The Universe and

Solar System
Lesson Objectives:
1. Identify the common theories presented
about the formation of the Universe.
2. Name the compositon found in the
Universe.
3. Trace the historical events happen
during the formation of the universe.
 Fact or Bluff
The universe as we currently
know it compromises all space
and time, and matter and
energy in it.
FACT
 Fact or Bluff
The universe is at least 4.5-4.6
billion years old.
BLUFF
It is 13.8 billion years old, while the solar system is at
least 4.5-4.6 billion years old.
 Fact or Bluff
The solar system as part of the
milky way is located at the outer
limb of the galaxy.
FACT
 Fact or Bluff
The solar system as part of the
milky way is located at the outer
limb of the galaxy.
FACT
 PART I: The
Universe and its
Composition
Helium in the Early Universe
• Peter Jakobsen investigated the nature of the gaseous matter that
fills the vast volume of intergalactic space.
• By observing ultraviolet light from a distant quasar, they found the
long-sought signature of helium in the early Universe.
• This was an important piece of supporting evidence for the Big Bang
theory.
 Quasar
Lighthouses
Quasar Lighthouses
• This investigation of helium in the early Universe is one of many ways
that Hubble has used distant quasars as lighthouses. As light from the
quasars passes through the intervening intergalactic matter, the light
signal is changed in such a way as to reveal the composition of the
gas.
Dark
Matter
Dark Matter
• Today astronomers believe that around one quarter of the mass-
energy of the Universe consists of dark matter.
• Dark matter only interacts with gravity, which means it neither
reflects, emits or obstructs light (or indeed any other type of
electromagnetic radiation).
• Hubble studies of how clusters of galaxies bend the light that passes
through them lets astronomers deduce where the hidden mass lies.
This means that they are able to make maps of where the dark matter
lies in a cluster.
 Dark
Energy
Dark Energy
• Hubble studies of the expansion rate of the Universe have found that the
expansion is actually speeding up. Astronomers have explained this using
the theory of dark energy, that pushes the Universe apart ever faster,
against the pull of gravity.

• Studies of the rate of expansion of the cosmos suggests that dark energy is
by far the largest part of the Universe’s mass-energy content, it seems that
dark energy makes almost 70% of the known Universe.

• While astronomers have been able to take steps along the path to
understanding how dark energy works and what it does, its true nature is
still a mystery.
PART II: Formation of the
Universe
Theories on its Origins
The Big Bang
Theory
The Big Bang Theory
• originated at a single point of infinite density and finite time that
began to expand.
• The Universe cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic
particles, and later simple atoms.
• Contains 4 Major Epochs:
1. Singularity Epoch- at this time, all matter was condensed on a
single point of infinite density and extreme heat.
2. Inflation Epoch- Most cosmological models suggest that the
Universe at this point was filled homogeneously with a high-energy
density, and that the incredibly high temperatures and pressure
gave rise to rapid expansion and cooling.
3. Cooling Epoch- As the universe continued to decrease in density and
temperature, the energy of each particle began to decrease and phase
transitions continued until the fundamental forces of physics and
elementary particles changed into their present form.
4. Structure Epoch-the Universe began to become gravitationally
attracted to each other. They therefore grew even denser, forming gas
clouds, stars, galaxies, and the other astronomical structures that we
regularly observe today.
Evidences of The Big Bang Theory
• First of all, we are reasonably certain that the universe had a beginning.
• Second, galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional
to their distance. This is called "Hubble's Law.” This observation supports
the expansion of the universe and suggests that the universe was once
compacted.
• Third, if the universe was initially very, very hot as the Big Bang suggests,
we should be able to find some remnant of this heat. In 1965, this was
discovered a 2.725 degree Kelvin (-454.765 degree Fahrenheit, -270.425
degree Celsius) Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) which
pervades the observable universe.
• Finally, the abundance of the "light elements" Hydrogen and Helium found
in the observable universe are thought to support the Big Bang model of
origins.
The Redshift Theory
What is a Redshift?
• Redshift occurs when a light-emitting body moves away from us.
• Light waves traveling towards a body bunch up as it travels, light
waves traveling away stretch out and are said to be red shifting.
• Hubble discovered that the light from galaxies far off in space was
shifted down toward the red end of the spectrum.
• This shift meant that the galaxies were in motion, whizzing away from
Earth. The greater the redshift, Hubble assumed, the greater the
galaxy's speed.
An Expanding Universe
• Since the Big Bang explosion, the universe has been expanding.
• Space itself is expanding.
• Galaxies farther from you move faster away from you, because there's
more space expanding between you and those galaxies. Light from
the more distant galaxies is shifted farther to the red end of the
spectrum.
• In fact, most astronomers now use this rule, known as Hubble's law,
to measure the distance of an object from Earth—the bigger the
redshift, the more distant the object.
Steady State Theory
• In the 1940s a competing hypothesis arose, called the
Steady State theory. Some astronomers turned to this
idea at the time because there wasn't enough
information to test the Big Bang.
• British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle and others argued that
the universe was not only uniform in space—an idea
called the cosmological principle—but also unchanging
in time, a concept called the perfect cosmological
principle.
• Under the Steady State theory, stars and galaxies may
change, but on the whole the universe has always
looked the way it does now, and it always will.
• The Steady State theorists admit that the universe is
expanding, but predict that new matter continually
comes to life in the spaces between the receding
galaxies. Astronomers propose that this new material is Fred Hoyle
made up of atoms of hydrogen, which slowly coalesce
in open space to form new stars.
Part III: The Solar System

Part III: The Solar System

 Our Solar System and Its Origin
How was the Solar System Formed?
A viable theory for the formation of the solar system must
be
1. based on physical principles (conservation of energy,
momentum, the law of gravity, the law of motions, etc.),
2. able to explain all (at least most) the observable facts
with reasonable accuracy, and
3. able to explain other planetary systems.
What does the solar system look like from far
away? NASA Figure

• Sun, a star, at the center…

• Inner Planets (Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars) ~ 1 AU
− They are all rocky
planets…
• Asteroid Belt, ~ 3 AU
• Outer Planets (Jupiter, Saturn,
Neptune, Uranus), ~ 5-40 AU
− They are all gaseous
planets..
• Pluto: odd ball planet, more
like a comet…
• Keiper Belt ~ 30 to 50 AU
• Oort Cloud ~ 50,000 AU
− Where comets come
from…
Clues - The Orbits of the Planets
• All the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction
• The rotation axes of most of the planets and the Sun are
roughly aligned with the rotation axes of their orbits.
• Orientation of Venus, Uranus, and Pluto’s spin axes are Why do they spin in
roughly the same
not similar to that of the Sun and other planets.
orientation?

Why are they

different?
Summary - What do the inner
planets look like?
They are all…
• rocky and
small!
• No or few
moons
• No rings
Summary - The Jovian Planets

They are all…

• gaseous and
BIG!
• Rings
• Many moons
Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

Why?
The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud
NASA Figure
Kuiper Belt
A large body of small objects
orbiting (the short period
comets) the Sun in a radial
zone extending outward from
the orbit of Neptune (30 AU) to
about 50 AU. Pluto maybe the
biggest of the Kuiper Belt
object.
Oort Cloud
Long Period Comets (period >
200 years) seems to come
mostly from a spherical region
at about 50,000 AU from the
Sun.
Common Characteristics and Exceptions
Planetary Nebula or Close Encounter?
Historically, two hypothesis were put forward to explain the formation of the solar
system….
• Gravitational Collapse of Planetary Nebula (Latin for “cloud”)
Solar system formed form gravitational collapse of an interstellar cloud or gas
• Close Encounter (of the Sun with another star)
Planets are formed from debris pulled out of the Sun during a close encounter with
another star. But, it cannot account for
• The angular momentum distribution in the solar system,
• Probability for such encounter is small in our neighborhood…
The Nebular Hypothesis
• According to this theory, the Sun and all the planets of our Solar
System began as a giant cloud of molecular gas and dust. Then, about
4.57 billion years ago, something happened that caused the cloud to
collapse. This could have been the result of a passing star, or shock
waves from a supernova, but the end result was a gravitational
collapse at the center of the cloud.
The Nebular Theory* of Solar System
Formation
*Itis also called the
Interstellar Cloud (Nebula)
‘Protoplanet Theory’.

Gravitational Collapse

Protosun Protoplanetary Disk

Heating  Fusion Condensation (gas to solid)

Sun Metal, Rocks Gases, Ice

Accretion Nebular
Capture

Leftover Materials Terrestrial Jovian Leftover Materials

Asteroids Planets Planets Comets

Lesson Objectives:
1. Identify the common theories presented
about the formation of the Universe.
2. Name the compositon found in the
Universe.
3. Trace the historical events happen
during the formation of the universe.
Artist’s impression of the early
Solar System, where collision
between particles in an accretion
disc led to the formation of
planetesimals and eventually
planets.
End!