a reference wavelength
 Since the fractions have the same units on the numerator (top number) and denominator
(bottom number), the Doppler shift has no units

Worked Example

Light emitted from a star has a wavelength of 435 × 10-9 m. A distance galaxy emits the same light but has a
wavelength of 485 × 10-9 m.

Calculate the speed at which the galaxy is moving relative to Earth.

The speed of light = 3 × 108 m/s.

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Exam Tip

This equation will not be provided for you in the exam, so make sure to memorise it and get lots of practice
using it!

8.3.3 Galactic Red-shift

Galactic Red-shift

 The Doppler effect affects all types of waves, including light

 Light emitted from stars and galaxies will be at a certain wavelength in the visible part of the
electromagnetic spectrum
 If an object moves away from an observer the wavelength of light increases
o This is known as redshift as the light moves towards the red end of the spectrum
 If an object moves towards an observer the wavelength of light decreases
o This is known as blueshift as the light moves towards the blue end of the spectrum
RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Light from a star that is moving towards an observer will be blue shifted and light from a star moving
away from an observer will be red shifted

 An increase in wavelength is a decrease in frequency and vice versa

 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

The observer in front observes a blue shift, the observer behind observes a redshift

Exam Tip

You need to know that in the visible light spectrum red light has the longest wavelength and the smallest
frequency compared to blue light which has a shorter wavelength and higher frequency
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

To help you to remember what happens to the wavelength and the frequency of an object as it moves further
away, it is useful to think about how the sound of a motorbike would change as it travels away from you.
As the motorbike travels away from you the pitch of the sound will become lower. This means the
frequency of the sound is decreasing. If the frequency has decreased, the wavelength must also have
increased.

Single Science Only

The Expanding Universe

 Galactic redshift provides evidence for the Big Bang Theory and the expansion of the
universe
 The diagram below shows the light coming to us from a close object, such as the Sun,
and the light coming to the Earth from a distant galaxy
 RANKER’S ACADEMY SPACE PHYSICS (NOTES)

Comparing the light spectrum produced from the Sun and a distant galaxy

Red-shift provides evidence that the Universe is expanding because:

 Red-shift is observed when the spectral lines from the distant galaxy move closer to
the red end of the spectrum
o This is because light waves are stretched by the expansion of the universe so the
wavelength increases (or frequency decreases)
o This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us

 Light spectrums produced from distant galaxies are red-shifted more than nearby galaxies
o This shows that the greater the distance to the galaxy, the greater the redshift
o This means that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from the
Earth

 These observations imply that the universe is expanding and therefore support the Big
Bang Theory

Graph showing the greater the distance to a galaxy, the greater the redshift