The Universe and the Solar System

Where did the Earth come from, and how did life begin?
There are possible explanations that attempt different possibilities on how life could have begun.

These possibilities are the following:

1. Extraterrestrial origin
The hypothesis explain that life originated on another planet outside our solar system, and that life was then
brought on the Earth on a meteorite. This hypothesis has not been proven.
2. Panspermia (from Greek word (pan), meaning all, and (sperma), meaning ‘seed’.
This theory presumes that “seed” of life exists all over the universe and can be spread through space and that life
originated from these seeds.
3. Divine creation
People believed that life was put on Earth by divine forces.
4. Origin from nonliving matter
Scientists believed that life exist on earth from inactive matter after Earth has cooled.

 Among these possibilities, the first three fall outside the realm of science, and not considered for scientific
studies
ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
The following are theories on the origin of the universe:

1. Big Bang Theory (George Lemaitre – father of the big bang theory)
Around 13.7 billion years ago, there were nothing and nowhere. And then, due to random fluctuation in an empty
void, there’s a great explosion, and that explosion sent space, time, matter, and energy in all directions. The big bang
resulted into several events that led to the creation of forces and celestial bodies we know today.

The Big Bang Timeline

a. Inflationary Epoch
This was the earliest known period of the universe (lasting from approximately
10-43 to 10-11 seconds). It expanded from the size of an atomic nucleus to 1,035 meters in width.

b. Formation of the universe (10-6 seconds)

The universe continues to expand. By the first seconds, the universe is made up of fundamental
particles and energy like electrons, photons, etc.
c. Formation of basic elements (3 seconds)
Smaller nucleus combines to form bigger nucleus through the process of nuclear synthesis, therefore
protons and neutrons combine to form atoms of different elements.

d. Radiation era (10,000 years)

Energy in the universe mostly were in the form of radiation, such as different wavelength of lights, x –
rays, radio waves, and ultraviolet rays.

e. Matter denomination (300,000 years)

At this stage, Lithium atoms began to form and electrons joined with hydrogen and helium nuclei to
make scale neutral atoms.

f. Birth of stars and galaxies (300 millions of years)

The irregular areas of gas clouds attract matter and became compacted, and that compacted clouds
collapsed and ultimately gained enough mass to heat up producing light. The extensive clouds of gas can
be the birth for indefinitely large number of stars and that group of stars became the galaxies.
2. The Steady State Theory (proposed by Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold and Fred Hoyle)
This theory states that a universe expanded but did not change its density, with matter being continuously
created to form new star and galaxies.

3. Inflation Theory (by Alan Guth)

This theory recommends a period of extremely rapid expansion of the universe during its first few months. It says
that the universe was created in an unstable energy state which resulted a more extremely
bigger universe, a far bigger or larger than the size that we can observe with our telescope.

4. String Theory
This theory was able to combine all known forces and particles into a single “theory of everything”.

5. M – Theory (or mother of all theory)

This theory involves the existence of dimensions of space, consistency of x, y and Z, 2D membrane, 3D
membrane and multidimensional objects called p – branes.
THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The solar system started from dust – sized particles that resulted from the big bang. It
consists of a central stars, the sun and all of the smaller celestial bodies that continuously
travel around it.
The age of the solar system and that of planet Earth is approximately 4.54 billion
years old.
 Scientists used models to describe the structure of the solar system:

The Geocentric model (by Claudius Ptolemy)

During the time of Ptolemy, the geocentric model was the one accepted about the
different movement in the universe. It says that the sun, moon, stars, and five planets
(Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) moved around the earth. It states that the Earth
is the center of the solar system.

The Heliocentric model (by Nicholas Copernicus)

In the 16th century, Copernicus opposed the idea of geocentric model. He says that the
Sun is the center of the solar system.
 In the 18thcentury, the following hypotheses were presented explaining the origin of the solar system.

1. Nebular Hypothesis (proposed by Immanuel Kant & Pierre Simon Laplace)

According to Kant, the solar system began as a large cloud of gas that contracted due to self – gravity. Kant
assumed that the gravitational attractions of particles caused them to start moving and bumping, and chemical
forces kept them bonded together, and as it summed up it became larger than others and grew more rapidly and
eventually forming the planets.

2. The Planetesimal and Tidal Hypothesis (by Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin & Forest Ray Moulton)

Chamberlin and Moulton challenged the Kant-Laplace Nebular Hypothesis. Bumping of star makes huge
tides on the surface of our sun that resulted to erupted matter, smaller masses then quickly cooled to become
solid bodies called planetesimals. As their orbits travel, larger bodies grew by absorbing the planetesimals, thus
becoming planets.
The Tidal theory was proposed by James Hopwood Jeans and Harold Jeffreys.
It suggest that a huge tidal wave was raised on our sun by a passing star. As the stream of gaseous
material compressed, it scattered into masses of different sizes and compressed to form the planets.
3. Protoplanet Hypothesis

It states that the solar system began with a fragment from an interstellar cloud made
up mainly of hydrogen, helium, and a small amount of light elements.

The protoplanet theory combine many of the components of the nebular hypothesis.
The nebula is seen as a dense nucleus or protosun surrounded by gaseous matter extending
to the border of the solar system. The nebula discontinued to rotate uniformly and under the
influence of turbulence and tidal action, broke into whirlpools of gas called protoplanets within
a rotating mass and in time, compressed to form the planets.
Characteristics-of-Earth-that-are-necessary-
to-support-life
 LIFE ON EARTH
Everything that happened since the beginning of time is necessary to
the existence of life on Earth
Here are some essential requirements necessary in supporting life on
Earth – Water, Heat source, Atmosphere.
1. Water
Without water life would not have begun and our planet would look
very different. Scientists believed that water on Earth form two
possible sources - water released from volcanism and water that
comes from the icy meteors of the outer region of the solar system
that hit the Earth. Also, water gives us the first photosynthetic
organisms to flourish which are present today.
WATER
2. Heat source
Two sources of heat:
a. Internal heating of Earth
Heat coming from Earth is caused by radiogenic heat from
radioactive decay of materials in the core and mantle expelled through
active tectonic activities such as volcanism and plate movement.

b. External heating from the sun

Heat coming from the sun is in the form of radiation which strikes Earth.
As sunlight enters Earth, some of the heat is held by a layer of gases
called atmosphere, and this creates the heat needed by organisms on
Earth.
3. Atmosphere

Atmosphere is what we refer as the gaseous envelope surrounding a

heavenly body; the air. Atmosphere is a vital part of photosynthesis

where it affirmed enough amount and flow of gases on Earth. Without

the atmosphere, our planet would have a surface temperature below

freezing and we would experience extreme weather and climates, and it

would also have an extreme amount of ultraviolet radiation because

there will not be an atmosphere that use up radiation.