• At the end of the session, the learners are
hoped and expected to:
– Describe the historical
development of theories that
explain the origin of the
universe;
Objectives – Compare the different
hypotheses explaining the
origin of the Solar System
– Appreciate the contributions
of philosophers in
understanding the origin of the
universe
Theories on the
Origin of the
Universe
and the Solar
System
Oscillating-move or swing back and forth at
a regular speed.
Primordial-existing at or from the beginning
of time; primeval.
Stoic-a person who can endure pain or
hardship without showing their feelings or
complaining. A member of the ancient
philosophical school of Stoicism
Vortex- a vortex, for Descartes, is a large
circling band of material particle
A rogue star, primarily known as
an intergalactic star, is a star that has
escaped the gravitational pull of its home
galaxy and is moving independently in or
towards the intergalactic void. More loosely,
any star in an unusual location or state of
motion may be termed a rogue star.
Biblical Bases:
God created the universe.
- describes a cyclical or oscillating Brahmanda
universe in which a “cosmic egg”,
or Brahmanda, containing the (Cosmic
whole universe (including the Sun,
Moon, planets and all of space) Egg)
expands out of a single
concentrated point called a Bindu Universe
before subsequently collapsing The Hindu Rigveda, written
again. in India around the 15th -
12th Century B.C.,
Anaxagorea
n Universe :
Anaxagoras believed that the original state
of the cosmos was a primordial mixture .
Atomist Universe
Later in the 5th Century
B.C., the Greek
philosophers
• Leucippus and
Democritus held that
the universe was
composed of very
small, indivisible and
indestructible
building blocks
known
as atoms (from the
Greek “atomos”,
meaning
“uncuttable”).
the universe is like a giant
living body, with its leading
part being the stars and the
Stoic Sun, but in which all parts are
Universe interconnected, so that what
(3rd Century B.C. and after) happens in one place affects
what happens elsewhere.
Aristotelian
Universe
4th Century B.C.,
-The Greek philosopher
Aristotle, established a
geocentric universe in which
the fixed, spherical Earth is at
the centre, surrounded by
concentric celestial spheres of
planets and stars.
The 3rd Century B.C. Greek astronomer and mathematician
Heliocentric Aristarchus of Samos was the first to present an explicit
Universe argument for a heliocentric model of the Solar System,
placing the Sun not the Earth at the center of the
known universe.
Ptolemaic Universe
2nd Century A.D.
• Claudius Ptolemy described a geocentric model largely based on
Aristotelian ideas, in which the planets and the rest of the universe orbit
about a stationary Earth in circular epicycles.
- Several medieval Christian, Muslim and Jewish
scholars put forward the idea of
Abrahamic a universe which was finite in time and therefore
Universe had a beginning.
Partially
Heliocentric
Universe
-a planetary model in
which Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn orbited the Sun,
which in turn orbited the
Earth.
Copernican Universe
Demonstrates that the motions of celestial objects can be explained
without putting the Earth at rest in the center of the universe,.
Thomas Digges positing the existence of a multitude of stars extending to
infinity, rather than just Copernicus’ narrow band of fixed stars.
The Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno took suggested that even the Solar
System is not the centre of the universe, but rather a relatively
insignificant star system among an infinite multitude of others.
In 1605, Johannes Kepler made further refinements by finally abandoning
the classical assumption of circular orbits in favor of elliptical orbits which
could explain the strange apparent movements of the planets.
Cartesian Vortex
Universe
• Descartes model
involved a system of
huge swirling whirlpools
of ethereal or
fine matter, producing
what would later be
called gravitational effec
ts
Static
(or Newtonian)
Universe
Sir Isaac Newton described, among other things, a
static, steady state, infinite universe -
- Although still generally based on
a Newtonian static universe,
the matter in a
Hierarchical hierarchical universe is clustered
on ever larger scales of hierarchy,
Universe and is endlessly being recycled.
Einsteinian
Universe
The model of the universe assumed
by Albert Einstein was a static,
dynamically stable universe which
was neither expanding or
contracting.
• Biblical Bases
• Brahmanda (Cosmic Egg) Universe
• Anaxagorean Universe
• Atomist Universe
• Stoic Universe
• Aristotelian Universe
(geocentric universe )
• Heliocentric Universe
• Ptolemaic Universe
• Partially Heliocentric Universe
• Abrahamic Universe
• Copernican Universe
• Cartesian Vortex Universe
• Static (or Newtonian) Universe
• Hierarchical Universe
• Einsteinian Universe
Modern Theories
on the
Origin of the Universe
Big
The theory describes the universe as
originating in an infinitely tiny,
Bang
infinitely dense point (or singularity)
between 13 and 14 billion years ago,
from where it has been expanding
Model of
ever since.
the
Universe
Oscillating
Universe
• the universe expanding
for a time and then
contracting due to the
pull of its gravity, in a
perpetual cycle of Big
Bang followed by Big
Crunch. Time is thus
endless and
beginningless.
• a model of the universe based on
the Big Bang, but incorporating a short,
Inflationary early period of exponential cosmic
inflation in order to solve the horizon
(or Inflating) and flatness problems of the
Universe standard Big Bang model.
The universe is expanding and
contracting in cycles
Steady State
Universe
• It predicted a universe that expanded but did not change its density,
with matter being inserted into the universe as it expanded in order
to maintain a constant density.
Multiverse
• Our universe as just one of many “bubbles” that grew as part of
a multiverse owing to a vacuum that had not decayed to its ground state.
In addition, our observable universe is just one tiny organized part of an
infinitely big cosmos which is largely in a state of chaos, or where our
organized universe is just one temporary episode in an infinite sequence
of largely chaotic and unorganized arrangements.
ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
• Sol was the solar deity in Ancient
Roman religion. A solar
deity (also sun god or sun
goddess) is a sky deity who
Why it was represents the Sun, or an aspect of it,
usually by its perceived power and
named strength. Solar deities and sun
worship can be found throughout
Sun? most of recorded history in various
forms. The Sun is sometimes referred
to by its Latin name Sol or by
its Greek name Helios. The English
word sun stems from Proto-Germanic
Encounter
Hypothesis:
Encounter
Hypothesis:
• However, there are two major
problems for a theory of this type.
One is that hot gas expands, not
contracts. So lumps of hot gas
would not form planets. The
second is that encounters between
stars are extremely rare, so rare as
to be improbable in the lifetime of
the Universe (15 billion years)
Nebular
Hypothesis:
Nebular Hypothesis:
While this theory incorporates
more basic physics, there are
several unsolved problems.
For example, a majority of the
angular momentum in the
Solar System is held by the
outer planets. For comparison,
99% of the Solar System's
mass is in the Sun, but 99% of
its angular momentum is in the
planets. Another flaw is the
mechanism from which the
disk turns into individual
planets.
Protoplanet
Hypothesis:
Meanwhile in
the inner
Solar
System:
