1.

Touch the Universe

Planetary Geology
 01 The Solar System
The View from from Afar
the Center of
the Universe

What is seen by an observer from afar?

02
Geocentric View

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 The Milky Way

Inside View Outside View

The Milky Way contains > 1011 stars. The Milky Way appears as a band
because the disk–shaped distribution
of stars is viewed from within.
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 Structure of Our Galaxy

The Solar System is located within the disk,

on the inner edge of one of the spiral–shaped concentrations of gas and dust (i.e., Orion Arm).

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 Universe

1011+4+6+2 stars
Galaxies
Each Galaxy contains
more than 1011 Stars. 01
Clusters 02 Super–Clusters
Each Cluster contains Each Super–cluster contains
more than 104 Galaxies. 03 more than 106 Clusters.

04 Universe
Our Universe contains
more than 102 Super–Clusters.

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 Universe

72.85% 0.14% 0.40% 3.60% 23.00%

Dark Neutrino Stars Intergalactic Gas Dark

Energy and Matter
Blackholes

Bertone and Tait (2018) Nature 6

 Hubble’s Law

NS

RS

BS

Light coming from stars and galaxies is red–shifted, indicating that they are receding from us.
If they were moving toward us, we can see blue–shifted signal.
Or if they were stationary, there would be no shifting.
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 Time

Gyr
109 years

Age of the Earth

4.5673 Gyrs
Myr
106 years

Age of the Universe

13.7 Gyrs
kyr (or millennium)
103 years

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 Distance

Astronomical Unit (AU)

1.496  1011 m

Light Years (LY)

9.461  1015 m
Earth’s Radius
6.371  106 m

parsec (pc)
3.086  1016 m
Sand Grains
from 1/16 mm to 2 mm

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 Distance

parsec

1′ 1° 1°
𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑐 = = =
60 60 × 60 3600

°
′′
1 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 1 𝐴𝑈
tan (1 = )= =
3600 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 206,265 𝐴𝑈

1 parsec  206,265 AU  3.0857  1016 m  3.262 light years

1 light years = 365.24 days  299,792,458 m s–1 = 9.461  1015 m

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Structure of the Universe The Big Bang

Distant galaxies and quasars

are red–shifted.

The Universe
is uniformly expanding.

All of the galaxies must have been located

at the same place at one time.

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Hubble’s Law Hubble’s Law

The recessional velocity of a galaxy 𝑣

is proportional
to the distance of the galaxy 𝑑
as 𝑣 = 𝐻0 𝑑.

Hubble constant
𝐻0 = 72  8 km s–1 Mpc–1

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 Age of the Universe

Maximum Age
Minimum Slope
H0 = 64 km s–1 Mpc–1 1 Mpc = 3.0857  1022 m
Age = H0–1 = 4.8214  1017 s = 15.278 Gyrs

Minimum Age
Maximum Slope
H0 = 80 km s–1 Mpc–1
Age = H0–1 = 3.8571  1017 s = 12.222 Gyrs

Age of the Universe: 13.7  1.5 Gyrs

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 The Big Bang

Our Universe began as an energetic expansion called the Big Bang.

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 The Big Bang

400 Myrs
0.3 Myrs

13.7 Gyrs
Inflation

Galaxies formed
Fluctuation

Dark Ages

Present
CMB

The time and space exploded into existence after the Big Bang.
CMB: Cosmic microwave background

Carilli et al. (2017) The Astrophysical Journal 15

 The Big Bang

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation at 2.7 K is

a relic radiation remaining after the Big Bang.

Fixsen (2009) The Astrophysical Journal 16

Lifespan of Stars Main Sequence Main Sequence Red Giant
Red Giant Supergiant

Low Mass Stars (LMS, < 5 MSun)

rely on the fusion of hydrogen
to helium. LMS Recycled HMS
Molecular
Planetary Nebula Cloud
High Mass Stars (HMS, > 5 MSun)
burn hydrogen through the CNO cycle
(Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen). Neutron Star Supernova
White Dwarf
Larger and more massive stars
have shorter lives Black Hole
because they burn faster.

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 HMS Lifespan of
𝑡=
0.75 × 0.1 × 0.007  1032 × 3 × 108 × 3 × 108 Mass: 1032 kg Stars
1032 Luminosity: 1032 W

𝑡 ≈ 1.5 × 106 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠

Stars are mixtures of
Hydrogen (75%) and Helium (25%).

Stars will die

LMS when they have fused
10% of hydrogen.

Mass: 1030 kg Fusion from hydrogen to helium

0.75 × 0.1 × 0.007 × 1030 ×3× 108 ×3× 108
𝑡= Luminosity: 1025 W generates energy of 0.7% 𝑚 𝑐 2 .
1025

𝑡 ≈ 1.5 × 1011 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠

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 The Solar System
Universe
The Universe was
created about 13.7 Ga.
Many generations of stars
would have come and gone.
The Solar
Recyclable System
Universe
The Solar System is
The debris of previous 4.5673 Gyrs–old.
generations of stars is
what the Solar System is The Solar System will
made of. last another 5 Gyrs.
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 Inverse Square Law

Source

1
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∝
(𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒)2

A specified physical quantity is inversely proportional

to the square of the distance from the source of that physical quantity.
Examples include electric, magnetic, light, sound, and radiation phenomena.
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 Power Law

𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∝ (𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒)2

In a uniformly expanding Universe, distance between galaxies increases steadily with time.
(1) The space is isotropic.
(2) The space is homogeneous.
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 Why is the Night Sky Dark?

𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∝ (𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒)2

1
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∝
(𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒)2

The distance does not matter at all,

suggesting that day and night must be of approximately equal brightness.

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 Space Finiteness
We can see of the Universe
something only after
the light it emits has
had time to reach us.

The light from the distant objects

has not reached us yet.

Time Long time would have had to pass that

objects would be burned out and dark.

Stars and galaxies

are not infinitely We can never see light
long–lived. from stars or galaxies
Eventually, they will at all distances at once.
dim.

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 Assignment 1-1 Distance

If a star is at a distance of 2.022 parsecs, how many light years away is this star?
01

The distance to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is 4.367 light years.
02 How fast would a spacecraft need to go (in km s–1) to reach Alpha Centauri in 100 years?

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