State the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the universe

Scientific evidence points to an origin sometime between 10 and 20 billion years ago. The Big Bang
theory is universally accepted by those who do research on the development of the universe, galaxies,
and stars as the cause of the origin of the universe.

How do we know the universe is expanding?

The evidence indicates that as the Big Bang occurred, everything in the universe was an expanding mass
of hot gas. As this mass of gas expanded, it cooled. Knots of matter formed that became the objects we
see--including galaxies, stars, and planets such as our Earth. These objects continue to move away from
one another even today, and, thus, our knowledge that the universe is expanding is based on
observation. Evidence for the expanding universe comes from a phenomenon referred to as the redshift.
When objects move apart rapidly, the light emitted by one and received by the other changes in a
specific way. The light of an object moving rapidly shifts to the red end of the visible spectrum, and a
redshift occurs. In the 1920's, scientists discovered that distant galaxies are moving away from us.
Moreover, the farther away galaxies are, the faster the motion is relative to us and the greater the
observed redshift. It happens that this kind of expansion is predicted by Einstein's general theory of
relativity. This aspect of Einstein's theory has been tested by a number of experiments, and no test has
been able to falsify the hypothesis. Over the years, many other scientific hypotheses have been
introduced to explain the redshift without invoking an expanding universe. None of these hypotheses
has a simple and direct connection with effects we can measure in the laboratory. It also is true that
nearly all of them make other kinds of predictions about light that are not observed, so these
hypotheses are no longer taken seriously.

Is there any other evidence for the Big Bang?

Three other major pieces of evidence indicate that the Big Bang occurred. The first is called the cosmic
microwave background radiation (CMBR), which is a weak form of radiation that comes from the sky and
is energy that is left over from the very early universe (fig. 14). The CMBR was predicted during World
War II, and in the 1960's it was detected for the first time. Since then, it has been measured and
remeasured and now ranks as the most precise scientific measurement ever made. The second major
piece of evidence concerns the fraction of various kinds of atoms in the universe. Scientists have
calculated the amount of helium and other light atoms that should have been formed in the first few
minutes after the Big Bang. The predictions agree remarkably well with what is observed. The third piece
of evidence comes from our own eyes. Telescopes currently in use in Kansas and elsewhere allow us to
see faraway galaxies as they appeared close to the time of the Big Bang because light takes so long to
reach us from such distant objects. The observations continue to fit our interpretation of a universe that
was very different early in its history. At the present time, we do not understand everything about the
development of the universe. The work of science is not finished. We do not yet know how it started or
what the dark matter is. We are, however, very confident that, in general, the Big Bang model is correct,
and many physicists and astronomers are now working to fill in the details.

Fig. 14--The cosmic microwave background is the afterglow radiation left over from the Big Bang. Shown
here are cosmological fluctuations in the microwave background temperature made by the Cosmic
Background Explorer (COBE) satellite (Spergel et al., 1999). Although extremely uniform all over the sky,
tiny temperature variations can offer great insight into the origin, development, and initial structure of
the universe.

Where did the Earth come from?

Most of the matter in the universe consists of such light elements as hydrogen and helium, plus an
additional kind of unknown cold dark matter that is not yet well understood. Such heavier elements as
carbon, oxygen, and silicon that are needed to form rocks and living organisms formed in earlier
generations of stars that exploded, scattering the elements across the galaxy. These elements,
sometimes referred to as ashes, were part of the matter that clumped together to form our solar
system. Planets like our Earth are made primarily of the heavier elements. The Earth is known to be
about 4.5 billion years old; the universe is at least three times older. A lot had to happen before the
Earth could form!

What will happen to the universe in the future?

Scientists believe there are two possible scenarios. One is that the universe may collapse again into sort
of a reverse of the Big Bang. The other is that it may continue to expand forever, eventually growing cold
and dark. At present, the weight of evidence seems to indicate that it will expand forever. Our
understanding of the nature of the cold dark matter, a subject being actively investigated by many
scientists, may help us answer the question of the ultimate fate of the universe. If cold dark matter is
sufficiently abundant, it could halt and possibly even reverse the universe's expansion.
The main components of the earth system

The earth system is itself an integrated system, but it can be subdivided into four main components,
sub-systems or spheres: the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. These components
are also systems in their own right and they are tightly interconnected. The four main components of
the earth system may be described briefly in the following way.

 The geosphere - this is the part of the planet composed of rock and minerals; it includes
the solid crust, the molten mantle and the liquid and solid parts of the earth's core. In
many places, the geosphere develops a layer of soil in which nutrients become available
to living organisms, and which thus provides an important ecological habitat and the
basis of many forms of life. The surface of the geosphere is subject to processes of
erosion, weathering and transport, as well as to tectonic forces and volcanic activity,
which result in the formation of landforms such as mountains, hills and plateaux.
 The atmosphere - this is the gaseous layer surrounding the earth and held to its surface
by gravity. The atmosphere receives energy from solar radiation which warms the
 earth's surface and is re-emitted and conducted to the atmosphere. The atmosphere
also absorbs water from the earth's surface via the process of evaporation; it then acts
to redistribute heat and moisture across the earth's surface. In addition, the
atmosphere contains substances that are essential for life, including carbon, nitrogen,
oxygen and hydrogen.
 The hydrosphere - this consists of those parts of the earth system composed of water in
its liquid, gaseous (vapour) and solid (ice) phases. The hydrosphere includes: the earth's
oceans and seas; its ice sheets, sea ice and glaciers; its lakes, rivers and streams; its
atmospheric moisture and ice crystals; and its areas of permafrost. The hydrosphere
includes both saltwater and freshwater systems, and it also includes the moisture found
in the soil (soil water) and within rocks (groundwater). Water is essential for the
existence and maintenance of life on earth. In some classifications, the hydrosphere is
sub-divided into the fluid water systems and the cryosphere (the ice systems).
 The biosphere - this contains all living organisms and it is intimately related to the other
three spheres: most living organisms require gases from the atmosphere, water from
the hydrosphere and nutrients and minerals from the geosphere. Living organisms also
require a medium for life, and are adapted to inhabit one or more of the other three
spheres. However, much of the biosphere is contained within a shallow surface layer
encompassing the lower part of the atmosphere, the surface of the geosphere and
approximately the upper 100 metres of the ocean. Humans are part of the biosphere,
although they are increasingly responsible for the creation of systems that may be
largely artificial (such as cities).
What Are the Factors that Make the
Planet Habitable?
 It has to be a comfortable distance away from a star (Habitable
Zone)
 The stars around it have to be ‘stable’.
 It should not have a very low mass.
 It must rotate on its axis and revolve.
 It should have a molten core.
 It should hold an atmosphere.
In the recent years, there has been a great deal of talk about
finding liquid water on Mars and the possibility of life existing on the
Red Planet. All this coverage has resulted in a lot of questions being
raised for people always staring out into space, including a few
interesting ones. For example, is the existence of water the only
condition that needs to be present on a planet in order to host life? To
better answer that question, let’s look at the various factors that make
a planet habitable.
Taking Cues from Earth
As of now, we do not have any concrete proof of the existence of life
anywhere else in the universe. Therefore, in order to establish the
criteria of habitability of a planet (or a natural satellite), the conditions
that support life on Earth also need to be extrapolated for other
celestial objects. In other words, since we haven’t found proof of life
anywhere else, the basic conditions that support life on Earth can be
taken as a benchmark for the sustenance of life on any planet.

There are a number of conditions that a celestial body must fulfill in

order to support life. These conditions involve certain geochemical,
astrophysical, astrological and geophysical criteria. According to
NASA, for a celestial body to sustain life, there should be “extended
regions of liquid water, conditions favorable for the assembly of
complex organic molecules, and energy sources to
sustain metabolism.”
 In gauging the habitability of a planet, a number of factors must be
considered, including the planet’s bulk composition, orbital properties,
atmosphere, and potential chemical interactions. Some of the requisite
conditions are as follow.

Location in Habitable Zone (HZ)

For a planet to sustain life, it has to be a comfortable distance away
from a star, such as the sun of our solar system. Around a star, there
is a shell-shaped region of space, called the Habitable Zone (HZ),
where a planet can maintain liquid water on the surface. If a planet lies
in this region, then there are good chances for the habitability of life on
the surface. However, if life could exist without water in a certain part
of the universe, then the definition of an HZ will change drastically.
Also, since a star becomes more luminous as it ages, a planet
must be farther away from it in the HZ to sustain life.

What Makes A Planet Habitable?

Updated On: 8 Jul 2022 By Ashish

Table of Contents
 What Are the Factors that Make the Planet Habitable?
 Are there more habitable planets?
 Suggested Reading
Some factors that make a planet habitable are location in the habitable
zone, a stable star, the right mass, the ability to hold an atmosphere,
and the presence of liquid water.
There are many planets in the entire universe, but as far as we know,
there is only a handful which could possibly support life. Space
scientists and astronomers continuously scour the vastness of space
for finding signs of life elsewhere in the solar system and even outside
of it. Now, taking one celestial body at a time and devoting all your
time and resources to ascertain whether it supports life would be too
imprudent and wasteful. That’s why, astronomers look for certain
pointers in a celestial body, and then determine if it has the potential to
support life, or in other words, whether it’s habitable.
So, what are the requirements for a planet to support life?

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What Makes A Planet Habitable?

What Are the Factors that Make the

Planet Habitable?
 It has to be a comfortable distance away from a star (Habitable
Zone)
 The stars around it have to be ‘stable’.
 It should not have a very low mass.
 It must rotate on its axis and revolve.
 It should have a molten core.
 It should hold an atmosphere.
In the recent years, there has been a great deal of talk about
finding liquid water on Mars and the possibility of life existing on the
Red Planet. All this coverage has resulted in a lot of questions being
raised for people always staring out into space, including a few
interesting ones. For example, is the existence of water the only
condition that needs to be present on a planet in order to host life? To
better answer that question, let’s look at the various factors that make
a planet habitable.
Taking Cues from Earth
As of now, we do not have any concrete proof of the existence of life
anywhere else in the universe. Therefore, in order to establish the
criteria of habitability of a planet (or a natural satellite), the conditions
that support life on Earth also need to be extrapolated for other
celestial objects. In other words, since we haven’t found proof of life
anywhere else, the basic conditions that support life on Earth can be
taken as a benchmark for the sustenance of life on any planet.

There are a number of conditions that a celestial body must fulfill in

order to support life. These conditions involve certain geochemical,
astrophysical, astrological and geophysical criteria. According to
NASA, for a celestial body to sustain life, there should be “extended
regions of liquid water, conditions favorable for the assembly of
complex organic molecules, and energy sources to
sustain metabolism.”
In gauging the habitability of a planet, a number of factors must be
considered, including the planet’s bulk composition, orbital properties,
atmosphere, and potential chemical interactions. Some of the requisite
conditions are as follow.

Location in Habitable Zone (HZ)

For a planet to sustain life, it has to be a comfortable distance away
from a star, such as the sun of our solar system. Around a star, there
is a shell-shaped region of space, called the Habitable Zone (HZ),
where a planet can maintain liquid water on the surface. If a planet lies
in this region, then there are good chances for the habitability of life on
the surface. However, if life could exist without water in a certain part
of the universe, then the definition of an HZ will change drastically.
Also, since a star becomes more luminous as it ages, a planet
must be farther away from it in the HZ to sustain life.

Stability of Stars
 An artist’s impression of a solar flare (Credits: Photoraidz/Shutterstock)
For a planet, it’s important that the stars closest to it are stable in
terms of their luminosity. Although every star’s luminosity increases
with time, it should not be too severe, or else it could simply burn up
everything on the closest planet.

Since Earth is a terrestrial planet and is habitable, it is assumed that a

planet must be made up of rocks, and not gases. Therefore, we don’t
expect to find life on gas giants like Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus.
However, there could be life on the cloud tops of these planets, but it
is highly unlikely, as there is no surface and the gravity of these
planets is very high.

Mass of the Planetary Body

A planet with low mass is not suitable for habitation because low mass
means low gravity. Low gravity further means that the planet won’t be
able to retain an atmosphere, as constituent gases will easily
reach escape velocity and be lost in open space. However, there are
some exceptions to this condition: one of Jupiter’s moons, Io, is a
small celestial body, yet it is volcanically dynamic and has distant
chances of harboring life.

Rotation and Revolution

A planet must also rotate on its axis and revolve around its parent star
(like the Earth going around the sun) to be habitable. Furthermore, if
life on the planet is to be given a chance to evolve, certain other
conditions have to be met in its rotational motion. For example, there
should be some axial tilt perpendicular to its orbit, which will result in
seasons on the planet or celestial object.

A Molten Core
To sustain any type of life, a planet requires a rapidly rotating
magnetic field to protect it from flares from nearby stars. This is what
we call the core of the planet. A planetary core is a terrific source of
geothermal energy, allows the cycling of raw materials, and spawns a
magnetic field around the planet to protect it from harmful radiation. It
should be noted that Mars was known to have a liquid core at one
time, but its heat dissipated quickly because Mars is a smaller planet.

Holding an Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere not only fulfills our most basic needs of providing
oxygen but also keeps the planet warm by trapping carbon dioxide
and other gases. It also protects life on the planet by blocking the vast
majority of harmful radiation. Therefore, any habitable planet must
have all the necessary conditions in place to have an atmosphere or
at least a protective layer of essential gases.
As stated earlier, since we do not know of the existence of any life
outside of Earth, these assumptions are deduced from the particular
conditions that support life on Earth. If, however, there are organisms
who can survive in altogether different conditions than what we have
experienced here on Earth, then who really knows…maybe we
already have company!

re there more habitable planets?

Our satellites have been picking up on earth-like habitable planets for
some time now. We have found many planets which seem to fit the bill
partially, but them being far away has stopped us from getting any
proper evidence. We shall look at a list consisting of such planets.
Now, these planets have been deemed liveable (or we think that they
are liveable) because they lie in the habitable zone of their respective
stars. This means that they could have liquid water and thus sustain
life. They also fulfill some factors that have been mentioned above. So
now let’s see the list and how far these planets are from us.
 Proxima b – This planet revolves around the star Proxima
Centauri. The star is 4.2 Light years away from the sun. It weighs
around 1.3 times more than earth. It could have liquid water, but
that depends on its atmospheric conditions. But as nothing is
known about its atmosphere, we cannot be sure about it having
water.
 Wolf 1061c – It is located in the constellation Ophiuchus and
revolves around the red dwarf Wolf 1061. The planet is
approximately 13.8 light years from Earth It’s around 4.3 times
larger than earth. It has a short revolution time of about 17.9 days.
 Gliese 832c – It revolves around the red dwarf Gliese 832 and is
present in its habitable zone. Its size is around 5 times that of
Earth. Because of this, it’s often called a Super-earth. The planet is
16 light years away from our planet.
 TRAPPIST-1d – This planet is around 40 light years away from us
and is in the constellation of Aquarius. It revolves around an
ultracool red dwarf known as TRAPPIST-1. You can read about
TRAPPIST-1d in detail in this articl
1. Saturn hexagon.
This is something truly extraordinary, as we all know that nature
prefers shapes that maximize symmetry, like spheres. However, this
natural persistent phenomenon manifests itself in the form of a
hexagon around Saturn’s North Pole. It was first discovered by the
Voyager space probes in 1981. Since then, Saturn has become more
illuminated by sunlight, enabling us to capture it in more detail.
Scientists explain the hexagon as a result of the atmosphere creating
a vortex due to the turbulent nature of Saturn’s wind pattern. However,
polygon formation has not been observed on Jupiter, nor on Saturn’s
South Pole.

2. We live inside the Sun.

When we picture the sun, what comes to mind is a massive ball of
light 93 million miles away. However, in reality, its atmosphere
extends outwards far beyond its surface. The Southern and Northern
lights that we see on Earth are proof that we orbit inside the Sun’s
atmosphere. Auroras have been observed on planets as far away as
Neptune. The outer solar atmosphere is thought to extend to about 10
billion miles – more than twice the distance between the Sun and
Pluto!

Northern Lights

3. Iapetus: The mysterious moon of Saturn.

One of Saturn’s moons, Iapetus, was discovered in 1671, but more
recent discoveries about the moon have been baffling astronomers all
over the world. Iapetus is the third-largest natural satellite of Saturn,
but it raises the most questions. Firstly, one side of this moon is darker
than the other, and the color difference is striking. This is mainly
attributed to the fact that its orbit around Saturn allows one of its
hemisphere to be more illuminated than the other.
Secondly, it is the only body in the Solar System that is not in
hydrostatic equilibrium. This means that its shape is non-spherical,
and not just because of irregularities in its thin crust. Iapetus peaks at
its equator by a height of about 20km above the surrounding plains.
This ridge gives it a unique shape, so Iapetus actually resembles a
walnut more than a moon.

Close up of the Equatorial ridge

4. Mercury is colder than Venus.

As we all know, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and therefore,
logically, it should be the hottest one, but that’s actually incorrect.
Although Venus is twice as far away from the Sun as compared to
Mercury, it is still the hottest planet. This is because of something with
which we are all quite familiar – the ‘Greenhouse effect’. Mercury’s
atmosphere is insignificant, so most of the heat from the Sun is
reflected back into space by its surface, whereas the carbon dioxide-
rich atmosphere of Venus traps heat and the planet’s temperature
rises over time.

5. Venus rotates in the opposite direction.

Most planets rotate on their axes in a counterclockwise direction, but
Venus rotates clockwise at the slowest rotational speed of all the
planets. Because its rotation is so slow, Venus is very close to being a
perfect sphere. One Venusian year is only twice as long as one
Venusian day.

6. Saturn can float on water

This is more like a weird fact than a mystery, but it’s still quite
surprising to know that something as large as a planet would be able
to float on water. Contrary to what most people think, the ability of a
body to float on water does not depend on its weight, but rather on its
density. If something is denser than water, then it will sink, and
otherwise it will float. The average density of Saturn is less than that of
water, thus making it possible for it to float on water. However, we
would need a swimming pool 1300 times the volume of the Earth to
test this interesting fact in person.

7. Ceres has more water than Earth

Ceres is a minor planet and the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is
also the thirty-third largest object in the Solar System and is,
interestingly enough, composed of ice and rock. Due to its sheer
gravitational power, it is the only object in the asteroid belt that
is rounded by its own gravity. While all this is pretty unique for a minor
planet, the fact that helps it outshine its brethren is that the minor
planet might have a remnant internal ocean of liquid water under a
layer of ice. This liquid ocean would be so vast that the total volume
might be larger than all of the Earth’s freshwater reserves. Scientists
widely speculate about the possibility of finding life in such an
environment, since all of the known organic life on Earth require two
things, water and heat, both of which are readily available near Ceres’
core.
 Heavily cratered surface of Ceres

8. Pluto moon Charon.

Although Pluto enjoyed the status of being a planet for almost 75
years, very little is known about it. Pluto’s orbit is so huge that it still
hasn’t completed a single revolution around the Sun since being
discovered in 1930. Still more interesting is that it has five satellites,
the largest of which is Charon. Scientists were surprised to discover,
in 1978, a moon with almost half as large a diameter as its parent
planet. Charon is quite huge, as far as moons are concerned. Its
gravitational influence is such that the center of its orbit around Pluto
lies outside Pluto itself!

Out of center orbit of Charon

9. Uranus rotates on its side.

All of the planets in the Solar System have their axis of rotation more-
or-less pointing up except Uranus. Uranus has a strange axis of
rotation, with a tilt of 98 degrees. This means that days on Uranus last
almost as long as seasons, with either the North or the South Pole
always pointed towards the Sun. Some scientists believe that Uranus’
tilt can be attributed to a cosmic hit and run. Other scientists explain it
as a result of the transfer of momentum due to the gravitational
influence of Saturn and Jupiter.

10.The Solar System is bigger than you think.

So, as we’ve learned, the atmosphere of the Sun extends beyond
Pluto, but you might be surprised to discover that this isn’t where the
Solar System ends. If the Solar System is imagined as the size of our
body, then the Sun would be the size of a single white-
blood cell. Mercury is only 0.39 astronomical units from the Sun, while
Jupiter orbits at a distance of 5.5 astronomical units. Pluto is way out
there at 39.2 astronomical units. That’s the equivalent of 5.9 billion
kilometers. In the furthest reaches of the Solar System is the Oort
Cloud, a theorized cloud of icy objects that might orbit the Sun at a
distance of 100,000 astronomical units – roughly 1.87 light-years
away. The Oort cloud marks the boundary of our own ‘solar’
neighborhood.