Early Conceptions about the Universe Astronomers were able to observe the following:
The Spherical Earth ➢ the sun and the moon
Flat Earth Model – old belief model that the earth is
plane or discoidal in form.
➢ Early Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Homer (Greek
philosopher) believed that the world is a disk in the
ocean.
Israelites – thought that the Earth is like a disc floating in
water where an arched bowl separates the Earth from
the heavens.
➢ believed that the sky is a solid dome with the sun,
Moon, and other planetary objects embedded in it.
History of the Spherical Earth Model
Pythagoras – introduced the idea of the round
model of the earth in the 6th century BC.
Aristotle – listed several arguments for a spherical Earth
Around 340 BCE:
➢ Earth was also spherical since the moon and the sun
were both spherical.
➢ The North Star is closer to the horizon for places
nearer the equator.
➢ When the ship sailed, the hull disappeared first,
which implied that the surface of the earth was
curved.
Modern Evidence Supporting Spherical
Earth Model
Spacecraft Photos – Satellite photos show that the earth
is plainly spherical.
➢ Astronauts in satellites orbiting in low Earth
orbit personally observed curvature of the planet.
Lunar Eclipse – the shadow of the Earth formed on the
one side of the moon shows a dark circle.
The shape that casts the moon shows a spherical shape.
Time Zones – time difference in different places in the
world is due to the presence of a time zone.
➢ can only be explained if the world is round and
continuously rotating on its axis.
Riding a Plane – Airplanes can travel in a straight line
without falling off any edges even for a period of time
and it can circle the earth without stopping.
➢ The curvature of Earth on the horizon is noticeable if
you travel in transatlantic flight.
Astronomical Observations Before the Advent of the
Telescope
➢ rising and setting of the sun in the east and the west
➢ lunar and solar eclipse
➢ daily and annual motion of the stars
➢ constellations
➢ planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
Earliest Astronomical Observations
Nebra sky disk – where earliest records of astronomical
observation was documented in that collected from
Northern Europe, and was
dated at approximately 1600 BC.
Petroglyph – examples of early drawings that show the
1006 AD supernova that resulted in the Crab Nebula.
Babylonians – recorded earliest written of astronomical
observations dated 1600 BC that tried to record positions
of planets and the
time eclipse events.
Stonehenge – like a big computer that early people used
to calculate the position of planets and the sun.
Hellenistic Observations
Thales (480 BC) – well-known Greek philosopher, has
used the Babylonian data to predict eclipses.
Eratosthenes – introduced the spherical Earth
model and through the use of geometry
➢ He tried to calculate the circumference of the earth.
Eratosthenes and Aristarchus (250 BC) - studied distances
between the nearby planetary object
Plato – first introduced that the planets follow perfect
circular orbits around the Earth.
➢ During the Hellenistic era, Earth is believed to be the
center of the Universe.
Heraclides (330 B.C.) – presented the first Solar System
model where the earth is the center called the geocentric
solar system model.
Aristarchus (270 B.C.) – presented an alternative model
of the Solar System placing the sun at the center as the
heliocentric theory.
➢ first to propose the sun as the center of the universe.
Renaissance and Astronomical Observations
Nicolaus Copernicus (1500) – reintroduced the
heliocentric theory that challenged the doctrine of the
Catholic church.
➢ During this time, the idea of rotating Earth was
pointed as the reason for the diurnal motion of stars.
Tycho Brahe (1580) – first astronomical observer.
➢ founded the Danish Observatory where he tried to
measure accurate positions of the planets and stars
and also insisted that the sun is farther than the moon
from the Earth.
Johannes Kepler (1600) – student of Tycho, utilized the
data from Brahe’s observations.
➢ formulated the laws of planetary motion that
corrected the conflicts on epicycles in heliocentric
theory through the introduction of elliptic orbits.
Galileo Galilei – In the 1620s, he pioneered astronomical
observation and constructed the first small refracting
telescope.
➢ This has opened new doors for the improvement of
the existing astronomical beliefs during the
renaissance era.
Kepler’s Works
Law of Ellipses – describes that planets are moving
around the sun by following an elliptical path.
➢ The planet’s path around the sun is elliptical in nature
where the sun is the center and located at one focus.
Ellipse – special curve where the sum of the distances
from any point within the curve to two other points is
always constant.
Foci – other two points are of the ellipse.
Law of Equal Areas – There is an imaginary line from the
center of the sun to the planet and this sweeps out equal
areas within equal time intervals.
Law of Harmonies – ratio of squares of the periods
between any two planets will always be equal to the ratio
of the cubes of its distances from the sun.
➢ This compares the orbital period and radius of the
orbit of one planet to other planets.
➢ Makes the comparison between the motion traits of
different planets that makes it different from the first
2 Kepler laws that only describe the motion
characteristics of a single planet.
➢ This comparison is that the ratio of the squares of the
periods to the cubes of their average distances to the
sun will be the same for every single planet.
➢ If the same T2/R3 ratio for all other planets will be
computed. This validates the law of harmonies that all
planets have the same value for the T 2/R3 ratio.
Motion
Motion – an object’s change in position with respect to
time.
Aristotle’s Views on Motion
Natural motion – occurs when an object moves and
returns to its natural state depending on the object’s
composition.
Violent Motion – occurs when an object moves after an
external force, such as pushing or pulling, is applied.
Vertical Motion – depends on the kind of element that
makes up the object.
➢ believed that objects could be made up of earth,
water, air, or fire.
➢ also explained that an object becomes heavier when
it contains large amounts of earth elements.
➢ heavier objects fall faster to the ground than lighter
objects.
Horizontal Motion – caused by force referred to as the
impetus.
Projectile Motion – projectiles moved parallel to the
ground until it was the object’s time to fall
toward the ground.
Galileo’s Views on Motion
Vertical Motion – downward due to gravity.
➢ believed that objects fall at the same rate even if they
vary in weight. In the absence of air resistance,
objects would fall not depending on their weight but
on the time of fall.
Horizontal Motion – if the Earth’s surface is very flat and
extends infinitely, objects that are pushed will not be
impeded. Thus, the objects will continue to move.
Projectile Motion – projectiles follow a curved path called
a trajectory.
Galileo’s Inclined Plane Experiment
➢ He used a ball on an inclined plane with a small slope
so that the ball accelerated more slowly than an
object in free fall.
➢ The velocity of the ball increases as the ball moves
down the incline.
➢ The total distance traveled by the ball depended on
the square of the time.
➢ As the inclined plane became steeper, the
acceleration of the rolling ball increased.
➢ These observations led Galileo to conclude that
regardless of the mass of objects and air resistance,
 falling objects would always have uniform
acceleration.
Galileo’s Experiment – used inclined planes to establish
his ideas on inertia.
➢ He observed that when an object is released on an
inclined plane, the object will reach the same height
as where it was released
Inertia – the tendency of matter to resist a change in its
state of motion.
➢ dependent on the mass of an object. A more massive
object has greater inertia. Thus, the harder it is to
change its state of motion.
Newton’s Law of Motion
1. Law of Inertia – objects will remain in its state of
motion (either stationary or moving at constant velocity)
unless acted upon by a net external force.
2. Law of Acceleration – the acceleration of an object is
proportional to and in the same direction as the net force
acting on it.
3. Law of Interaction – when an object exerts a force on
another object, the second object exerts another force
that is equal and opposite in direction. These forces are
called action–reaction pairs.
➢ Action Reaction Forces – normal force and weight
cannot be considered as action-reaction force
because they act on the same body.
Galileo’s Assertion
Horizontal Motion – has constant velocity
Vertical Motion – has constant acceleration.
Newton
➢ believed that the velocities of objects are either
constant or zero in both horizontal motion and
vertical motion unless these objects are acted upon
by an external force.
Light
Reflection – the bouncing of light when it reaches a
reflecting surface or a boundary between two
media.
➢ Incident ray – ray of light that hits the reflecting
surface/boundary.
➢ Refracted ray – ray of light that bounces back.
➢ Normal line – line perpendicular to the reflecting
surface.
➢ Angle of incidence and angle of reflection – angles
formed by the incident ray and the reflected ray with
the normal line.
Law of Reflection – the angle of incidence, the angle of
reflection, and the normal line lies on the same plane. The
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. (i = r)
Two Type of Reflection
1. Specular/regular – reflection occurs when light strikes
a smooth surface.
2. Diffuse/irregular – reflection occurs when light strikes
a rough surface.
Particle Nature of Light
➢ light is usually described as a wave since it is part of
the electromagnetic wave.
➢ Photoelectric Effect – emission of free electrons when
light is shone on a metal surface
Refraction – the bending of light due to the change in its
speed when it obliquely passes two different media.
Index of Refraction
➢ The refractive index of a material (n) is the ratio of the
speed of light in a vacuum (c), and the speed of light in
that material (v).
➢ The index of material (n) is always greater than 1.
Absorption – occurs when light strikes a material, and the
energy that it carries is absorbed by the atoms of the
material. Light energy is converted into thermal energy.
➢ White light is composed of red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, and violet.
➢ When an object reflects all the components of light, it
appears white.
➢ When an object absorbs all the components of light, it
appears black.
Wave Behavior of Light
Parts of Wave
Frequency, Period, and Speed
Frequency – the number of complete cycles per second.
Period – is defined as the time required to complete one
cycle.
Wave speed – is the speed at which wave crests (or any
other fixed point on the wave shape) move forward.
Light Scattering – occurs when particles absorb light and
scatter it in all directions.
➢ depends on the size of the particles.
➢ Small particles scatter components of short
wavelengths.
➢ Larger particles scatter longer wavelengths. Particles
in the atmosphere scatter violet the most, followed by
blue, green, and so on.
Rayleigh scattering – depends on the relative size of the
particles and the wavelength of light.
Mie scattering – refers to the scattering of mostly white
light and depends less on the wavelength.
Diffraction – the spreading of light when it encounters an
obstacle or an opening.
➢ smaller opening, greater diffraction.
➢ longer the wavelength, greater diffraction.
Interference – the combination of two or more waves
into one wave whenever they pass through the same
point.
Frequency and Energy of Photons
Energy Levels – electrons occupy states. You can visualize
the energy levels as circular orbits around the nucleus.
➢ Have values n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on, with 1 being the
closest to the nucleus. Electrons can occupy only the
energy levels.
Planck’s Constant – Frequency of a photon is proportional
to its energy; the same principle that holds in the wave
model of light. In the particle model, the energy (E) of an
individual photon can be determined from its frequency:
E = hf
➢ where h is the Planck’s constant equal to 6.626 × 10-34
J· s, and f is the frequency of the photon.
Colors and Light
➢ The Electromagnetic Spectrum, highlighting the
narrow window of Visible Light that is detectable by
the human eye.
How Colors are Perceived by the Human Eye
➢ Colors are not innate to objects. They only
exist in the human visual system and are determined
by wavelength.
➢ Colors perceived by the eye depend on what makes
up the material, what colors it absorbs, and what
color it reflects that reaches the human eye.
Filter – can be a colored glass or cellophane that absorbs
certain wavelengths of visible light.
➢ The wavelengths that were not absorbed are either
transmitted or reflected.
➢ The object's color corresponds to the light reflected
by that object.
➢ The white light that passes through a filter transmits
only specific wavelengths and absorbs the others.
Reflection of Light
Incandescent light bulbs – emit long-wavelength
colors such as red, orange, and yellow. Fluorescent light –
short-wavelength colors, such as blue and violet.
Reflective and Refractive Illusions – human brain tends to
assume that it can draw a straight line towards all objects
being observed.
➢ When light bends unexpectedly, illusions are
created.
Plane Mirrors – reflected light waves are parallel rays.
➢ Looking at the mirror is like looking at your replica on
the other side of the glass.
Concave Mirror – converges the light rays at a particular
point in front of it, with you seeing an upright or inverted
image, depending on whether you are looking at the light
before or after it reaches the converging point.
Convex Mirror – when light waves strike, the rays tend to
scatter and appear to be diverging from a point on the
other side of the reflecting surface.
Electromagnetism and Relativity
Michael Faraday (1791–1867)
➢ Induction – process in which a changing magnetic
field can cause a current to flow.
Faraday’s Law of Induction – establishes how continuous
change in the magnetic field induces an electric field.
➢ Can be demonstrated by having a conductor enclose
an area (or in case or solenoid conductors, a stack of
areas) and a
➢ Magnet moving back and forth through the
➢ solenoid.
➢ You will observe the current flowing through the
conductor, indicating the presence of an electric field.
➢ Other ways a current can be induced are by moving
the conductor or by rotating either the conductor or
the magnets.
James Clerk Maxwell
➢ used the works of Faraday and Ampère, together with
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), to come up with
four Maxwell’s equations that explain the relationship
between electricity, magnetism, and light.
Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894)
➢ using Maxwell’s equations, he created a device
wherein a fluctuating electric current produces radio
wave impulse.
Radio waves – are electromagnetic waves with the
longest wavelength outside the visible light range.
➢ you cannot see them, but they can be useful in
transmitting signals.
➢ a spark gap attached to an induction coil and a
separate spark gap on a receiving antenna is used by
Hertz to prove the existence of electromagnetic
waves.
Special and General Theory of Relativity
The Special Theory of Relativity
1865 – James Clerk Maxwell theorized that the
electromagnetic field moves through space at a fixed
speed.
➢ He wrote a set of four equations that describe all the
laws of electricity and magnetism. Upon evaluating
Maxwell’s equation for the speed of light, c is equal to
2.99792458 x 108 m/s. This showed that the speed of
electromagnetic waves is universal.
1905 – Albert Einstein published his theory of special
relativity to explain how motions can be compared in
different inertial frames. He referred to motions between
two objects as relative. Postulates of the special theory
of relativity:
➢ Principle of Relativity – same mathematical form for
all frames of reference moving at a constant velocity
with respect to each other.
➢ no correct frame of reference and the laws of physics
can be applied to all reference frames involved.
➢ speed of light in a vacuum is independent of the
motion of its source and of the observer. The speed of
light is essentially constant where c is equal 3 x 108
m/s.
➢ useful only under “special” cases where motion is
uniform. It is not applicable to change-in-curvature
motions.
➢ Space “contracts” and the time “dilates” as a
consequence of relativity.
Lorentz Factor – amount of length contraction and time
dilation named after Hendrik Lorentz who had been
exploring transformation equations.
Time Dilation - person who is initially stationary tends to
observe a slower “clock” than a person traveling at the
speed of light.
➢ only significant when one of the objects involved
travel at relativistic speed, or speed near the speed of
light. (ex: twin paradox)
➢ Time dilation has been established to be equal to:
△ t ❑0
△ t=
√❑
△ t – relative time or the time observed in the other
reference frame
△ t 0 – proper time of the time in observer’s own frame of
reference
v – velocity of two frames
c – speed of light
(the denominator is equivalent to the Lorentz factor)
Length Contraction - the length of an object seems to
contract when traveling at relativistic speeds, according to
equation:
L=L❑0 √ ❑
L – relative length or the length measured by another
observer
L0 – proper length or the length measured by the
observer on the original reference frame
v – relative velocity of the two frames
c – speed of light
The General Theory of Relativity
➢ The extension of special relativity. It includes the
effects of objects and their mass on space-time. It
explains the concept of gravity.
➢ It is based on two postulates:
1. The principle of equivalence states that the
effects of gravity and the effects of acceleration
are the same.
2. Gravity is not a force but a consequence of the
curvature of space-time, caused by the uneven
distribution of mass/energy.
➢ Mercury did not follow a precise elliptical orbit but
rather a slowly shifting path. Perihelion shift of
Mercury. The curvature of space-time explained by
general relativity accounted for the 43 seconds of arc
shift in the orbit of Mercury. General relativity also
states that light can be bent by massive objects such
as a star (e.g., Sun).
Arthur Eddington (1919) – confirmed Einstein’s prediction
that light is bent by gravity.
➢ During a solar eclipse, light from distant stars that
passed very near the sun can be observed.
➢ He observed that the stars shifted position, consistent
with Einstein’s prediction.
➢ also predicted the existence of bodies massive
enough to pull light and keep it from escaping.
Black holes – formed when supermassive stars collapse
upon itself, forming a body with a very strong
gravitational pull.
Cosmology – body of science that studies the origin,
evolution and eventual fate of the universe.
Cosmological studies – conducted by groups of scientists
across disciplines of chemistry, physics and astronomy.
Physical cosmology – explains the origin of the universe
based on scientific insights, studies and experiments.
Nicolaus Copernicus and Isaac Newton – consider the
universe as static and unchanging.
➢ Their models of the universe contain celestial bodies
that are fixed in place or at certain distances.
➢ This idea was not questioned until Albert Einstein
published his final theory in general relativity.
➢ Recent models of the universe suggest that the
universe is dynamic and constantly changing.
Big Bang Theory – cosmological model stating that the
universe started its expansion about 13.8 billion years
ago.
➢ states that at some point in the past, all matter and
energy in the universe was compressed together in a
dense space.
➢ Pieces of evidence that support the theory include the
occurrence of redshift, cosmic microwave
background radiation, abundance of light elements.
Vesto Slipher and Carl Wilhelm Wirtz (1910) – measured
the wavelengths of light from spiral nebulae, which are
interstellar dust and ionized gasses.
➢ They discovered that the light from the nebulae
increased in wavelength (Doppler shift).
Doppler Shift or Doppler Effect – explains that when an
object gets closer to Earth, its light waves are compressed
into shorter wavelengths (blueshifted).
➢ When an object moves away from Earth, its light
waves are stretched into longer wavelengths
(redshifted).
➢ Slipher and Wirtz concluded that redshift is a result of
the expansion of the universe.
➢ Suppose you are moving to the left, light emitted from
the galaxies moving toward you would be
compressed.
➢ This would make the wavelength shorter and the light
bluer.
➢ On Earth, galaxies are perceived to be moving away
from the observer.
➢ This would make the light from these galaxies
stretched,with longer wavelengths and the light
redder.
Georges Lemaître (1927) - proposed that the universe
started as a single point that continuously expanded.
Edwin Hubble (1929) – used the redshift of light from
galaxies to calculate the velocities and distances of these
galaxies from Earth.
➢ He discovered that they were moving away from
Earth and from each other.
Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias (1965) – discovered a
low, steady “hum” from their Holmdel Horn antenna.
Cosmic background radiation – hum or noise that are the
remains of energy created after the big bang expansion.
Singularity – point where universe began
➢ hot, dense point containing all space, time, matter
and energy.
Inflation – process of singularity rapid expanding rapidly
Annihilation – process of canceling pairs which brings
back energy
Plasma Soup – matter in the form of protons, neutrons,
electrons and photons are scattered in a highly energetic
soup
➢ Where nuclei of light atoms start to form via
nucleosynthesis or nuclear fission between protons
and neutrons.
Recombination – process of electrons starting to
mingle with nuclei in a primordial chemical
➢ (atoms) continued moving in space until gravity acted
on these particles and collapsed them to form
celestial bodies such as stars and galaxies.
➢ Universe continues to expand until today. The
abundance of light elements supports the big bang
theory.
➢ It predicts that the universe is composed of 73%
hydrogen and 25% helium by mass.
 Insights from the Big Bang Theory star’s apparent brightness and spectrum be observed
➢ NASA scientists proposed that in the first second after first.
the universe began, the temperature was 5.5 billion Absolute brightness – standard measure of the brightness
degrees Celsius. As space expanded, the universe in astronomy.
cooled, and matter began to form. ➢ brightness of a star that is 10 parsecs away from
➢ During the first 3 minutes of the universe, light nuclei Earth.
were formed. These nuclei include deuterium, an Apparent brightness – Actual brightness of the star that
isotope of hydrogen and helium. can be seen on Earth
➢ The Earth and other celestial bodies in the Milky Way Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram – graph that shows a
are also moving away from other galaxies. star's luminosity versus its temperature.
➢ All objects in the universe are moving away from each If the location of the star can be plotted on the HR
other at the rate calculated by Hubble. This means diagram, its absolute brightness can be determined.
that the universe has no center and is expanding in Upper left – Cold & bright
all directions. Upper right – Cool & bright
Multiverse Model – different universes coexist. Lower left – Warm & dim
➢ suggests that during the first big push of inflation, Lower right – Hot & dim
different parts of space-time grew at different rates. Doppler Effect – shift in the wavelength of the emitted
➢ These different universes probably have different laws light of an object, which is proportional to the speed with
of physics. which the object moves.
Estimation of Speeds and Distance of Far-off Objects ➢ used by astronomers to estimate the speeds of far-off
Celestial Mechanics – branch of astronomy that deals objects. It occurs when the star emitting light moves
with motions of celestial bodies. with respect to an observer.
➢ Astronomers studying celestial mechanics estimate
the speeds and distances of celestial bodies.
Cosmic Distance Ladder – most common method used to
measure the distances of all celestial bodies that can be
seen from Earth.
➢ composed of several methods wherein the data
obtained in the first step of the ladder are used in the
succeeding step/s.
Astronomical Unit (AU) – measure of the distance of
Earth from the sun. It can also be considered as the base
of the Cosmic Distance Ladder.
➢ One AU is approximately 1.50 ✕ 1011 m. This value is
used in measuring the parallax of a star.
Parallax – apparent change in the position of an object
due to change in the way it is perceived.
➢ used in measuring the distance of stars that are
approximately 300 light years away.
➢ Astronomers take photos of a specific star within a 6
months interval to compare the change in position.
➢ These shifts in the position of the star serve as the
angles of an isosceles triangle.
➢ The parallax angle is measured in arcseconds.
Spectroscopic Methods - used for stars whose parallax
cannot be measured using the ladder. Requires that the