Etymology, synonyms and definitions

The word Universe derives from the Old French word Univers, which in turn derives
from the Latin word universum. The Latin word was used by Cicero and later Latin
authors in many of the same senses as the modern English word is used. The Latin
word derives from the poetic contraction Unvorsum first used by Lucretius in
Book IV (line 262) of his De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) which
connects un, uni (the combining form of unus, or "one") with vorsum, versum (a
noun made from the perfect passive participle of vertere, meaning "something
rotated, rolled, changed").

An alternative interpretation of unvorsum is "everything rotated as one" or

"everything rotated by one". In this sense, it may be considered a translation of an
earlier Greek word for the Universe, , (perifor, "circumambulation"),
originally used to describe a course of a meal, the food being carried around the
circle of dinner guests.This Greek word refers to celestial spheres, an early Greek
model of the Universe. Regarding Plato's Metaphor of the sun, Aristotle suggests
that the rotation of the sphere of fixed stars inspired by the prime mover, motivates,
in turn, terrestrial change via the Sun. Careful astronomical and physical
measurements (such as the Foucault pendulum) are required to prove the Earth
rotates on its axis.

A term for "Universe" in ancient Greece was (t pn, The All, Pan
(mythology)). Related terms were matter, ( , t lon, see also Hyle, lit. wood)
and place ( , t kenn).Other synonyms for the Universe among the ancient
Greek philosophers included (cosmos) and (meaning Nature, from
which we derive the word physics).The same synonyms are found in Latin authors
(totum, mundus, natura) and survive in modern languages, e.g., the German words
Das All, Weltall, and Natur for Universe. The same synonyms are found in English,
such as everything (as in the theory of everything), the cosmos (as in cosmology),
the world (as in the many-worlds interpretation), and Nature (as in natural laws or
natural philosophy).

Broadest definition: reality and probability

The broadest definition of the Universe is found in De divisione naturae by the
medieval philosopher and theologian Johannes Scotus Eriugena, who defined it as
simply everything: everything that is created and everything that is not created.

Definition as reality
More customarily, the Universe is defined as everything that exists, (has existed,
and will exist)[citation needed]. According to our current understanding, the
Universe consists of three principles: spacetime, forms of energy, including
momentum and matter, and the physical laws that relate them.

Definition as connected space-time

It is possible to conceive of disconnected space-times, each existing but unable to
interact with one another. An easily visualized metaphor is a group of separate soap
bubbles, in which observers living on one soap bubble cannot interact with those on
other soap bubbles, even in principle. According to one common terminology, each
"soap bubble" of space-time is denoted as a universe, whereas our particular spacetime is denoted as the Universe, just as we call our moon the Moon. The entire
collection of these separate space-times is denoted as the multiverse. In principle,
the other unconnected universes may have different dimensionalities and
topologies of space-time, different forms of matter and energy, and different
physical laws and physical constants, although such possibilities are purely
speculative.

Definition as observable reality

According to a still-more-restrictive definition, the Universe is everything within our

connected space-time that could have a chance to interact with us and vice versa.
[citation needed] According to the general theory of relativity, some regions of
space may never interact with ours even in the lifetime of the Universe due to the
finite speed of light and the ongoing expansion of space. For example, radio
messages sent from Earth may never reach some regions of space, even if the
Universe would live forever: space may expand faster than light can traverse it.

Distant regions of space are taken to exist and be part of reality as much as we are,
yet we can never interact with them. The spatial region within which we can affect
and be affected is the observable universe. Strictly speaking, the observable
Universe depends on the location of the observer. By traveling, an observer can
come into contact with a greater region of space-time than an observer who
remains still. Nevertheless, even the most rapid traveler will not be able to interact
with all of space. Typically, the observable Universe is taken to mean the Universe
observable from our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Most popular theories on the origin of the universe

As you would expect from several thousands of years of
questioning and thinking, there are thousands of variations on
the questions of the purpose, nature and substance of the
Universe.
Different cultures at different periods in time of human
existence have had their own way of explaining an
understanding of the Universe. We discuss a number of these in
greater detail further into this book.
But for all the alternative answers that still exist to the present
day, three principle theories fundamentally underline the beliefs
of the majority of modern human thought:- o That God (or
Gods) created the Universe and was present before the
universe was created o That the Universe created itself o That
the Universe has always existed.
Theory (1) That God(Or Gods) Created The Universe
The theory that a single "God" , "Gods" or force created the
Universe forms the basis of the philosophies of the largest
religions currently in the world: o Christianity o Islam o Judaism
and even Buddhism.
Each of these major religions base their philosophies on the
essential belief that God(s) existed before the Universe was
created and that God was the architect and creator of the
Universe.
The theory is popularly described in the "Book of Genesis" in
The Bible which describes the Universe being created around
human kind and taking approximately six days to complete.
If we accept this theory as being possible, discarding the story
book account of the actual "how" it was done, then the next
question is why? for what purpose did God create the universe?
In the Judaic/Christian tradition, the answer of "purpose" of the
Universe is in the context of the Universe being created for
man. That man is at the centre of the Universe, that all other
livings things serve to sustain man, with God ruling in judgment
over man.
Let us probe the implications and therefore the first of the
potential flaws in this "model" -man as the "head lifeform" over
all other life forms in the Universe.
Statistically, it is impossible to suggest that there are no other
life bearing planets in the Universe. For the moment we will not
even attempt to argue the precise number, or even offer an
"optimistic" number of life bearing planets in the Universe, we
know there are literally a billion billion billion stars in the
Universe. (For an explanation of why science establishes such a
large number, see Ch 10). Lets say for the moment that there
are only ten million life bearing planets around older stars and
some around younger stars.
Next, let us look at the statistical probability of human beings
being the most advanced lifeforms of all those life forms on a
relatively few (ten million) planets. It is not only improbable, it
is statistically impossible to say that human beings would
definitely be the highest order life form in the Universe.
Not only would this be highly improbable, it shows a complete
contradiction in the Judaic/Christian notion of God having a
sense of evolutionary hierarchy- man being the most advanced
= the closest to God = everything else serving man.

STARS
Stars are cosmic energy engines that produce heat, light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays,
and other forms of radiation. They are composed largely of gas and plasma, a
superheated state of matter composed of subatomic particles.
COMETS
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun,
heats up and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma, and
sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation
and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few
hundred metres to tens of kilometres across and are composed of loose collections
of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma and tail are much larger, and if
sufficiently bright may be seen from the Earth without the aid of a telescope.
Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many different
cultures.
ASTEROIDS
Asteroids are minor planets, especially those of the inner Solar System. The larger
ones have also been called planetoids. These terms have historically been applied
to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disk of a planet
and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet, but as minor
planets in the outer Solar System were discovered, their volatile-based surfaces
were found to resemble comets more closely and so were often distinguished from
traditional asteroids.[1][not in citation given] Thus the term asteroid has come
increasingly to refer specifically to the small bodies of the inner Solar System out to
the orbit of Jupiter.[citation needed] They are grouped with the outer bodies
centaurs, Neptune trojans, and trans-Neptunian objectsas minor planets, which is
the term preferred in astronomical circles.[2] In this article the term "asteroid"
refers to the minor planets of the inner Solar System.
METEORS AND METEORITES
Small pieces of space debris (usually parts of comets or asteroids) that are on a
collision course with the Earth are called meteoroids. When meteoroids enter the
Earth's atmosphere they are called meteors. Most meteors burn up in the
atmosphere, but if they survive the frictional heating and strike the surface of the
Earth they are called meteorites.
The Earth has been struck by many meteorites, some quite large. The adjacent
image shows the Barringer Crater in Arizona (Ref). It is 1.2 kilometers across and
200 meters deep, and was formed about 49,000 years ago by the impact of a 50
meter nickel/iron meteorite travelling at a speed of 11 kilometers per second.

Most meteorites are much smaller and do much less damage, but as we shall see, in
the geologically not so distant past the Earth has probably been struck by even
larger meteorites than the one that formed the Barringer Crater. We have already
discussed the Tunguska Event (which may have been a comet rather than an
asteroid), and we shall discuss the high probability that the extinction of the
dinosaurs was triggered by the impact of a massive meteorite in the Southern
Caribbean region.

GALAXY
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, stellar
remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and dark matter, an important
but poorly understood component. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek
galaxias (), literally "milky", a reference to the Milky Way. Examples of
galaxies range from dwarfs with as few as ten million (107) stars to giants with one
hundred trillion (1014) stars, each orbiting their galaxy's own center of mass.

Galaxies contain varying numbers of planets, star systems, star clusters and types
of interstellar clouds. In between these objects is a sparse interstellar medium of
gas, dust, and cosmic rays. Supermassive black holes reside at the center of most
galaxies. They are thought to be the primary driver of active galactic nuclei found at
the core of some galaxies. The Milky Way galaxy is known to harbor at least one
such object.

Galaxies have been historically categorized according to their apparent shape,

usually referred to as their visual morphology. A common form is the elliptical
galaxy, which has an ellipse-shaped light profile. Spiral galaxies are disk-shaped
with dusty, curving arms. Those with irregular or unusual shapes are known as
irregular galaxies and typically originate from disruption by the gravitational pull of
neighboring galaxies. Such interactions between nearby galaxies, which may
ultimately result in a merger, sometimes induce significantly increased incidents of
star formation leading to starburst galaxies. Smaller galaxies lacking a coherent
structure are referred to as irregular galaxies.

Types and Classification of Galaxies

There are three main types of galaxies: Elliptical, Spiral, and Irregular. Two of these
three types are further divided and classified into a system that is now known the
tuning fork diagram. When Hubble first created this diagram, he believed that this
was an evolutionary sequence as well as a classification.

Elliptical Galaxies

Elliptical galaxies are shaped like a spheriod, or elongated sphere. In the sky, where
we can only see two of their three dimensions, these galaxies look like elliptical, or
oval, shaped disks. The light is smooth, with the surface brightness decreasing as
you go farther out from the center. Elliptical galaxies are given a classification that
corresponds to their elongation from a perfect circle, otherwise known as their
ellipticity. The larger the number, the more elliptical the galaxy is. So, for example a
galaxy of classification of E0 appears to be perfectly circular, while a classification
of E7 is very flattened. The elliptical scale varies from E0 to E7. Elliptical galaxies
have no particular axis of rotation.

Elliptical galaxy M87

Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxy M100
Spiral galaxies have three main components: a bulge, disk, and halo (see right). The
bulge is a spherical structure found in the center of the galaxy. This feature mostly
contains older stars. The disk is made up of dust, gas, and younger stars. The disk
forms arm structures. Our Sun is located in an arm of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The
halo of a galaxy is a loose, spherical structure located around the bulge and some of
the disk. The halo contains old clusters of stars, known as globular clusters.
Spiral galaxies are classified into two groups, ordinary and barred. The ordinary
group is designated by S or SA, and the barred group by SB. In normal spirals (as
seen at above left) the arms originate directly from the nucleus, or bulge, where in
the barred spirals (see right) there is a bar of material that runs through the nucleus
that the arms emerge from. Both of these types are given a classification according
to how tightly their arms are wound. The classifications are a, b, c, d ... with "a"
having the tightest arms. In type "a", the arms are usually not well defined and form
almost a circular pattern. Sometimes you will see the classification of a galaxy with

two lower case letters. This means that the tightness of the spiral structure is
halfway between those two letters.
Spiral galaxy NGC 1365
S0 Galaxies
S0 galaxies are an intermediate type of galaxy between E7 and a "true" spiral Sa.
They differ from ellipticals because they have a bulge and a thin disk, but are
different from Sa because they have no spiral structure. S0 galaxies are also known
as Lenticular galaxies.
Irregular Galaxies
Irregular galaxies have no regular or symmetrical structure. They are divided into
two groups, Irr I and IrrII. Irr I type galaxies have HII regions, which are regions of
elemental hydrogen gas, and many Population I stars, which are young hot stars. Irr
II galaxies simply seem to have large amounts of dust that block most of the light
from the stars. All this dust makes is almost impossible to see distinct stars in the
galaxy.