Astronomy and Cosmology

CH 31.
ASTRONOMY
AND COSMOLOGY
31.1 Standard Candles
a standard candle is a source that has a

known luminosity
luminosity = total power output
Standard Candles :
Astronomical object of known luminosity
- Cepheid Variable Stars

A type of pulsating star which increases and
decreases in brightness over a set time period
Period – luminosity – star’s distance
- Type 1A supernovae
A supernova explosion involving a white dwarf
The luminosity at the time of the explosion is always the same
Luminosity : total radiation that leaves the star (watt)

Supernova Type 1A
❑ A supernova is one of the final stages in the life cycle of massive stars
❑ The explosion involving a white dwarf
❑ The luminosity at the time of the explosion is always the same
31.2 Luminosity and
Radiant Flux intensity
Unit distance for distant stars
Earth – Sun distance = 150 x 106 km = 1AU
Proxima Centauri – Earth distance = 4 x 1016 m

Proxima Centauri is the second nearest star to the earth
Alternatif Unit for distance ( light – year )
distance = speed x time Proxima centaury = 4 x 1016/9.5 x 1015
1ly = speed of light x one year in second Proxima centaury is 4.2 ly

= 3 x 108 x 365 x 24 x 3600
1ly = 9.5 x 1015 m
31.2 Luminosity and
Radiant flux intensity
•The radiant flux intensity is the amount of radiation measured on Earth
Assumptions : ❑ Power of the star is uniformly

❑ There is negligible absorbtion
of this radiated power
31.2 Luminosity and
The radiant flux intensity, measured at earth, from chepheid variable

star in andromeda is 1.4 x 10-16Wm-2. the luminosity of the star is 1.0 x
1030 W.
Calculate the distance of the star?

31.3 Stellar Radii
Wien’s Displacement Law
A star can be modelled as a

black body.
Black body is an idealized

object that obsorbs all
incident electromagnetic
radiation falling on it
31.3 Stellar Radii
Wien’s Displacement Law

The higher the temperature of a
body
- The greater the intensity
- The shorter the wavelength

at the peak (intensity max)
31.3 Stellar Radii
Stefan - Bolztman Law

Luminosity of a star depends
on two factors :
- Its surface themodynamics

Temperature
- Its radius σ = 5.67 × 10-8 Wm2K-4

31.3 Stellar Radii
Using Wien’s displacement Law and the stefan – Boltzman Displacement Law
to determine Stellar Radii
The surface temperature of the sun is 5800 K and wavelength of light at peak Intensity is 500nm.
The wavelength at peak intensity for Sirius B ( a white dwarf star) is 120nm.
The luminosity of this star is 0.056 times that the sun. the luminosity of the sun is 3.83 x 1026 W.
Calculate the radius of the Sirius - B

31.4 The Expanding Universe
The Big Bang Theory
❑ Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region that was extremely
hot and dense
❑ Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the Big Bang
❑ This caused the universe to expand from a single point, cooling as it does so, to form the universe
today
❑ Each point expands away from the others

• This is seen from galaxies moving away from each other, and the further away they are the
faster they move
❑ As a result of the initial explosion, the Universe continues to expand

The Big Bang Theory
All galaxies are moving away from each other,

indicating that the universe is expanding
The Big Bang Theory
❑ An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where

the balloon represents space and the points as
galaxies
❑ When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close

together and an equal distance apart
❑ As the balloon expands, all the points become further

apart by the same amount
❑ This is because the space itself has expanded

between the galaxies
• Therefore, the density of galaxies falls as the
Universe expands
Big Bang Theory
Evidence for the Big Bang

❑ Since there is more evidence supporting the
Big Bang theory than the Steady State
theory, it is the currently accepted
model for the origin of the Universe
❑ The main pieces of evidence for the Big
Bang are
✓ Doppler red-shift
✓ Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
radiation
Doppler Effect :
Change in frequency or wavelength of a wave observed when the

source of the wave moving relative to the source
Doppler Effect
❑ A moving object will cause the wavelength, λ, (and frequency) of the waves to
change:
➢ The wavelength of the

waves in front of the
source decreases and
the frequency increases
➢ The wavelength behind the

source increases and
the frequency decreases
➢ This effect is known as

the Doppler effect
Doppler Redshift
❑ The Doppler effect also affects light

➢ If an object moves away from an observer the wavelength of light
increases
➢ This is known as redshift as the light moves towards the red end of
the spectrum
❑ Redshift is:
An increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnet radiation

emitted from receding stars and galaxies
Doppler Redshift
Doppler Redshift
Doppler Redshift
The observer behind observes a red shift

Doppler Redshift
Doppler Redshift
Doppler effect
The apparent change in wavelength or frequency of the radiation

from a source due to its relative motion away from or toward the
observer
❑ On Earth, the Doppler effect of sound can be easily observed when sound
waves moves past an observer at a notable speed
❑ In space, the Doppler effect of light can observed when spectra of distant
stars and galaxies are observed, this is known as:
• Redshift if the object is moving away from the Earth, or
• Blueshift if the object is moving towards the Earth
Doppler Redshift
•Redshift is defined as:
The fractional increase in wavelength (or decrease in frequency) due to the

source and observer receding from each other
Doppler Redshift
•For non-relativistic galaxies, Doppler redshift can be calculated using:

Doppler Redshift
Emitted frequency :
f = 4.570 × 1014 Hz
Shift in frequency :
Δf = (4.547 – 4.570) × 1014
= –2.3 × 1012 Hz
Speed of light, c = 3.0 × 108 m s–1

Hubble’s law
Hubble's Law & the Big Bang Theory
❑ Edwin Hubble investigated the light spectra emitted from a large number of galaxies
❑ He used
➢ redshift data to determine the recession velocities of these galaxies (v)
➢ standard candles to determine the distances (d)
❑ From these measurements, he formulated a relationship, now known as Hubble’s Law
❑ Hubble’s Law states:
The recession speed of galaxies moving away from Earth is proportional to their distance
from the Earth
Hubble’s law
Hubble's Law & the Big Bang Theory
❑ Edwin Hubble investigated the light spectra emitted from a large number of galaxies
❑ He used redshift data to determine the recession velocities of these galaxies, and standard
candles to determine the distances
Hubble’s Law
A key aspect of Hubble’s law

is that the furthest galaxies
appear to move away the
fastest
Hubble’s law
❑ This can be calculated using:

v = H 0d
❑ Where:
• v = the galaxy's recessional velocity (m s-1)
• d = distance between the galaxy and Earth (m)
• H0 = Hubble's constant, or the rate of expansion of the universe (s-1)
❑ This equation tells us:

• The further away a galaxy, the faster it’s recession velocity
• The gradient of a graph of recession velocity against distance is equal to the Hubble
constant
Hubble’s law and The Age of the Universe
A galaxy is found to be moving away with a speed of 2.1 × 107 m s-1. The galaxy is at a
distance of 9.5 × 1024 m from Earth.
Assuming the speed has remained constant,

what is the age of the universe in years?
v = H 0d
Therefore, the age of the universe is estimated to be

about 14.3 billion years
total power of radiation emitted (by the star)
F = L / (4πd2 )
= 9.86 x 1027 / [4 π (8.14 x 1016)2 ]
= 1.18 x 10–7 W m–2

L = 4πσ r2T4
9.86 x 1027 = 4 π x 5.67 x 10–8 r2 98304
radius = 1.22 x 109 m
wavelength of peak intensity from object of known temperature determined

Wien’s displacement law used
or wavelength of peak intensity inversely proportional to temperature

Astronomy and Cosmology

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CH 31.

a standard candle is a source that has a

- Cepheid Variable Stars

Luminosity : total radiation that leaves the star (watt)

Proxima Centauri – Earth distance = 4 x 1016 m

Alternatif Unit for distance ( light – year )

distance = speed x time Proxima centaury = 4 x 1016/9.5 x 1015

1ly = speed of light x one year in second Proxima centaury is 4.2 ly

Assumptions : ❑ Power of the star is uniformly

The radiant flux intensity, measured at earth, from chepheid variable

Calculate the distance of the star?

Wien’s Displacement Law

A star can be modelled as a

Black body is an idealized

Wien’s Displacement Law

- The greater the intensity

- The shorter the wavelength

Stefan - Bolztman Law

- Its surface themodynamics

- Its radius σ = 5.67 × 10-8 Wm2K-4

Calculate the radius of the Sirius - B

❑ Each point expands away from the others

❑ As a result of the initial explosion, the Universe continues to expand

All galaxies are moving away from each other,

❑ An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where

❑ When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close

❑ As the balloon expands, all the points become further

❑ This is because the space itself has expanded

Evidence for the Big Bang

Change in frequency or wavelength of a wave observed when the

➢ The wavelength of the

➢ The wavelength behind the

➢ This effect is known as

❑ The Doppler effect also affects light

An increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnet radiation

The observer behind observes a red shift

The apparent change in wavelength or frequency of the radiation

•Redshift is defined as:

The fractional increase in wavelength (or decrease in frequency) due to the

•For non-relativistic galaxies, Doppler redshift can be calculated using:

Speed of light, c = 3.0 × 108 m s–1

❑ From these measurements, he formulated a relationship, now known as Hubble’s Law

❑ Hubble’s Law states:

A key aspect of Hubble’s law

❑ This can be calculated using:

❑ This equation tells us:

Assuming the speed has remained constant,

Therefore, the age of the universe is estimated to be

= 9.86 x 1027 / [4 π (8.14 x 1016)2 ]

= 1.18 x 10–7 W m–2

9.86 x 1027 = 4 π x 5.67 x 10–8 r2 98304

radius = 1.22 x 109 m

wavelength of peak intensity from object of known temperature determined

or wavelength of peak intensity inversely proportional to temperature

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