EARTH SCIENCE
BANG THEORY
1. Dark matter – has gravity but does not emit light
2. Baryonic matter – consist of protons, electrons,
and neutron, that comprises atoms, planets,
stars, galaxies, and other bodies.
3. Dark energy – source of anti-gravity
4. Light years – distant light can travel in a year;
measure astronomical distance
5. Protostar – early stage in the formation of a star
resulting to gravitational collapse of gases
6. Nucleosynthesis – formation of heavier
elements within star from lighter elements thru
fusion reactions
7. Galaxy – cluster of billions of stars; cluster of
galaxies from superclusters
ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
I. NON-SCIENTIFIC
a. Monotheistic Religions – a supreme being created
universe
b. Ancient Egyptians – world arose from an infinite sea
at the first rising of the sun
c. Kuba People (Central America) – Mbombo or Mumba
(Creator God) felt an intense stomach pain and then
vomited the stars, sun and moon
d. India: God sacrificed Purusha, the primal man whose
head, feet, eyes, and mind became the sky, earth, sun,
and moon respectively
II. SCIENTIFIC
a. Steady State Model
- proposed by Bondli, Gould, and Hoyle in 1948
- new matter is created as the universe expands thereby
maintaining its density
-rejected the discovery of the cosmic microwave
background
b. Big bang Theory
- most accepted theory of the universe
- 13.8 billion years ago, the universe expanded from tiny,
hot and dense mass to its present size and much cooler
state
- event of expansion from singularity that happened 12-
15 billion years ago
-predicted that the age of universe is approximately 13.8
billion years old
-thought to produce two main types of particles:
MATTER and ANTI-MATTER which is in equal quantities
cancel each other
Evolution of the Universe According to the BIG
1.13.8 billion years ago (0 until 10-43 sec)
-all matter and energy existed as a hot, dense, tiny state
-until 10 seconds: existence of quarks, hadrons and
leptons
2. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
-production of protons, neutrons, atomic nuclei, and
then H, He, and Li
-20 mins: sufficient cooling did NOT allow further
nucleosynthesis
3. 380 000 years
-cooling universe entered a matter-dominated period
when photons decoupled from matter and light in the
form of cosmic microwave background radiation
4. 380 000 years
-continuation to cool down
-matter collected into clouds = stars; galaxies after 100
million years
-thru nucleosynthesis in stars = production of carbon and
elements
5. 9.8 billion years to present
-universe became dark energy dominated and
underwent accelerating expansion
The BIG BANG THEORY withstood the test for
exapansion:
1. the redshift
2. abundance of H, He, Li
3. uniformly pervasive cosmic microwave background
radiation the remnant heat from the BANG
TWO IDEAS (ARISE FROM BIG BANG)
a. General Relativity
-Albert Einstein’s: gravity as a distortion of space time
and no longer described by a gravitational field
-Isaac Newton’s: peculiarities of the orbit of mercury and
the bending of light by the sun has passed rigorous test
b. Cosmological Principle
-the universe is homogenous and isotropic when average
over large scales
EVIDENCES THAT SUPPORTS THE BIG BANG THEORY
1. Hubble’s Law
- “red shift” phenomenon where the speed of galaxies
moving away from each other causing change in the light
spectrum (Albert Einstein’s).
2. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation
-accidentally discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert
Wilson
-this radiation observed as a strikingly uniform faint glow
in the microwave band from all directions- blackbody
radiation with an ave. temp. about 2.7 degrees above
3. Composition of Universe (OLD GALAXIES)
-“OUTSIDE” the universe confirms that the early universe
is made up of 93% H. 7% He, and trace Li
(3 most abundant elements in the universe)
COMPOSITION of the UNIVERSE
a. 71.4% dark energy
-source of anti-gravity which enables the expansion of
universe.
-observed accelerating expansion of the universe
b. 24% cold dark matter
-has gravity but does not emit light
-it could be holding the galaxies together because the
low total mass is insufficient for the gravity alone to do
c. 4.6% baryonic matter
-“ordinary matter” consisting protons, electrons, atoms,
planets, stars and other bodies
Two ways by which astronomers estimate the age of the
universe
1. estimating the age of the looking oldest stars
2. measuring the rate of expansion of the universe and
extrapolating back to the Big bang
HYDROGEN AND HELIUM
-most abundant elements
-lowest mass
-first elements to be formed in the big bang model
 Star’s energy comes from combining light into
heavier elements by fusion/nuclear
burning/nucleosynthesis
 The formation of He from H gives off lots of energy
- natural hydrogen bomb
 Nucleosynthesis requires very high temp. -
minimum temp. for H fusion is 5×106°C
 Universe is 13.8 billion years old.
 Diameter – possibly infinite but should be atleast 91
B light years (1 ly=9.4607×1012 km)
 Density – 4.5×10-31 g/cm3
STARS
- formed in clouds of gas and dust known as nebulae
- nuclear reactions at the center/core of stars provides
enough energy to make them shine brightly for many
years
- the exact lifetime depends very much on its size
- Galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars
- Superclusters are clusters of galaxies
- The empty space between galaxies appears to be
homogenous and isotropic
- Isotropic means having physical properties that are
same when measured in different directions
- PROTOSTAR
o Caused by instabilities within clouds that results
into gravitational collapse, rotation, heating up.
o Core of the future star as thermonuclear
reactions set in
- Stellar Interiors are like furnace where elements are
synthesized or combine/fused together
- Main sequence star – where most stars and the sun
belong
- H atoms are fused thru thermonuclear reactions to
make He atoms in the cores of stars
- Massive main sequence stars burn up their H faster than
smaller stars
- Sun burns up H in about 10 B years
- The remaining dust and gas may end up as planets,
asteroids and other bodies
The ORIGIN of the SOLAR SYSTEM
1. Nebular Hypothesis
- the sun and its planets supposedly condensed out of
swirling eddies of cold, dark, interstellar clouds of gas
and dust.
- Weakness – Gerald Kuiper- before the gravitational
attraction would become significant, the particles would
have to be big as the mood.
2. Fission Theory
- the sun burst one day, and all our planets came from it
3. Capture Theory
- our planets and moons were wandering around space
and the planets were captured by the gravity of the sun,
and the moons were captured by the planets
4. Accretion Theory
- condensation, nebular contraction, or “dust cloud”
- small chunks of material separately formed themselves
into our earth and moon
5. Planetary Collision Theory
- our world is said to have collided with a small planet
- the resulting explosion threw off rocks with formed our
orbiting moon
6. Stellar Collision Theory
- our planets, moons, and sun all spun off from a collision
between stars
7. Gas Cloud Theory
- gas clouds were captured by the sun, which the
mysteriously formed themselves at a distance into
planets and moons
6 More Flaws in the Solar System Theories
1. do NOT explain where stars, planets, and moons
originated
2. assume that the orbits came about by chance
3. all came from the sun or a common stellar collision?
4. do NOT fit into the laws of physics
5. fanciful theories
6. cannot come up with a rational explanation of the
intricate balancing and orbital motions of moons and
planets
Other Version on the Theories on the Origin of the Solar
System
1. ENCOUNTER HYPOTHESIS
a. Sun-comet encounter
 Buffon (1749)
 Sent matter to form planet
b. Sun-star encounter or Near-collision Hypothesis
 James Jean (1917)
 Would have drawn from the sun matter that
would condense to planets
c. Planetesimal Hypothesis
 T.C. Chamberlain and F.R. Moulton (1904)
 A star much bigger than the Sun passed by the
sun and draws gaseous filaments from both,
which planetesimals were formed
d. Protoplanet Hypothesis
 Ray Lyttleton (1940)
 Sun’s companion star colliding with another to
form a proto-planet
e. Accretion Theory
 Otto Schmidt
 The sun passed through a dense interstellar
cloud and emerged with a dusty, gaseous
envelope that eventually became the planets
f. Capture Theory
 M.M Woolfson
 Variation of James Jean’s near-collision
hypothesis
 The sun drags from a near proto-star a filament
material which becomes the planets
- Nobel Prize winner Harold (1950s) on compositional
studies on meteorites
2. PROTOPLANET HYPOTHESIS
 Current hypothesis
 About 4.6 B years ago, in the Orion arm of the
Milky Way galaxy, a slowly-rotating gas and dust
cloud dominated by H and He starts to contract
due to gravity.
NOTES:
o Common theme of these hypotheses involves
between the sun and another celestial body
o 2 major flaws of the rival hypothesis
a) Fails to explain how planets are formed
b) This type of encounters is extremely rare
o Accretion and bombardment generate hear
(kinetic energy is transformed to heat) which
was partly retained by the Earth as internal heat
The SOLAR SYSTEM
- located in the Milky Way galaxy; Local group of galaxies
Local group of galaxies is in turn a part of the Virgo super
cluster of galaxies.
Milky Way galaxy is a huge disc and spiral-shaped
aggregation of about at least 100 billion stars and other
bodies.
- This galaxy is about 100 million light years across
(1 ly=9.4607×1012 km)
- Revolves around galactic center once in about
240 million years.
- radioactive of meteorites suggests that the Earth and
solar system are 4.6 billion years old younger than the
universe which is 13.8 billion years of age
Large Scale Features of the Solar System
 All planets are located at REGULAR intervals
from the Sun.
 Much of the MASS of the solar system is
concentrated at the CENTER (Sun) while
ANGULAR MOMENTUM is held by OUTER
planets.
 The ORBITS of the planets are ELLIPTICAL and are
on the SAME plane.
 All planets REVOLVE AROUND the sun, and the
periods of the planets increase with increasing
distance from the sun; the INNERMOST planet
moves FASTEST, the OUTERMOST, the SLOWEST.
Small Scale Features of the Solar System
 Most planets ROTATE PROGRADE.
Prograde is the counterclockwise rotation of
planets viewed from above the Earth’s North
Pole.
 Mercury’s orbit does NOT conform to the rest of
the planets in the solar system. It does not
behave according to Newton’s Laws.
 The motion of Mercury is referred to as a
retrograde motion.
Inner terrestrial planets are called the “ROCKY” Planets.
 Mostly rocks and metal at the core which are
made of materials with high melting points such
as silicates, iron, and nickel.
 They rotate SLOWER
 Have thin or no atmosphere
 Higher densities
 Lower contents of volatiles – hydrogen, helium
and noble gases
Outer four planets are called “GAS GIANTS” because of
the dominance of gases and their larger sizes.
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
  They rotate FASTER
 Have thick atmosphere
 Lower densities
 Fluid interiors rich in H, He, and ices (water,
ammonia, methane)

Element Abundance on Earth, Meteorites, and Universe

- It is easy to make Earth if most H and He are removed;
the sun and large planets have enough mass and gravity
to retain H and He.
- Inert gases are RARE on EARTH, too light for Earth’s
gravity to hold.
- “Cold” and solid particles remain while HOT would have
been LOST.
- Meteorites are believed to be remnants of materials
from which the solar system was derived.
- The presence of heavy elements such as lead, silver, and
uranium on Earth suggests that it was derived from
remnants of a supernova and that the sun is a second-
generation star made by recycling materials.

The UNIVERSE, SOLAR SYSTEM, and the EARTH

Humanity’s failure to protect the environment is likely
due to the ff:
a) Inability to recognize the full consequence of
his/her actions.
b) Lack of appreciation of the uniqueness of the
Earth.

 The blue coloration of the Earth is very apparent

due to the presence of water.
 The SIZE and MASS and even the ROTATION
SPEED of Venus and Earth are very similar; TWIN
PLANETS
 Mars is about half the Earth’s size.
- surface of mars: brine (salty water)
 Venus, Earth and Mars have a spheroidal shape.
- part of the inner terrestrial or “rocky” planets
- densities are NOT too different from each other
 Orbital period and velocity are related to the
planet’s distance from the sun.
 The composition of the atmosphere (amount of
greenhouse gases) influences the planet
SURFACE TEMPERATURE.
 The amount of solar radiation that a planet
receive is a primarily function of distance from
the sun.
 On Earth, nutrients are cycled thru the
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE and PLATE TECTONICS
(Volcanism).
 Internal heat drives plate tectonics; the ability of
a planet to maintain internal heat is related to
size.