The Universe

Universe consists of all matter and all light and other forms of radiation and energy. It
includes everything that exists anywhere in space and time.

The universe includes Earth, everything on Earth and within it, and everything in the
solar system. The solar system contains nine major planets along with millions of
smaller bodies, such as comets, asteroids, and meteoroids. The solar system also
includes the sun, the star around which the planets revolve.

All stars, including the sun, are part of the universe. Some other stars also have
planetary systems. In addition to planets, stars, and other bodies, the universe contains
gas, dust, magnetic fields (areas of magnetic force), and high-energy particles called
cosmic rays.

Stars are grouped into galaxies. The sun is one of hundreds of billions of stars in a
giant spiral galaxy called the Milky Way. This galaxy measures about 100,000 light-
years across. A light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in a year-about
5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers).

Galaxies tend to be grouped into clusters. Some clusters appear to be grouped into
superclusters. The Milky Way is part of a cluster known as the Local Group. This
cluster measures about 3 million light-years in diameter. The cluster also includes two
giant spirals known as the Andromeda Galaxy and M33 and about 30 small galaxies
called dwarf galaxies. The Local Group is part of the Local Supercluster, which has a
diameter of about 100 million light-years.

On an even larger scale, galaxies are grouped into huge networks made up of
stringlike regions of galaxies called filaments. Relatively empty regions of space called
voids surround these filaments.
Size of the universe

No one knows for sure whether the universe is finite (limited) or infinite in size.
Observations of the sky with optical telescopes indicate that there are at least 100
billion galaxies in the observable universe. Measurements show that the most distant
galaxies observed to date are about 12 billion to 13 billion light-years from Earth. They
appear in every direction across the sky.

Among the most distant objects ever observed are tremendously bright objects called
quasars. Individual quasars are as much as 1,000 times brighter than the entire Milky
Way. Evidence suggests that the centers of quasars may each contain a giant black
hole. A black hole is an object whose gravitational force is so strong that nothing-not
even light-can escape from it. Matter falling into a massive black hole could produce
the radiation emitted (given off) by quasars.

Astronomers can determine the distance to a faraway object by measuring the object's
redshift. Redshift is a stretching of the wavelength of light or other radiation emitted by
an object. Wavelength is the distance between successive crests of a wave. The
stretching is called redshift because red light has the longest wavelength of any visible
light. Objects farther away from Earth have larger redshifts.

Redshift occurs when the object emitting light is moving away from the observer.
Objects moving away more rapidly have a larger redshift. Astronomers interpret the
large redshifts of faraway objects as evidence that the universe is expanding-that is,
every point in the universe is moving away from every other point. This expansion does
not cause the matter within a particular object to expand, however, because attraction
among its atoms and molecules holds the object together. Similarly, the force of gravity
prevents the stars in a galaxy from moving away from one another. But the galaxies
are moving away from one another. The expansion of the universe is a basic
observation that any successful theory of the universe must explain.

Changing views of the universe

In ancient times, people from many cultures thought that the universe consisted of only
their own locality, distant places of which they had heard, and the sun, moon, planets,
and stars. Many people thought that the heavenly bodies were gods and spirits. But the
Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus suggested in 1543 that Earth and the other
planets revolve around the sun. Later astronomers showed that the sun is a typical
star.

Knowledge of the universe increased with the development of the telescope, the
photographic plate, and the spectroscope (an instrument that analyzes light).
Astronomers discovered that the sun is moving within a large system of stars, the Milky
Way. About 1920, astronomers realized that not all of the nebulae (fuzzy patches of
light seen in the night sky) are part of the Milky Way. Rather, many of these objects are
actually other galaxies. The discovery of the redshift of distant galaxies led to the
theory of the expanding universe.

The big bang theory provides the best explanation of the basic observations of the
universe. According to the theory, the universe began with an explosion-called the big
bang-13 billion to 14 billion years ago. Immediately after the explosion, the universe
consisted chiefly of intense radiation and hot particles. This radiation, along with
various kinds of matter and energy, formed a rapidly expanding region called the
primordial fireball. After thousands of years, the fireball cooled.

In time, the matter broke apart into huge clumps. The clumps became galaxies, many
of them grouped into clusters, superclusters, and filaments. Smaller clumps within the
galaxies formed stars. Part of one of these clumps became the sun and the other
objects in the solar system.

Strong evidence for the big bang theory comes from observations of faint radio waves
coming from all directions in space. Scientists believe this radiation, called the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) radiation, is all that remains of the primordial fireball.

The steady state theory offers another explanation for the expansion of the universe
and other observations. According to this theory, the universe has always existed in its
present state. As the galaxies move apart, new matter appears between them and
forms new galaxies. However, the existence of the CMB radiation and detailed studies
of galaxies and supernovae (exploding stars) have cast strong doubts on the steady
state theory.

The steady state theory offers another explanation of basic observations. According to
this theory, the universe has always existed in its present state. As the galaxies move
apart, new matter appears between them and forms new galaxies. However, the
existence of the faint radio waves that come from all directions of space does not favor
this theory.

Studies of nearby stars, distant galaxies, and the CMB radiation give scientists an idea
of the types of matter and energy that make up the universe. These studies suggest
that the universe consists of about 4 percent ordinary matter and radiation. The matter
consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. The radiation includes light, radio, and other
waves as well as cosmic rays. The rest of the universe is made up of matter and
energy that scientists cannot directly observe. About 23 percent of the universe is dark
matter, matter that does not emit, reflect, or absorb observable light or other radiation.
The remaining 73 percent of the universe is composed of dark energy. Dark energy is a
little-understood form of energy that is apparently making the universe expand more
and more quickly.
Observations of supernovae and the CMB radiation suggest that the present age of the
universe is about 13.7 billion years. This estimate agrees with studies of the ages of
stars in groups called globular star clusters, which contain the oldest stars found in the
Milky Way.

The future of the universe

Many studies indicate that the universe will continue to expand. Measurements of the
brightness and redshift of supernovae in distant galaxies suggest that at the present
time the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Observations of the CMB radiation
provide evidence that the universe has the appropriate mixture of matter and energy to
continue expanding. Both of these types of studies give similar predictions for the rate
at which the universe is expanding.

Theories of the universe based on the German-born physicist Albert Einstein's theory
of general relativity allow for the possibility that all of the matter in the universe could
come back together again in a big crunch. This would happen if the gravitational pull of
all of the universe's matter was strong enough to overcome its expansion. The entire
universe would eventually collapse and then explode, entering a new phase that might
resemble the present one. However, studies of the CMB radiation strongly suggest that
the universe has an infinite mass and volume and that it will expand forever.

Contributor: Kenneth Brecher, Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Boston

University.