UNIVERSE

and the
SOLAR SYSTEM


Prepared by: Sir. Efren M. Leysan Jr.

 Communicating
learning objectives
A. Describe the structure and composition of
the Universe;

B. Explain the red-shift and how it used as
proof of an expanding universe
C. State the different hypothesis that preceded
the Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the
Universe
D. Explain the Big Bang Theory
 Important Terms

a. Baryonic matter - "ordinary" matter consisting of protons, electrons, and
neutrons that comprises atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, and other bodies
b. Dark matter - matter that has gravity but does not emit light.
c. Dark Energy - a source of anti-gravity; a force that counteracts gravity
and causes the universe to expand.
d. Protostar- an early stage in the formation of a star resulting from the
gravitational collapse of gases.
e. Thermonuclear reaction - a nuclear fusion reaction responsible for the
energy produced by stars.
f. Main Sequence Stars - stars that fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium
atoms in their cores; outward pressure resulting from nuclear fusion is
balanced by gravitational forces
g. light years - the distance light can travel in a year; a unit of length used
to measure astronomical distance
 Think…..

 Universe is at least 13.8 billion of years old and the
Earth/Solar System at least 4.5-4.6 billions of years
old. But how large exactly is a billion?
How long will it take them to spend 1
billion pesos if they spend 1 peso per
second.
 Answer

Approximately
32 years
 Think…..

How long is 13.8 billion
years?
Approximately 441.6
years
 Cl i c k i c o n t o a d d
picture

Figure 1: Solar System

(Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/
Planets2013.svg/2000px-Planets2013.svg.png)
 Cl i c k i c o n t o a d d
picture

Figure 2: Milky Way Galaxy

(Source: http://physics.highpoint.edu/~mdewitt/ Way is but part of billions of
galaxies
phy1050/images/week6/milky-way-top-view.png)
 Cl i c k i c o n t o a d d
picture

Figure 3: View from Hubble. The Milky Way is but part

of billions of galaxies
in the universe.
(Source:
http://astronomynow.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/eso1507b_640x646.jpg)
 Structure, Composition,
andAge
 The universe as we currently know it comprises all
space and time, and all matter & energy in it.
 It is made of 4.6% baryonic matter (“ordinary”
matter consisting of protons, electrons, and neutrons:
atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other
bodies), 24% cold dark matter (matter that has
gravity but does not emit light), and 71.4% dark
energy (a source of antigravity)
 Structure, Composition,
andAge
 Dark matter can explain what may be holding
galaxies together for the reason that the low total
mass is insufficient for gravity alone to do so while
dark energy can explain the observed accelerating
expansion of the universe.
Structure, Composition,
andAge
 Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the three most
abundant elements.
 

Figure 4: Birth, evolution, death, and rebirth of stars

Stars - the building block of galaxies born out of clouds of
gas and dust in galaxies (fig.4). Instabilities within the
clouds eventually results into gravitational collapse,
rotation, heating up, and transformation to a protostar-the
core of a future star as thermonuclear reactions set in.
 Structure, Composition,
andAge
 Stellar interiors are like furnaces where elements are
synthesized or combined/fused together. Most stars
such as the Sun belong to the so-called “main
sequence stars.” In the cores of such stars, hydrogen
atoms are fused through thermonuclear reactions to
make helium atoms (fig.4). Massive main sequence
stars burn up their hydrogen faster than smaller
stars. Stars like our Sun burn up hydrogen in about
10 billion years.
 Structure, Composition,
andAge
 • The remaining dust and gas may end up as they
are or as planets, asteroids, or other bodies in the
accompanying planetary system.
 A galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars and clusters
of galaxies form superclusters. In between the
clusters is practically an empty space. This
organization of matter in the universe suggests that it
is indeed clumpy at a certain scale. But at a large
scale, it appears homogeneous and isotropic.
 Structure, Composition,
andAge
 Based on recent data, the universe is 13.8 billion
years old. The diameter of the universe is possibly
infinite but should be at least 91 billion light-years (1
light-year = 9.4607 × 1012 km). Its density is 4.5 x 10-
31 g/cm3.
 Expanding Universe
*In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced his
significant discovery of the “redshift” (fig.
5) and its interpretation that galaxies are
moving away from each other, hence as
evidence for an expanding universe, just as
predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General
Relativity.
*He observed that spectral lines of starlight
made to pass through a prism are shifted
toward the red part of the electromagnetic
spectrum, i.e., toward the band of lower
frequency; thus, the inference that the star
or galaxy must be moving away from us.
• This evidence for expansion contradicted
the previously held view of a static and
unchanging universe.

Figure 5. Red shift as evidence for an expanding universe. The

positions of the absorptions lines for helium for light coming from the
Sun (A) are shifted towards the red end as compared with those for a
distant star (B).
 Cosmic Microwave
Background

 There is a pervasive cosmic microwave background
(CMB) radiation in the universe. Its accidental
discovery in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert
Woodrow Wilson earned them the physics Nobel
Prize in 1978.
  It can be observed as a strikingly uniform faint glow
in the microwave band coming from all directions-
blackbody radiation with an average temperature of
about 2.7 degrees above absolute zero.


Figure 6: Cosmic microwave background radiation map showing small

variations from WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe).
(Source: http://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/ContentMedia/map_model_2.gif)
 Origin of the Universe

Non-scientific Thought
• Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods
and myths which narrate that the world
arose from an infinite sea at the first rising of
the sun.
 • The Kuba people of Central Africa tell the
story of a creator god Mbombo (or Bumba)
who, alone in a dark and water-covered
Earth, felt an intense stomach pain and then
vomited the stars, sun, and moon.
 Origin of the Universe

In India, there is the narrative that gods
sacrificed Purusha, the primal man whose
head, feet, eyes, and mind became the sky,
earth, sun, and moon respectively.
• The monotheistic religions of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam claim that a supreme
being created the universe, including man
and other living organisms.
 Origin of the Universe

Steady State Model
• The now discredited steady state model of
the universe was proposed in 1948 by Bondi
and Gould and by Hoyle.It maintains that
new matter is created as the universe
expands thereby maintaining its density.
• Its predictions led to tests and its eventual
rejection with the discovery of the cosmic
microwave background.
 Origin of the Universe

Big Bang Theory
 • As the currently accepted theory of the origin and
evolution of the universe, the Big Bang Theory
postulates that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe
expanded from a tiny, dense and hot mass to its
present size and much cooler state.
 Origin of the Universe

 The theory rests on two ideas: General Relativity and the
Cosmological Principle. In Einstein’s General Theory of
Relativity, gravity is thought of as a distortion of space-time
and no longer described by a gravitational field in contrast to
the Law of Gravity of Isaac Newton. General Relativity
explains the peculiarities of the orbit of Mercury and the
bending of light by the Sun and has passed rigorous tests. The
Cosmological Principle assumes that the universe is
homogeneous and isotropic when averaged over large scales.
This is consistent with our current large-scale image of the
universe. But keep in mind that it is clumpy at smaller scales.
 Origin of the Universe

 The Big Bang Theory has withstood the tests for
expansion:

1) the redshift
2) abundance of hydrogen, helium, and lithium, and
3) the uniformly pervasive cosmic microwave
background radiation-the remnant heat from the bang.
Evolution of the Universe according
to the Big Bang Theory


Figure 7: Big Bang Timeline

 From time zero (13.8 billion years ago) until 10-43 second later, all
matter and energy in the universe existed as a hot, dense, tiny state
(fig. 7). It then underwent extremely rapid, exponential inflation until
10-32 second later after which and until 10 seconds from time zero,
conditions allowed the existence of only quarks, hadrons, and leptons.
Evolution of the Universe according
to the Big Bang Theory


Figure 7: Big Bang Timeline

 Then, Big Bang nucleosynthesis took place and produced
protons, neutrons, atomic nuclei, and then hydrogen, helium,
and lithium until 20 minutes after time zero when sufficient
cooling did not allow further nucleosynthesis.
Evolution of the Universe according
to the Big Bang Theory


Figure 7: Big Bang Timeline

 From then on until 380,000 years, the cooling universe entered
a matter-dominated period when photons decoupled from
matter and light could travel freely as still observed today in
the form of cosmic microwave background radiation.
Evolution of the Universe according
to the Big Bang Theory


Figure 7: Big Bang Timeline

 As the universe continued to cool down, matter collected into
clouds giving rise to only stars after 380,000 years and eventually
galaxies would form after 100 million years from time zero
during which, through nucleosynthesis in stars, carbon and
elements heavier than carbon were produced.
Evolution of the Universe according
to the Big Bang Theory


Figure 7: Big Bang Timeline

 From 9.8 billion years until the present, the universe became
dark-energy dominated and underwent accelerating expansion.
At about 9.8 billion years after the big bang, the solar system
was formed.
 ENRICHMENT
Submit a brief report on the following
topic/questions.

What is the fate of the universe? Will


the universe continue to expand or will
it eventually
contract because of gravity?