Download Astronomy Notes: Deep Space

Astronomy Notes: Deep Space
Hubble overview: http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy
and Journey to a Black Hole: http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/home.html and then http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations
to do the following: planet impact, mission mastermind, Hubble Deep Field Academy, Telescopes from the Ground up, Galaxies from the Ground Up, and No
Escape: The truth about black holes
I. The Universe:
Universe is all known matter and energy.
Age: est. 13.7 billion years old
http://aether.lbl.gov/Images/nowmap.jpg
http://planck.cf.ac.uk/files/images/PLANCK_FSM_03_Black_Regions_v02_B.preview.j
pg
Formation: The Big Bang Theory
1.In the beginning was….???? Sphere of
energy???? Time and space did not exist
2.the energy became unstable and
exploded….
3.energy cooled over the first million years,
and subatomic matter formed
4.hydrogen formed….lots of it
5.first stars formed from hydrogen:
stars began thermonuclear fusion:
turning hydrogen into helium in the core:
E=mc2
6.over time, stars gathered together in
galaxies of millions to billions of stars
7.our galaxy is the Milky Way Galaxy:
draw it here
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/cosmic_collision
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/piercing_the_sky/resources.php
8.the local cluster of galaxies is ours and
about 20 others.
The local Supercluster contains hundreds
of galaxies.
9.The universe continues to expand. (We
are NOT sure what shape the universe is.
We cannot see the ‘end’….we don’t know
what exists ‘outside’ the universe.)
quasars
Dark matter and energy: theoretical
concepts: we’re ‘missing’ 90% of the
universe…..
10. Evidence of an expanding universe:
a. Doppler Effect: most galaxies show
red shift :
b. farthest galaxies show most shift
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/chapter28.cfm
c. Cosmic Background Radiation: there
is ‘extra’ energy in all sections of the
‘sky’ leftover from Big Bang
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/chapter28.cfm
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/cbr.html
II. Stars:
A. Stars are spheres capable of
thermonuclear fusion: (creating new elements
by smashing smaller elements together.)
1. Temperature and color:
Hot stars are blue, cool stars are red
2. Luminosity (absolute magnitude):
star’s TRUE brightness compared to the sun:
big stars are bright, dwarf stars are dim.
Composition of the star: Spectra tells
us that, because each element has its own
spectral fingerprint.
http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~scharein/a311/Sim/hr/HRdiagram.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_known_stars
B. Formation: gas and dust,( mostly
hydrogen), from a nebula cools, coalesces,
rotates and condenses. Fusion begins.
C. Life Cycle:
Protostar (from nebula)
Main sequence (stable)
Uses up hydrogen, expands and cools
Either novas or supernovas
Becomes either white dwarf, neutron star
or black hole, depending on how much mass
it had.
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/chapter28.cfm
D. H-R Diagram: Temperature vs.
luminosity chart.
Page 15 of ESRT: shows 4 main classes
of stars.
http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/HR.html
Our Star: the sun is our star. It is a
smallish, cool Main Sequence star.
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov
Age: 4.6 billion years old
Red Giant stage in 5 billion years.
It will nova and become a white dwarf.
Weird Stars: Cepheid variables, Pulsars,
supergiants, brown dwarfs, cataclysmic
variable stars
III. Measuring Distances and Energy in Space:
1.Lightyear is the distance light travels in a
year.
Speed of light: 186, 000 miles/second (670,
000, 000 miles/hr)
Lightyear :out 10 trillion km, (or about 6 trillion
miles )
Nearest star to our solar system: Proxima
Centauri 4.2 ly (lightyear): (one parsec).
Parallax measures the shift of a star
compared to background stars.
Electromagnetic Spectrum: energy given off
in transverse waves. P. 14 ESRT
2. All EME travels at the speed of light.
Longer wavelengths = lower energy
have low frequency
Shorter wavelengths = more energy
have higher frequency
Our star (sun) gives off primarily
visible light has a continuous spectrum of
VISIBLE LIGHT
Sun also gives off UV, infrared, and
other wavelengths
IV. Constellations:
i. Stars that SEEM to be close together.
People see an ‘image’ and make up
stories
ii. 88 recognized constellations (includes
picture and space around/behind it)
(Measured in Right Ascension and
Declination from ecliptic)
iii. Circumpolar constellations: p. 617 text
and link to animation http://www.astronomy.ohiostate.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Movies/#circum
iv. Big Dipper: p. 617 text
v. Seasonal Constellations: p. 618-619 text
and p. 714-715 text