Copernican Heliocentrism

● Nicolaus Copernicus view

the celestial bodies orbited
Earth Science the sun
“The Origin and Structure of Earth”
Midterm

Georges Lemaitre The universe

● Georges Lemaitre, a
started as a
single point and
Belgian Roman Catholic
keep on
Priest in 1927 proposed
stretching.
the idea that the universe
started at a single point
and stretched and
expanded
 Edwin Hubble ● The light coming from
the galaxies exhibited
● In 1929, astronomer redshift.

Edwin Hubble noticed ● Light waves from

distant galaxies get
that other galaxies were stretched by the
moving away from ours. expansion of the
● The farthest the galaxies universe on their way
to Earth.
were moving faster than
the ones close to us

Big Bang Theory

● Current accepted model on the formation of the universe
● Universe originates in an infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point
● Universe is 14 billion years old (gigayears ago or Gya ‘109‘)
 Big Bang Theory Four Fundamental Forces of Nature
● Gravitation Force
● Only pure energy is present ○ All matter has a gravitational
at the beginning of time pull.
○ The bigger the object, the
greater the force
● Big Bang in a sentence… ● Electromagnetic Force
○ Keeps atoms and molecules
together
Big Bang was an idea began as a
○ Long range force as a result of
single point, a violent explosion interactions between positively
which caused the inflation and charged protons and negatively
expansion of the universe. charged electrons

Four Fundamental Forces of Nature Big Bang Theory

● Strong Nuclear Force ● Nuclear Fusion formed
○ Binds protons and neutrons the nucleus of primordial
of each atom together in the elements of the universe:
nucleus
Hydrogen and Helium
● Weak Nuclear Force
● 300 thousand years later
○ Can change one type of
quark into another, with a temperature became cool
different mass and charge enough to form hydrogen
○ Responsible for radioactive and helium atoms
decay ● Photons escaped and
light existed
 Gravity paves the way Oscillating Universe

● Galaxies form out of immense clouds ● Einstein’s favored model

of gas that collapse and rotate ● Followed the general
theory of relativity
● Stars formed within the evolving equations of the universe
galaxies ● Universe is expanding for
a time and then
● The Sun and the planets formed contracting due to the
together, 4.6 billion years ago, from a
pull of gravity
cloud of gas and dust called the solar
nebula. ● (Big Bang —> Big
Crunch)

Steady State Universe Inflationary Universe

● Fred Hoyle proposed this view ● The Universe
in the middle of the 20th underwent a short
Century in opposition to the and sudden
standard Big Bang theory. episode of great
● On this view, the universe is
expansion right
continually expanding without a
corresponding decrease in its
after the Big Bang
density. ● The inflation is
● Hoyle argued that the density believed to
of the universe remained happen just 10-36
constant because of the seconds after the
addition of matter that Big Bang
counterbalances the expansion.
 The Multiverse
● Andrei Linde further modified the
inflationary hypothesis to propose

●
periods of eternal inflation.
On this view, our universe is but one Origin of the
'bubble' universe comprising a

●
multiverse of many such bubble
universes.
Each bubble universe is the result of
Solar System
quantum fluctuations in the vacuum
of space.

Origin of the Solar System

● Formed approximately 4.6 billion

years ago
● Important in understanding life
on Earth
● Two general Hypothesis:
○ Catastrophic or unnatural
events
○ Natural and continuous
processes
Random Capture Hypothesis Random Capture Hypothesis

Problems:
● The sun’s gravity “captures”
flying or nearby planets that ● It happens rarely
were formed independently ● It cannot explain how asteroids, comets and
● These planets would later other objects were formed
be differentiated to become
the present-day planets

Fission Theory
Fission Theory
● Planets and other objects in Problems:
the solar system are
● Failed to explain the
products of the sun’s
arrangement of planets and
explosion
● Moons or satellites came other objects
from the planets (e.g. the ● The rocks and materials of
earth’s moon emerged from the planets and their moons
the Pacific Ocean) are also different in
composition and structure.
 Collision Theory Collision Theory

● Planets, stars and other Problems:

objects collided ● Rare occurrence
● Stars are made up of gases
● The products of the and when collision happens,
collision are now the it will expand
planets and other ● Failed to explain many
characteristics of the solar
objects in the solar system
system

Encounter Hypothesis Encounter Hypothesis

● When a star passes close ● Rare occurrence

to the sun, several
materials from that star and ● Stars are made up
sun were removed gases and when
● Lumps were formed and
became planet this happens, the
● Less dense materials → gases will expand,
outer planets
● More dense materials →
and not contract to
inner planets form lumps
 Nebular Hypothesis Nebular Hypothesis
● Nebula- a large cloud of dirt and
gases ● Interstellar cloud of gas & dust
● The nebula collapsed due to collapsed under its own gravity
● Explains all of the major
gravitational force of the nebula features of solar system, and
and the pressure exerted by the also the exceptions
gasses
● As it collapsed, the nebula rotated
and flattened at the poles

Nebular Hypothesis Evidence of the nebular hypothesis

● Particles and gases accreted to formed protoplanets
● These protoplanets became the precursors to the
present-day planets All planets and most of its satellites
● Explain why planets revolve around the sun in the revolve around the sun in the same
same manner.
direction. This supports the idea of a
rotating disc as an origin of solar
system.
 Solar nebular Disc Model Proto panet
Hypothesis
● Infused most of the
● Stars are formed after giant tenets of the
molecular clouds which protoplanet hypothesis.
resulted to the coalesce of
clumps ● Supported by modern
● Planets were then formed as knowledge about fluid
a product of star formation. dynamics, chemistry,
and astronomy.

● a newly formed star surrounded by a swirling

Proto panet protoplanetary disk of dust and gas. Debris
Proto panet
Hypothesis coalesces to create rocky 'planetesimals' that Hypothesis
collide and grow to eventually form planets

● Current working model for the

formation of the Solar System
● Incorporates many of the
components of the nebular
hypothesis but adds some
new aspects from the modern
knowledge of fluids and
states of matter
● Planetesimals differ in
chemical composition,
depending on their initial
distance from the sun as they
are formed.
Summary Summary

● About 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was ● The second set of hypotheses claims
developed. There are two hypotheses proposed to
explain the origin of the solar system: through that the solar system was formed due to
catastrophic events and through natural processes. natural processes, and includes the
● The first set of hypotheses claims that the solar system
originated from the catastrophic or random event, and nebular hypothesis, the solar nebular
includes the random capture hypothesis, fission theory,
disc model, and the protoplanetary
collision theory theory and the encounter hypothesis.
hypothesis.

Processes and Events dating back to

the Big Bang eventually led to the
existence of life on Earth.