Download Mysteries of the Universe

Secondary School №196
Mysteries of the Universe
Authors:
Fadeeva Tat’yana
Kobegina Victoria
Project manager
Bashkatova E.V.
Seversk, 2011
Contents:
Introduction…………………………………………………………3
I.
What is the Universe?...............................................................4
II.
What is the solar system?..........................................................5
III.
The Sun………………………………………………………6
IV.
The Moon……………………………………………………7
V.
Meteorites……………………………………………………8
VI.
Stars………………………………………………………….10
VII.
Asteroids……………………………………………………..12
VIII.
The Dwarf Planets……………………………………………14
IX.
Comets………………………………………………………..16
X.
Why do we explore space?.........................................................17
Conclusion…………………………………………………………...19
Literature……………………………………………………………..20
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Introduction
So do you think you know your universe? We’ve got our own top list on the
most interesting facts about the Universe.
It’s a wonderful solar system we live in! All that you see is a part of our huge
and mysterious solar system. How many times do you ask yourself what are there
in space? We talked about it on our English lessons and decided to find out
interesting facts about our Universe!
Our project is “Mysteries of the Universe!” and the main aims of the project
are:
1. to find the definition “Solar System”,
2. to tell about some interesting facts about our solar system,
3. to find out why people are so interested in exploration of our Universe.
We suppose that it is amazing to know something new about planets, the sun,
the moon, meteorites and so on. 2011 is the half of a century of the Russian space
exploration, that is why we decided to do the project and share the information
with you.
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I. What is the Universe?
What is the Universe? It is a question which has been alarming the human
mind for centuries. There are a lot of proverbs about the universe. For example, a
woman is a huge unknown universe or “universe of mind”.
The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists,
including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the
contents of intergalactic space, although this usage may differ with the context.
The term universe may be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting
such concepts as the cosmos, the world, or nature.
Universe Big Bang
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Observations of earlier stages in the development of the universe, which can
be seen at great distances, suggest that the universe has been governed by the same
physical laws and constants throughout most of its extent and history.
The most widely accepted cosmological model is that of the Big Bang. This
was proven since the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation or
CMBR. Although, strictly speaking, no one knows exactly what ‘banged’, we
know from extrapolation that the Universe was infinitely hot at birth, cooling down
as it expanded.
In fact, even only within minutes of expansion, scientists predict its
temperature to have been about a billion Kelvin. Moving backward to 1 second, it
is said to have been at 10 billion Kelvin. For comparison, today’s universe is found
to have an average temperature of nearly 3 Kelvin.
II. What is the solar system?
What is the solar system? It is our Sun and everything that travels around it.
Our solar system is elliptical in shape. That means it is shaped like an egg. The Sun
is in the center of the solar system. Our
solar system is always in motion. Eight
known planets and their moons, along with
comets, asteroids, and other space objects
orbit the Sun. The Sun is the biggest object
in our solar system. It contains more than
99%
of
the
solar
system's
mass.
Astronomers think the solar system is more
than 4 billion years old.
Astronomers are now finding new
objects far, far from the Sun which they call dwarf planets. Pluto, which was once
called a planet, is now called a dwarf planet.
It was formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud nearly 4.6 billion
years ago. There are four small planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), the two
largest ones (Jupiter and Saturn), the two outermost planets (Uranus and Neptune).
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The last two planets are called "ice giants".
Do you know that, the Solar System is also home to two regions populated by
smaller objects? The asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter. Beyond
Neptune's orbit lie trans-Neptunian objects composed mostly of ices such as water,
ammonia and methane.
Within these two regions, five individual objects, Ceres, Pluto, Haumea,
Makemake and Eris, are recognized to be large enough to have been rounded by
their own gravity, and are thus termed dwarf planets. In addition to thousands of
small bodies in those two regions, various other small body populations, such as
comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust, freely travel between regions.
III. The Sun
Some people from long ago thought of the Sun as a god. They did not want
the god to be angry with them. To keep the Sun happy, they offered it gifts such as
gold and food.
The Sun is our closest star. It is
a member of the Milky Way galaxy.
The Sun is a yellow dwarf star,
which means it is a medium size star.
It is believed to be over 4 billion
years old. The Sun spins slowly on
its axis as it revolves around the
galaxy.
The center, or core, of the Sun
is very hot. A process called "nuclear
fusion" takes place there. Nuclear fusion produces a lot of energy. Some of this
energy travels out into space as heat and light. Some of it arrives at Earth! Streams
of gas particles known as the solar wind also flow out from the Sun.
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On the Sun's surface, we can see storms. We call these storms "sunspots"
because they look like dark spots on the Sun's surface. The Sun also produces big
explosions of energy called solar flares. These flares shoot fast moving particles
off the Sun's surface. These particles can hit the Earth's atmosphere and cause a
glow called an aurora.
Do you know that the Sun is the richest source of electromagnetic energy
(mostly in the form of heat and light) in the solar system? The Sun is the star at the
center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot
plasma interwoven with magnetic fields. It has a diameter of about 1,392,000 km,
about 109 times that of Earth.
IV. The Moon
Do you know that the Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth
largest satellite in the Solar System?
It is the largest natural
satellite of a planet in the Solar
System relative to the size of its
primary (though Charon, which
orbits the dwarf planet Pluto, is
proportionally larger), a quarter
the diameter of Earth.
The Moon is the only place
in our solar system, other than
Earth,
where
humans
have
visited. On July 20, 1969,
astronauts Neil Armstrong and
Edwin Aldrin landed the Lunar
Module of Apollo 11 on the Moon's surface. Neil Armstrong was the first human
to set foot on the Moon.
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The Moon is like a desert with plains, mountains, and valleys. It also has
many craters, which are holes created when space objects hit the Moon's surface at
a high speed. There is no air to breathe on the Moon. Recently water ice was
discovered at the poles (or top and bottom) of the Moon. The ice is buried beneath
some of the dust of the Moon's surface. Scientists think the ice may be left over
from a comet that once collided with the Moon.
The Moon travels around the Earth in an oval shaped orbit. Scientists think
the Moon was formed long ago when Earth collided with another space object. The
collision may have caused a big chunk of rocky material to be thrown out into
space to form the Moon.
It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is
actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal. Its being in the sky and its
regular cycle of phases have since ancient times made the Moon an important
cultural influence on language, calendars, art and mythology.
The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute
lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the
diameter of the Earth, causes it to appear almost the same size in the sky as the
Sun, allowing it to cover the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipses.
The Moon is a little lopsided. Its crust is thicker on one side than the other.
The Moon is much smaller than the Earth. However, the pull of its gravity can still
affect the Earth's ocean tides.
We always see the same side of the Moon from Earth. You have to go into
space to see the other side.
V. Meteorites
Do you know that there are thousands of meteorites in the universe? A meteor
is a bright streak of light in the sky (a "shooting star" or a "falling star") produced
by the entry of a small meteoroid into the Earth's atmosphere. If you have a dark
clear sky you will probably see a few per hour on an average night; during one of
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the annual meteor showers you may
see as many as 100/hour. Very bright
meteors are known as fireballs; if you
see one please report it. In Greenland,
people dig up meteorites and use the
iron in them to make tools.
Meteoroid is a piece of stonelike or metal-like debris which
travels
in
outer
space.
Most
meteoroids are no bigger than a pebble. Large meteoroids are believed to come
from the asteroid belt. Some of the smaller meteoroids may have come from the
Moon or Mars. If a meteoroid falls into the Earth's atmosphere, it will begin to heat
up and start to glow. This is called a meteor. If you have ever seen a "falling star",
you were actually seeing a meteor. Most of the original object burns up before it
strikes the surface of the Earth. Any leftover part that does strike the Earth is called
a meteorite. A meteorite can make a hole, or crater, in the ground when it hits it.
The larger the meteorite, the bigger the hole.
Meteorites are bits of the solar system that have fallen to the Earth. Most
come from asteroids, including few are believed to have come specifically from 4
Vesta; a few probably come from comets. A small number of meteorites have been
shown to be of Lunar (23 finds) or Martian (22) origin.
Do you know
that one of the
Martian meteorites,
known
ALH84001
as
(left),
is believed to show
evidence of early
life on Mars.
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VI. Stars
Do you know that in our galaxy, there are more than 100 billion stars? On the
photos from large telescopes, you can see a huge number of stars. They are so
plenty of them that not all of them have names, and not all of them are counted.
Most bright stars have their own names.
Stars formed from gas-dust environment as a result of gravitational
compression. In the stars contain the bulk of glowing material in universe. Stars
usually weigh from 0.1 to 50-100 solar masses. The temperature in the center of
the star is around 10-12 million Kelvin.
When you look at the night sky
you can see many beautiful stars. If
you are out in the country or camping
in the mountains or the desert away
from the city lights, you may see
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thousands of them. You may even be
able to see part of the Milky Way. In a
town or city, you can't see nearly as
many stars because the city lights light
Red Star
up the sky making it hard to see them. There are several different kinds of stars in
the sky. Some are very big. A couple of stars have been found that are 100 to 200
times bigger than the sun. Some very old stars are smaller than the Earth. Scientists
study stars and place them in groups based on how they are alike and how they are
different.
There are different groups of stars: Red Dwarfs, Yellow Stars, Blue Giants.
Red Dwarf stars are smaller than our sun. And since they are smaller, they
also have less mass. Because of their small size, these stars burn their fuel very
slowly, which allows them to live a very long time. This also causes these stars to
not shine as brightly as others. Some red dwarf stars will live trillions of years
before they run out of fuel.
Stars in the Universe
Why are red dwarf stars red? Because red dwarf stars only burn a little bit of
fuel at a time, they are not very hot compared to other stars. Think of a fire. The
coolest part of the fire is at the top of the flame where it glows red, the hotter part
in the middle glows yellow, and the hottest part near the fuel glows blue. Stars
work the same way. Their temperature determines what color they are. Thus, we
can determine how hot a star is just by its color.
Red dwarf stars are by far the most common type of star in outer space.
However, very few stars that you see in the sky are red dwarfs. This is because
they are so small and make very little light. Imagine standing on a mountain.
Pretend that there are one million kids 5 miles away holding flashlights, and 20
miles away there is a lighthouse for ships. You will most likely not see any of the
flashlights, while you will very easily see the lighthouse. If the flashlights all
glowed as brightly as the lighthouse they would blind you. Likewise, if all the red
dwarf stars glowed as bright as the bigger stars, our nighttime sky would be very
bright.
Like the Sun, these medium-sized stars are yellow because they have a
medium temperature (remember the fire example?). Their higher temperature
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causes them to burn their fuel faster. This means they will not live as long, only
about 10 billion years or so. Near the end of their lives these medium-sized stars
swell up, becoming very large. When this happens to the Sun, it will grow large
enough to engulf even the Earth. Eventually they shrink again, leaving behind most
of their gas. This gas forms a beautiful cloud around the star called a Planetary
Nebula.
Blue stars are large and compact, this causes them to burn their fuel quickly
which in turn makes their temperature very hot. These stars often run out of fuel in
only 10,000 - 100,000 years.
A blue giant is extremely bright. Like a lighthouse, they shine across a great
distance. Even though blue giant stars are rare, they make up many of the stars we
see at night because they shine so brightly.
Blue giant stars die in a spectacular way. They grow larger just like the sunsized stars, but then instead of shrinking and forming a planetary nebula, they
explode in what is called a supernova. Supernova explosions can be brighter than
an entire galaxy, and can be seen from very far away.
Because blue giant stars only live a short time, scientists use them to find
places in outer space where new stars are forming.
VII. Asteroids. The Asteroid Belt
An asteroid is a bit of rock. It can be thought of as what was "left over" after
the Sun and all the planets were formed.
Most of the asteroids in our solar system can be found orbiting the Sun
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This area is sometimes called the "asteroid
belt". Think about it this way: the asteroid belt is a big highway in a circle around
the Sun. Think about the asteroids as cars on the highway. Sometimes, the asteroid
cars run into one another. When this happens, the asteroids may break up into
smaller asteroids. Scientists think that most asteroids are the result of collisions
between larger rocky space bodies.
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Asteroids can be a few feet to several
hundred miles wide. The belt probably
contains at least 40,000 asteroids that are
more than 0.5 miles across.
If an asteroid is captured by the
gravitational pull of a planet, the asteroid can
be pulled out of the belt and go into orbit as a
moon around the planet that pulled on it.
Asteroids (from Greek ἀστήρ 'star' and εἶδος 'like, in form'), sometimes
classified with centaurs, Neptune trojans and trans-Neptunian objects as minor
planets or, especially for the larger objects, as planetoids, are a class of small Solar
System bodies in orbit around the Sun.
As small objects in the outer Solar System were discovered, their volatilebased surfaces were found to more closely resemble comets, and so are often
distinguished from asteroids proper. This article will consider 'asteroids' to be the
minor planets of the inner Solar System.
There are millions of asteroids, and like most other small Solar System bodies
the asteroids are thought to be remnants of planete-simals, material within the
young Sun’s solar nebula that have not grown large enough to form planets. The
large majority of known asteroids orbit in the main asteroid belt between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter, however many different orbital families exist with significant
populations including Jupiter Trojans and near-Earth
asteroids. Individual asteroids are categorized by
their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling
into three main groups: C-type, S-type, and M-type.
These are generally identified with carbon-rich,
stony, and metallic compositions respectively.
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VII. The Dwarf Planets
A planet is a large space object which revolves around a star. It also reflects
that star's light. Eight planets have been discovered in our solar system. Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars are the planets closest to the Sun. They are called the inner
planets. The inner planets are made up mostly of rock. The outer planets are
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are
large balls of gases with rings around them. All eight planets travel around the Sun
in a different orbit. In its orbit, there are not many other objects like the planet.
Dwarf planets are objects that are similar to
Pluto
planets except that they orbit the Sun in areas
where there are many similar objects. The Dwarf
planets
are
Pluto,
Ceres,
Eris,
Haumea,
Makemake.
Pluto is the First Dwarf Planet. Pluto is
actually smaller than one of Neptune's moons,
Triton. For many years, Pluto was thought of as
the farthest known planet from the Sun. It has a
very unusual orbit. Once every 248 Earth years, Pluto swings inside the orbit of
Neptune. It stays there for twenty years. During those twenty years, Pluto is closer
to the Sun than Neptune. While it is closer to the Sun, Pluto has an atmosphere. In
2006, astronomers re-classified Pluto to be a dwarf planet.
Pluto has three moons. Pluto's largest moon, Charon, is
half the size of Pluto. In 2005, astronomers observed two
more moons of Pluto. The moons were named Nix and
Hydra.
Ceres
When Ceres was first discovered it was called a comet.
Within a year it was called a planet. Within one more year it was called an
asteroid. Since 2006, it has been called a dwarf planet. Ceres was discovered on
January 1, 1801 by Italian Giuseppe Piazzi. He discovered it while searching for a
star. Ceres is named after the goddess of growing plants, harvest, and motherly
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love. Ceres is 415 million kilometers from the Sun. It is located in the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres formed about 4.5 billion years ago when the solar
system was forming. It is 950 kilometers wide. It is believed to have a rocky
center. Scientists also believe it may have a
liquid layer somewhere below the surface.
When Eris was first found, it was called
Xena. Xena was the name of a warrior princess
on a television show. Eris is the largest known
dwarf planet in our solar system. It is a little
larger than Pluto. Eris is about 2400 kilometers
Eris
wide. Eris was first found by a team of astronomers at Palomar Observatory in
California. Mike Brown and his team found Eris in 2003. It was not until 2005 that
Eris was identified as another possible planet in our solar system. In 2006,
astronomers decided that Eris should not be called a planet. They also decided that
Pluto should no longer be called a planet. Both Eris and Pluto became known as
dwarf planets. This is a special name created for objects in our solar system that
don't meet all of the planet requirements.
Eris is the most distant member of our solar system known at this time. It is 3
times farther out than Pluto. One trip around the Sun takes 557 Earth years for Eris.
Haumea is a dwarf planet found in the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a big
cloud of gas, dust, and rocky debris located at the outer edge of our solar system.
Haumea was first discovered in 2004. It was
accepted as one of our dwarf planets by the
International Astronomical Union in 2008.
Before being officially named, it was called
Santa by one of its discovery teams because
they first noticed it on December 28th.
Haumea is named after the Hawaiian
goddess of childbirth. The two moons in
Haumea
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orbit around Haumea were named after two of the children of Haumea. Hi'iaka is
the larger moon, while the smaller moon was named Namaka. It is believed that
these moons formed as a result of a collision between Haumea and some other
body. Haumea is shaped like a plump cigar. It spins very rapidly as it orbits around
the Sun. It takes 285 Earth years for Haumea to make one trip around the Sun.
Makemake Makemake (pronounced mahkee-mah-kee) was named after one of the gods
from the Rapanui culture. The Rapanui people are
natives of Easter Island. Easter Island is located in
the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Makemake was
first discovered in 2005. It was formally
Makemake
recognized as a dwarf planet in 2008 by the
International Astronomical Union.
Makemake is located in the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is an area of gas,
dust, and rocky debris located at the outer edge of our solar system. Makemake and
Pluto are two of the brightest objects in the Kuiper Belt. After Pluto and Eris,
Makemake is the third largest dwarf planet. When observed through a special
instrument on a telescope, Makemake appears reddish in color.
IX. Comets
A comet's tail can be millions of kilometers in length, but the amount of
matter it contains can be held in a large bookbag.
Scientists believe that comets
are made up of material left over
from when the Sun and the planets
were formed. They think that about
100,000 million comets orbit the
Sun. Some comets orbit the Sun like
planets. Their orbits take them very close to and very far away from the Sun.
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A comet is made of dirty ice, dust, and gas. When a
comet gets close to the Sun, part of the ice starts to melt.
The solar winds then push the dust and gas released by the
melting ice away from the comet. This forms the comet's
tail. Every time a comet comes close to the Sun, a part of it
melts. Over time, it will completely disappear.
A comet does not give off any light of its own.
What seems to be light from the comet is actually a
reflection of our Sun's light. Sunlight bounces off the
comet's ice particles in the same way light is reflected
by a mirror.
A few comets come close enough to the Earth for
us to see them with our eyes. Halley's Comet, for
example, can be seen from Earth every 76 years.
X. Why do we explore space?
It is part of our nature as human beings that we want to explore and try to
better understand the world in which we live. Space exploration is the logical
extension of that need.
Through the exploration of the solar system, we can begin to unravel the
mysteries of our universe, and to better understand our place in the cosmos. Space
exploration provides us with knowledge about the origins of our solar system, our
own planet Earth, and about human origins, and helps to answer questions that
have intrigued humankind throughout the centuries.
Solar system exploration is important because it provides us with an
unparalleled opportunity to make advancements in science and technology which
can be a benefit to all of humankind, such as in the areas of communications and
remote sensing.
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Space technology has become an integral part
of our daily lives. Cellular technology, for
example, is dependent on satellite communications,
Satellites are also used to monitor changes in
Earth's climate and ocean circulation, for weather
forecasting, in aviation and marine navigation, and
for military reconnaissance.
The space program provides an opportunity for nations to work together in
international cooperation through participation in joint missions, thereby
promoting peace and understanding between governments and their people.
Many governments are currently involved in the development of space
technology including Russia, Japan, the European nations, and India. In the near
future, other nations will be added to this list. It is vital to our national interest that
the United States remain the leader in developing new space technologies in order
to insure the peaceful exploration of space by all. It is part of our nature as human
beings that we want to explore and try to better understand the world in which we
live. Space exploration is the logical extension of that need.
Through the exploration of the solar system, we can begin to unravel the
mysteries of our universe, and to better understand
our place in the cosmos. Space exploration provides
us with knowledge about the origins of our solar
system, our own planet Earth, and about human
origins, and helps to answer questions that have
intrigued humankind throughout the centuries.
Solar system exploration is important because it
provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to make
advancements in science and technology which can
be a benefit to all of humankind, such as in the areas
of communications and remote sensing.
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Space technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. Cellular
technology, for example, is dependent on satellite communications, Satellites are
also used to monitor changes in Earth's climate and ocean circulation, for weather
forecasting, in aviation and marine navigation, and for military reconnaissance.
The space program provides an opportunity for nations to work together in
international cooperation through participation in joint missions, thereby
promoting peace and understanding between governments and their people.
Many governments are currently involved in the development of space
technology including Russia, Japan, the European nations, and India. In the near
future, other nations will be added to this list. It is vital to our national interest that
the United States remain the leader in developing new space technologies in order
to insure the peaceful exploration of space by all.
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Conclusion
You’ve seen the universe has much more secrets as we think about. It s always
interesting to know better the world where we live. Our planet is one of the unique
planets in the huge universe.
We have tried to show you a little piece of information about the Universe. We
demonstrate you that there are not only known 9 planets but also there are several
dwaft planets. We have told you that there are three large groups of stars: dwaft red
stars, yellow stars and blue giants.
We think our project let us know more interesting information about universe
and we suppose that we use the knowledge about it further at lessons.
Literature
1. Edward Robert Harrison (2000) Cosmology 2nd ed. Cambridge University
Press.
2. Space study for children, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
3. http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_matter.html
4. http://www.universetoday.com/37403/what-is-the-universe
5. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1
6. http://www.solarviews.com/eng
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