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Solar System & Planets
Solar System & Planets
and Planets I
Questions:
How do we know the Big Bang happened?
Blueshift Redshift
Galaxy Spectroscopy
Spectra of a nearby star and a distant
galaxy
Star is nearby, approximately at rest Stellar Spectrum
Galaxy is distant, traveling away from
us at 12,000 km/s
Sodium
Magnesium
Galaxy Spectrum
Calcium
Origin of the Universe -
Did It Begin with a Big Bang?
Discovery of the Background Radiation from initial Big Bang
-Long wavelength
-came from all directions
• Matter as we know it did not exist at the time of the Big Bang, only pure
energy. Within one second, the 4 fundamental forces were separated
– gravity - the attraction of one body toward another
– electromagnetic force - binds atoms into molecules, can be
transmitted by photons
– strong nuclear force - binds protons and neutrons together in the
nucleus
– weak nuclear force - breaks down an atom’s nucleus, producing
radioactive decay
Early History of the Universe
• After 3 minutes, photons and neutrons began
to fuse to form the nuclei of hydrogen and
helium atoms
• About 300,000 years later, temperatures were
cool enough for complete hydrogen and
helium atoms to form
• Photons escaped from matter about the same
time, and light existed for the first time
Changing Composition of the
Universe
• 200 million years later, with expansion still occurring, stars and galaxies
began forming from leftover matter - hydrogen and helium
– nuclear fusion in stars has reduced the original composition of 100%
H and He to 98%
– when a dying star explodes, the heavier elements created by fusion
are blown into space to be recycled by newly forming stars
– the overall composition of the galaxies is gradually changing to the
heavier elements
The Solar System - Its Origin
and Early Development