The Universe I What is the Universe Everything

The Universe

I) What is the Universe? § Everything that exists § Constantly expanding § Contains around 100 billion galaxies § Scientists believe the universe began about 13. 7 -13. 8 billion years ago with The Big Bang (explosion)

II) What is a Galaxy? § Enormous group of stars § Formed from spinning clouds of gas § 4 types: elliptical, spiral, barredspiral, and irregular

§ The MILKY WAY is the name of our galaxy § The Milky Way galaxy is a barredspiral galaxy

III) What is a Solar System? -Tiny part of the Milky Way Galaxy -Consists of the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, over 100 moons, asteroids, meteors and comets -Formed about 4. 6 billion years ago from a cloud of gas and dust (nebula)

IV) What is a star? -Enormous spinning ball of dense hot, luminous gas (hydrogen & helium) -Stars are classified by how hot they are, we see temperature differences as colors -Our star the sun, is yellow in color and its surface temperature is 8500° to 10, 000° Fahrenheit !

- Our star, the sun, is halfway through its life. In about 5 billion years, it will expand to become a red giant. - Supernova: huge explosion resulting in a star’s death - Black hole: large core of a supernova collapses into a gravity pit (invisible and gravity is so great that it sucks in light)

V) The Planets Inner planets are solid, with minerals similar to those on Earth. They are referred to as the “terrestrial planets. ”

Terrestrial Planets A) Mercury -smallest planet and closest to the sun -little or no atmosphere, resulting in extreme temperatures -heavily cratered surface

B) Venus -second-closest to the sun -heavy cloud layer -clouds trap solar energy (greenhouse effect) making Venus the hottest planet = 864° Fahrenheit

C) Earth • -third planet from the sun • -atmosphere allows life to flourish • 1 moon…LUNA D) Mars -fourth planet from the sun -has seasons and polar ice caps -may have water shaping its surface -The asteroid belt separates the inner and outer planets -2 moons

• Asteroid Belt Area between Mars and Jupiter containing millions of asteroids

Gas Giants • Most outer planets are huge balls of gas.

A) Jupiter -fifth planet from the sun and largest -has 50 moons (17 provisional moons) -has Great Red Spot (giant storm on the planet’s surface) B) Saturn -sixth planet from the sun -has over 53 (+9) moons -known for its broad rings of ice and dust

C) Uranus -seventh planet from the sun -axis makes the planet spin nearly sideways -has rings and at least 27 moons D) Neptune -eighth planet from the sun -a gas planet with rings and 13 moons (1 provisional moon) -methane and helium in its atmosphere give planet a blue color

Dwarf Planets • made of rock and ice • have little or no atmosphere • they’re just large asteroids or comets too small to be planets or with an irregular orbit 1. Ceres – located between Mars and Jupiter 2. Pluto – past Neptune (has 1 moon-Charon) 3. Eris (Xena) – past Neptune 4. Makemake 5. Haumea [1 provisional dwarf planet…VP 113]

These images show the discovery of 2012 VP 113 taken about 2 hours apart on Nov. 5, 2012. The motion of 2012 VP 113 stands out compared to the fixed background of stars and galaxies. Image Credit: Scott Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science

WHAT DOES THE EARTH DO ALL DAY? ? ? ?

Earth 23. 5° tilt 24 hours or 1 day uns 365¼ days or 1 year http: //www. classzone. com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es 0408/es 0 408 page 01. cfm? chapter_no=04

VI) EARTH A) The Earth rotates on its axis at a 23. 5° tilt. 1 rotation = 24 hours (1 day) B) The side of the Earth facing the sun is experiencing day (light) C) The side of the Earth facing away from the sun is experiencing night (dark). D) A revolution is the motion of the Earth as it travels in an orbit around the sun. 1 revolution = 365 ¼ days or 1 year

E) The orbit is the name of the path around the sun. F) The Earth’s period of revolution is 365 1/4 days or 365 days and 6 hours. G) Every 4 years the four 6 hour periods add up to make an extra day which results in a LEAP YEAR. (February 29 th)

VII) Solstice vs. Equinox A) Solstices occur two times per year when the sun’s rays are FARTHEST away from the equator – Summer Solstice– June 21 st - Longest Day – Winter Solstice – December 21 st - Shortest Day B) Equinoxes occur two times per year when the suns strongest rays are directly hitting the equator – Vernal (Spring) Equinox– March 20 th –equal day/night – Autumnal (Fall) Equinox – September 23 rd –equal day/night

VIII) Seasons A) Seasons are periods in a year that bring changes in weather and temperature. B) Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted 23. 5° as it revolves around the sun. C) When the Earth is on one side of the sun, and the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

• D) As the Earth moves a quarter way around the sun, the Northern Hemisphere tilts slightly away. This brings autumn (fall) weather to the Northern Hemisphere and spring to the Southern Hemisphere

E) Another quarter passes Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun = winter. Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun = summer. F) Another quarter passes Northern Hemisphere = spring Southern hemisphere = autumn (fall)

http: //www. classzone. com/books/earth_scienc e/terc/content/visualizations/es 0408 page 01. cfm? chapter_no=04 Seasons Illustration

http: //esminfo. prenhall. com/science/geoanima tions/animations/01_Earth. Sun_E 2. html Seasons Illustration

IX) LUNA - Earth’s moon A) revolves around Earth every 29 days (its revolution equals its rotation) B) shines because its light colored surface reflects sunlight C) its changing shapes are known as phases D) its phases are caused by the position of the Earth, moon, and sun

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the Moon

Phases of the moon for a month http: //stardate. org/nightsky/moon/index. php ? month=3&year=2000&css=moon. css&Su bmit=Go

Phases of moon {

The New Moon occurs when the moon is between the Earth and the Sun and when the lit-up part is facing away from us. The full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the Sun. The moon is at a 5. 2* tilt making the near side light-up.

X) What keeps the planets and moon from flying off into space? Gravity…is the force that keeps them in their current position…. . while inertia keeps them in continual motion in their orbit.

Gravity & Inertia A) Gravity - what makes you stick to the Earth. (It's like a giant hand that reaches up from the ground, grabs your ankle and holds you down) B) Inertia- Newton’s First Law of Motion! An object in motion or at rest will continue to stay in motion or at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.

XI) Small Objects

A) What are comets? -dirty snowball composed of snow & dust -tail develops as the comet nears the Sun (it gets heated, the snow turns to gas and forms a long bright tail) -famous comet: Halley’s comet which returns every 76 years (2061)

B) What are meteors? -billions of tiny lumps of rocky material that could come from asteroids -burn up in mesosphere (3 rd layer of our atmosphere) before reaching Earth -sometimes called shooting stars because of the streak of light it produces while burning up (there is no such thing as a shooting star!!!--it’s a meteor!!!)

C) What are meteorites? -fragments of space material that land on Earth’s surface -pieces may be iron, rocky or both Barringer Crater: in Arizona – over a ½ mile across & 660 ft deep.

D) What are Asteroids? - Chunks of rocks that orbit the Sun -Most are found in asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter -larger than meteroids

Cosmic Collisions {29 min}

XII) What are eclipses? -the total or partial obscuring of one heavenly body by another -two kinds: lunar eclipse & solar eclipse • A) Lunar eclipse - when the Earth comes between the sun and moon causing the moon to “disappear” - can last 1 -4 hours

Actual pictures of Lunar Eclipses

• B) Solar Eclipse -when the moon comes between the Earth and sun causing the sun to “disappear” -lasts several minutes (longest was 7 minutes)

Actual pictures of solar eclipses

http: //www. nbcnews. com/id/1194734 9/ns/technology_and_sciencespace/#. VAo. MLrf. Qfcs

Eclipse Movie {3 min}

XIII) TIDES A) How are tides connected to the moon? -the moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth causes the Earth’s ocean water to rise and fall - two kinds of tides: Spring tides & Neap tides

B) Spring Tide (high tide) -sun, moon, and Earth are arranged in a line -Two big bulges of water form on the Earth: • one directly under the moon • another on the exact opposite side • as the Earth spins, the bulges follow the moon. -occurs during new & full moons - highest gravitational pull

C) Neap Tide(low tide) -sun, moon and Earth are arranged at right angles (90°) High Tides are lower…Low Tides are higher -occur during first & third quarter moon phases -gravitational forces are working against each other