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Origins of the Universe
and Solar System
From Universe to Galaxy to Solar System
I. Formation of the Universe
The Big Bang Theory- The theory that
the universe began as a point
(singularity) and has been expanding
ever since.
• The universe was originally made
entirely of energy, and was very small
• Something happened to cause the
energy to expand – the “big bang”
• As the energy expanded in all
directions, it began to cool and
condense into the simplest forms of
matter (protons, electrons)
The Big Bang Theory, cont.
• Remember Einstein’s famous equation?
• E=MC2
• Energy (E) can be converted into
matter (M)
• All of the matter in the universe now
was once a tremendous amount of
energy!
• The universe expanded and cooled until
about 10-35 second after the big bang
when it became so cool that the forces of
nature caused the universe to inflate
tremendously.
• The initial expansion was faster than the
speed of light.
• The universe is still expanding today.
I. Formation of the Universe
Two Observations about the Universe Led to the Big Bang Theory
First. In 1965, Penzias And Wilson
discovered background radiation
interfering with radio antennae, causing a
hiss in phone lines.
II. Evidence for Big Bang/Inflation
•That radiation is called cosmic background
radiation and is thought to be radiation from
the big bang.
•This radiation can be detected by common
radio and television antennae. (ex: “snow”
on old televisions is made up of a small
percent of radiation from the formation of the
universe!)
II. Evidence for Big Bang/Inflation
observe “red shifts” of light
throughout the universe.
2. Astronomers
•This redness is the result of light being
stretched as objects in the universe move
away from each other (the result of the big
bang).
Second, astronomers observed a Doppler red-shift
in light coming from distant galaxies.
What is Doppler Effect?
Doppler Effect is
the change in
frequency of a
wave (such as a
sound wave) when
it is observed
relative to a
moving source
(like a car)
Light waves can also experience Doppler Effect when
the source of the light (such as a star) is moving
Astronomers observed that light from distant stars has been
shifted towards the red end of the light spectrum.
This phenomenon is called red-shift.
The farther away a star is, the more its light is shifted
towards the red end of the spectrum, demonstrating that
the universe is expanding….
Previous Theory on the Formation of the Universe
The Steady State Theory - The belief that the
universe doesn‘t change with time but more
matter is added to the universe as it expands.
• Popular during the 1950s and 1960s
• The universe had no beginning and has
no end (no big bang)