CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

HOW WE SEE THE UNIVERSE

HOW WE SEE THE UNIVERSE

light and other electromagnetic radiation

Orion Nebula (on sword of Orion) Optical Infrared

Lagoon Nebula

M104

HOW WE SEE THE UNIVERSE

light and other electromagnetic radiation
CAVEAT: Dark may mean 1. nothing there
or

2. something there but not emitting

or

3. something in path absorbing the light

Horsehead Nebula (on belt of Orion)

NGC 1316

HOW WE SEE THE UNIVERSE

light and other electromagnetic radiation
other particle radiation (eg electrons) meteorites, rock samples, dust

HOW WE UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE

assume Laws of Physics are the same throughout all space and all time measure Laws of Physics in lab on Earth

CAVEATS
some Laws of Physics may be more important than others at different places or times

in Earth lab we cant investigate: ultrahigh temperatures, ultra-strong gravity, gravity over very large distances, effect of very long times

HOW DO WE MEASURE DISTANCE?

DISTANCE UNITS
Astronomical Unit (AU) = average distance between Earth and Sun = 150 million km Light Year (ly) = distance light travels in one year = 9.5 x 1012 km = 63,000 AU
Parsec (pc) = 30 x 1012 km = 3.3 light years

TIME
Light travels at finite speed (c = 3 x 105 km s-1) light takes time (t = d/c) to reach Earth ie the light reaching you today left its source at a (much) earlier time the farther away an observed object is, the farther back in time we are seeing it

Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth

LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOOD
Moon 300,000 km or 1 light-second away Sun 1 AU or 8 min 20 seconds away Pluto about 39 AU or ~ 5 light-hours away Heliopause 90 AU or ~ 13 light-hours away edge of the Solar System 100,000 AU or ~ 1.5 light-year away

nearest star visible with naked eye -Centauri at 275,000 AU or ~ 4.3 light years away (Proxima-Centauri ~ 4.2 light years away)

TIME
Solar system and Earth ~ 4.6 5 billion years old

Universe is 13.8 billion years old (if assume Big Bang model)

Earths Address: Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Local Supercluster

Milky Way