LECTURE 1: OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE

12 January 2010 (Read Chapter 1 as background for lecture notes)

I. BASIC DEFINITIONS
The Universe or Cosmos: Sum total of all matter and energy
Basic astronomical objects: Star, planet, moon, asteroid
Collections of astronomical objects: Solar system, star system, galaxy,
cluster of galaxies, supercluster, universe, observable universe
Units used in Astronomy:
Astronomical Unit (AU): distance between Earth and Sun: 150 million
kilometers
Light year: distance that light travels in 1 year = 9.46 trillion kilometers
light circles the Earth 8 times in 1 second; it takes 8 minutes for light
to travel from Sun to Earth; it takes light 1 second to travel between
Earth and Moon

II. BASIC C ONCEPTS

The Universe is expanding:
Average distances between galaxies are increasing with time
Individual galaxies and their contents do not expand
Big Bang:
Origin of time = 14 billion years ago
Stellar lives and recycling:
Gravity forces the collapse of gas and dust to form stars
Energy is generated at core of star through nuclear fusion
Star dies when it exhausts its fuel. It blows its contents back into
space where it is recycled
Light and distances:
Light takes time to travel: The further away we look in distance, the
further back in time we look
Motions:
Rotation and Orbits:
Earth turns 600 miles/hour around its axis
60,000 miles/hr around Sun (in 1 year)
The Solar System moves at 40,000 miles/hr relative to nearby stars,
and 500,000 miles/hr around the center of the galaxy
Expansion:
Distant galaxies move away from us. The more distant ones move
faster => Universe is expanding