Science assignment

Sun/star:
Star formation: Most of the universe is produced by hydrogen and helium. Approximately 98% of
space is made of hydrogen and helium. The formation of a star starts in a nebula which is a cloud of
gas (hydrogen) and dust in space. Nebulas mostly contain hydrogen, helium and dust. Stars begin to
form in these clouds of gas in space. The first stage of star formation, is when the cold temperatures
and high densities of these clouds allow gravity to overcome thermal pressure and start the
gravitational collapse that will form a star. As the cloud collapses, it begins to spin and by the time a
protostar is formed, the cloud flattens and there is a protostellar disk spinning around the protostar.
This is when a protostar is formed. As the protostar rotates, it develops a strong magnetic field
which creates a protostellar wind. This is when the star is at its T-Tauri stage. Most of a stars life is
spent as being a protostar. the cause of this is that space is really cold filled with dust and clumped
gas.

A protostar becomes a main sequence star when its temperature exceeds 10 million degrees
Celsius, only then will the process of the proton-proton chain occur. This is when in the nebula, due
to gravity, positive particles of hydrogen slam into other positive particles of hydrogen. At high
speeds, when hydrogen particles slam into each other, it creates a positive charge in the nebula.
Positive and negative charges in particles attract while positive and positive charges repel unless
slamming at a fast rate. When the hydrogen starts contracting it creates helium. In the sense, this
fusion creates a helium nuclei. Though as a main sequence star, its core mostly contains iron nuclei.
This is called a proton-proton chain (in other words a nuclear fusion) by which stars convert
hydrogen to helium in the core. This is when a main-sequence star is born. The proton-proton chain
takes 100,000 years or so to complete its process. Sometimes the formation of stars can be
encouraged or sped up by disturbances in the gas clouds that compress the gas such as other nearby
stars or recent supernovas. This is how are sun (Sol) formed. That is the process for the formation of
a star.

The life cycle of a star:

The life span of a star depends on its size and mass. The bigger the star, the more fuel it burns.
Hydrogen and helium fuel the star to shine brightly, in other words hydrogen and helium are the
 stars energy. Small stars such as our sun can last for several billion years, while giant stars can only
last a few hundred thousand years because they burn more fuel faster than average-sized or small
stars. When a star has run out of hydrogen, it burns on helium. Stars die of expansion.

1. When a star is running out of hydrogen to burn, it turns into a blue giant, this is when it
doesnt start to burn on helium. Blue giants are the hottest stars because they start to
rapidly burn on the remaining hydrogen. After a few million years, the blue giant begins to
burn helium.
2. Once a star nears the end of its life, it must resort to burning helium. Helium is heavier than
hydrogen, and burning it causes the star to expand greatly in size and become a red giant
(100x it normal size). The helium travels to the core of the star, causing the outer shell of the
star to expand. If the star is average or small sized, then it will expand to becoming a red
giant. If the star is giant or massive sized, then it will expand to becoming a red supergiant. It
expands whilst looking for nuclear fusion (hydrogen particles).
3. When a red giant has come to the end of its life, it passes through the planetary nebula
phase, this is where its core cools down to a dense and hot white dwarf and then cools down
into becoming a brown dwarf. White dwarves cannot produce any more heat. The centre of
a star is the hottest and densest part of it. This is the case of our sun. Though a red
supergiant will diffuse and return to its normal size, where it will explode into a supernova
either becoming a dense neutron star which spins rapidly known as pulsars or it will form
into a black hole. A supernova is an exploding star which appears as bright as a star for a
second then fades never to be seen again.
4. If it is a very massive star, its core will contain pieces of iron, sulphur, magnesium, nitrogen,
oxygen, carbon, helium and hydrogen will spread out after the supernova and start
collecting hydrogen again. The remains of supernovas will be scattered across space.

Yellows stars the youngest stars, that is because they are newly born. The largest star known is the
VY Canis Majoris because it is a red supergiant and is about to turn into a supernova.

Star sizes and life spans:

Hertz sprung Russel diagram:

The life span of a star depends on the mass and

size of it.
The purpose of this diagram is to illustrate the
different type of stars and their temperatures and
life spans. This diagram indicates the luminosity of
each type of star. Or sun, Sol is also included in
this diagram.

As you can see, the blue giants are the hottest

stars in the diagram because according to the
diagram, blue giants can reach to a minimum of
30,000 degrees Celsius whilst other type of stars
can reach a minimum of 3,000 degrees Celsius.

There are examples of supergiants, white dwarves,

red giants and white and yellow stars. White
dwarves are also on the increasing temperature
side due to the cause that white dwarves are very
dense and hot. Which then cool down into
becoming a brown dwarf.

Red stars are the coldest or coolest stars because

they release heat as they run out of fuel to
Interstellar medium: In astronomy, the interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter that exists in the
space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular
form, as well as dust and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the
surrounding intergalactic space. Although space is very empty and the stars in the Milky Way are
very far apart, the space between the stars contains a very diffuse medium of gas and dust
astronomers call the interstellar medium (ISM). This medium consists of neutral hydrogen gas (HI),
molecular gas (mostly H2), ionized gas (HII), and dust grains. Much of the space between the stars is
filled with atomic and molecular gas (primarily hydrogen and helium) and tiny pieces of solid
particles or dust (composed mainly of carbon, silicon and oxygen). In some places, this interstellar
material is very dense, forming nebulas. In interstellar space, although hydrogen and helium are the
most common elements found in space, the dust is made of heavier atoms born in the hearts of
stars and supernovae: oxygen, nitrogen, iron, even a smattering of gold and uraniumpretty much
the entire periodic table. Every day, dust from meteorites, comets, and other 4.6 billion-year-old
pieces of our solar system fall into the earth's atmosphere. This meteoric dust is incredibly small,
kind of like particles of smoke. But there is plenty of it. Interstellar matter is mostly gaseous, but
about 1% is interstellar grains or dust. The grains are not distributed uniformly in space but are
found in clumpy clouds. Some of the interstellar material is visible, sometimes through small
telescopes, as nebulae. There is so much dust in space, that it blocks starlight at night time.

Solar system

AU: AU stands for astronomical units. Astronomical units are the units of measurement used to
measure distance in space, like distances between planets and suns.

1 astronomical unit = 150,000,000 km

For example, Earth is one astronomical unit away from the sun, while Pluto is 40 astronomical units
away from the sun. This means that Earth is 150,000,000 km away from the sun.

Direction of rotation/axis tilt of planets: A three-dimensional object always rotates around an

imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis passes through the body's centre of mass, the body is
said to rotate upon itself, or spin. In astronomy, the axial tilt is the angle between a planet's
rotational axis at its north pole and a line perpendicular to the orbital plane of the planet.

Planet name: Mercury

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 2.11 degrees

Planet name: Venus

Direction of rotation: Clockwise

Axis tilt: 177.3

Planet name: Earth

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 23.5 degrees

Planet name: Mars

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 25 degrees

Planet name: Jupiter

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 3 degrees

Planet name: Saturn

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 26.7 degrees

Planet name: Uranus

Direction of rotation: Clockwise

Axis tilt: 98 degrees

Planet name: Neptune

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 28.32 degrees

Planet name: Pluto

Direction of rotation: Counter clockwise

Axis tilt: 119.61 degrees

Heliocentric and Geocentric:

The geocentric model of our solar system was proposed by Ptolemy in 140 A.D. The geocentric
model is of earth in the middle of the solar system, allowing other planets to orbit it. However, this
theory was proved wrong by Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer who introduced the heliocentric
explanation of our solar system. The heliocentric model of the solar system illustrates the sun in the
middle of the solar system and the rest of the planets orbiting it.
Phases of the moon (lunar): As the moon waxes the lunar phases progress through new moon,
crescent moon, first-quarter moon, gibbous moon, and full moon. The moon wanes as it passes
through the gibbous moon, third-quarter moon, crescent moon and back to new moon. Moon
phases describe how much and what parts of the moon are observed as light and shadow. As the
moon proceeds through its orbit, the change of phases is observed. During a full moon phase, the
entire moon is seen as light. During a new moon, the entire moon is seen as a dark shadow. At first
quarter and third quarter moon phases, one half of the moon is seen as light, and the other half seen
as shadow. The times in between are known as crescent and gibbous, as the moon's lighted or
shadowed area takes on a crescent shape. Note that one side of the moon is always lit by sunlight.

Just like Earth, half of the moon is lit by the sun, and half is in shadow at any given time. As the
moon travels around the Earth, we see the moon from different angles, and thus can see different
percentages of light and shadow. When the moon is full, the moon is on the opposite side of the
Earth from the sun. As a result, we can see the whole of the lit side of the moon. At new moon,
exactly the opposite alignment exists, with the moon being between the Earth and the sun. At that
point, we can only observe the shadowed side of the moon. At first and third quarter moons, the
moon is at a 90-degree angle from the Earth and sun. We can see half of the lit side and half of the
shadowed side. The crescent and gibbous periods are observed as the moon transitions between
these points in its orbit.

There are four terms used to describe the moon phases that are between new, full and quarter
moons: waxing, waning, crescent and gibbous. Waxing is when the moon's lit area appears to be
increasing, whereas waning is when the lit area appears to be decreasing. Crescent is when the
moon appears less than half illuminated, and gibbous describes when the moon appears more than
half illuminated.

NEW MOON

Imagine the earth, moon and sun arranged in a straight line, with the moon situated in the middle.
Light from the sun lights up the side of the moon facing away from the earth, presenting the earth
with the darkened side. This is called a new moon.

WAXING CRESCENT TO FIRST QUARTER

Now imagine the moon moving from the middle of the line made up of the earth, moon and sun to a
position on the left of the earth. This occurs as the moon moves in its orbit and causes a waxing
crescent moon to appear in the sky. As the earth moves into this new position, the light from the sun
begins to illuminate the side of the moon which can be seen from the earth, causing a crescent and
eventually a half or first-quarter moon.

FIRST QUARTER TO FULL MOON

In the next phase, the moon progresses from its position on the left of the earth to behind the earth.
In contrast to the new moon phase, with the moon between the earth and the sun, the earth is now
in the middle between the moon and the sun. This allows light from the sun to light up the entire
side of the moon which faces the earth, causing a full moon. The stage before a full moon but after a
first quarter is known as waxing gibbous (this is the opposite of a crescent moon).

FULL MOON TO LAST QUARTER

The final phases of the moon occur when the moon moves from behind the earth in its orbit to a
position on the right in the imaginary line. This presents the earth with another half-moon, this time
known as a last quarter, because the moon is progressing away from a full moon toward a new
moon again. After the full moon phase the moon is described as waning, because it is reducing in
size. A waning gibbous moon occurs between a full and last quarter moon, and a waning crescent
moon occurs after a last quarter, just before a new moon.

Once the moon has completed a full orbit it resumes its place between the earth and the sun,
creating a new moon and restarting the moon cycle.

Moon phases in order:

1. New moon
2. Waxing crescent moon
3. First-quarter moon
4. Waxing gibbous moon
5. Full moon
6. Waning gibbous moon
7. Third-quarter moon
8. Waning crescent moon

Planetesimals: planetesimals are small bodies of rock and/or ice that form by accretion in the
protoplanetary disks of protostellar systems. These small objects continue to accrete and merge
until finally a planetary system is formed. In our own Solar System, small asteroids are examples of
leftover planetesimals. Planetesimals are part of the process of the formation of planets. When a
planetary system is forming, there is a protoplanetary disk with materials from the nebulae (as
youre familiar with) from which the system came. This material is gradually pulled together by
gravity to form small chunks. These chunks grow larger and larger until they form planetesimals.
Many of the objects break apart when they collide, but some continue to grow. Some of these
planetesimals go on to become planets and moons. Some planetesimals can even grow into comets,
Kuiper Belt objects and trojan asteroids. These are how planets form. As the planetesimals start to
spin, they slam into each other forming planets.

Gravity: Gravity is a force of attraction that exists between any two masses, any two bodies or any
two particles. Gravity is not just the attraction between objects and the Earth. It is an attraction that
exists between all objects, everywhere in the universe. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that a force is
required to change the speed or direction of movement of an object. He also realized that the force
called "gravity" must make an apple fall from a tree, or any object living on the surface of our
spinning planet without being flung off. Furthermore, he deduced that gravity forces exist between
all objects. Though, the strength of the gravitational force reduces quickly with distance. Humans are
never aware of the Sun's gravity pulling them, because the pull is so small at the distance between
the Earth and Sun. Yet, it is the Sun's gravity that keeps the Earth in its orbit! Neither are we aware
of the pull of lunar gravity on our bodies, but the Moon's gravity is responsible for the ocean tides on
Earth. In other words, gravity is a force that attracts towards any physical body having mass. Note
that the more mass an object has, the stronger the gravitational pull. In this case, the sun has more
mass than the moon, therefore has a stronger gravitational pull. Therefore, the moon is pulled
towards the sun each year by 30 cm, because the sun has a stronger pull then Earth.

Formation of the moon: According to the reigning hypothesis, about 4.5 billion years ago, shortly
after Earth had accreted down into a sphere, another newborn planet, still shaky on its feet,
slammed obliquely into Earth with terrifying force. That giant impactor, Theia, is thought to have
been roughly the size of Mars and to have been pulverized in the encounter, along with a good
chunk of proto-Earth. From that fiery cloud of all-Theia and part-Earth, the scenario goes, our moon
soon condensed. To put it in simple words, Theia, a very large planetesimal at the size of mars
collided with earth causing a huge impact. That huge impact was a giant chunk of earth that had
parted from the earth. Soon that giant chunk of earth came into orbit ad accreted down to a sphere
just like earth did. Earth has survived many collisions but the Theia collision is said to be a huge
one. This formation was only precisely estimated to be around 4.5 billion years ago, yet it is still
unsure of the exact time frame. At first the hypothesis of the moon originating from earth was
rejected because scientists thought that the collision between Theia and earth caused Theia to
collapse. Though evidence proves this hypothesis was indeed wrong because of the same materials
of earth found on the moon through contents of rock samples. The rock samples also identified
materials from the earths crust. Once again, the moon came from earth theory was reconsidered.
Since the collision occurred when earth and Theia were extremely hot, the chunk of earth, the moon
was also extremely hot. One side of the moon is smooth and the other is rocky, the theory behind
this is that the side which is smooth is facing the earth. Earth was very hot and the smooth side of
the moon took a long time to cool down. The coarse side is faced towards earth so it cooled very
quickly not allowing time to smoothen.

Features of the moon: The Moon has large dark flat areas called Maria (or seas); and bright rugged
areas covered in craters called Highlands. It is easiest to see features near the Terminator, the line
separating light from dark (or day from night) on the Moon.

The dark flat areas called Maria are not water but have been made by lava flowing up from below
the Moons surface. The lava covered the craters that were there previously. Craters in the Maria
have been formed by meteorites hitting the Moon since the Maria were formed.

Craters on the Moon have mostly been formed by impacts by meteors. Most craters are circular and
some are over 100 km in diameter. Large craters are several kilometres deep and some have a
central peak.
Moon facts and statistics:

Diameter 3 476 km: about 1/4 diameter of Earth).

Distance from Earth: Perigee (min) 356 400 km;

Apogee (max) 406 700 km;

Average 384 400 km.

Mass 7.348 x 1022 kg: about 1/80th of Earth).

Inclination of the Moons orbit to the ecliptic (plane of the Earths orbit) is 5.145.

Heliosphere: The heliosphere is the immense magnetic bubble containing our solar system, solar
wind, and the entire solar magnetic field. It extends well beyond the orbit of Pluto. The heliosphere
is often described as a kind of bubble that contains our solar system. This magnetic sphere, which
extends beyond Pluto, is caused by the Suns solar winds. These winds spread out from the Sun at
around 400 km/s until they hit what is known as interstellar space, which is also called local
interstellar medium (LISM) or interstellar gas. Interstellar space is the space in galaxies that is
unoccupied by either stars or planets. When the solar winds hit local interstellar medium, a kind of
bubble forms that prevents certain material from getting in. Thus, the heliosphere acts as a kind of
shield that protects our solar system from cosmic rays, which are dangerous interstellar particles.
The interaction between interstellar gas and solar winds depends on the pressure of the solar winds
and properties of interstellar space, such as pressure, density, and qualities of the magnetic field.
Astronomers believe that other solar systems have their own heliospheres caused by different stars.

Heliopause: The heliopause is the boundary between the heliosphere and the LISM. When solar
winds approach this blurred region, they slow abruptly causing a shock wave to form known as the
solar wind termination shock. This action is similar to slamming down on the brakes in a car, causing
people and objects in the car to fly forward. This shock wave causes the particles to accelerate,
aiding in the formation of the heliosphere. After it has slowed down, the winds of interstellar space
act on the solar winds causing them to curve forming what has been described as a comet-like tail to
the Sun. Astronomers monitoring the Sun have noticed that solar winds have decreased to all-time
lows. This affects the heliosphere, which in turn can affect Earth and other planets in the solar
system. With solar winds lessening, astronomers fear that the strength of the heliosphere will also
decrease, leaving our solar system vulnerable to dangerous cosmic rays. Because solar winds are
cyclical, some scientists believe that instead of permanently decreasing, the solar winds are merely
experiencing a lengthy low period.
Earth-moon relationship: Direction of rotation:

The purpose of the moon- The impact on Earth: A major purpose of the moon is to light up the night.
The moon reflects the sun's light on to us even when the sun is on the other side of the earth. The
amount of reflected light depends on the moon's surface area, so we are fortunate to have a moon
that is so large. Perhaps the most important effect of the Moon is the way it stabilizes our rotation.
When the Earth rotates it wobbles slightly back and forth on its axis. It's like a top, which doesn't
simply spin in a vertical position on a table or the floor. But without the Moon we'd be wobbling
much more. Though our moon also shakes when it spins. We can only see 58% of our moon from
earth.

Direction of rotation: Earth's moon exhibits in a prograde motion, meaning that it orbits Earth in the
same direction that Earth is rotating on its axis. Viewed from above the North Pole, this is called a
counter-clockwise rotation. The moon orbits along an elliptical path. It takes just over 27 days to
complete one orbit with respect to the stars, or about 29.5 days with respect to the sun. The orbital
motion is from West to East as we on earth observe it.

Earth rotation: Though we can't feel it, planet Earth is constantly spinning beneath our feet. The
Earth rotates on its axis, an imaginary line that runs through the centre of the planet, through the
North and South poles. The axis is the Earth's centre of gravity, around which it rotates. Though
spinning at 1,000 miles per hour, the Earth takes 24 hours to make a complete rotation. Scientists
continue to work towards an understanding of why the Earth spins and continues to rotate on its
axis. Most scientists speculate that a shock wave from a supernova went through a cloud of cold
hydrogen, forming a solar nebula. The momentum caused the nebula to spin into a planetary disk.
When the solar system was being formed, it is likely that collisions of these clouds contributed to the
tilt and rotation of the Earth as we know it today. The laws of physics state that an object that is in
motion will remain so until an outside force acts upon the object. The Earth keeps spinning because
there is nothing to stop it, as space is a vacuum. Not even earthquakes have been able to keep the
earth from its rotation. While it is unlikely that any outside force will act on the Earth to stop its spin,
the rotation of the planet is slowing. This is caused by tidal friction created by the oceans'
movement. Tidal friction is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon. The result of tidal friction is
that over the course of a century, the length of day can be extended by a few moments. The time it
takes earth to complete a full rotation is 23 hours and 56 minutes. More specifically, our rotation
period (the time elapsed for one rotation) is called a sidereal day. A sidereal day is 24 sidereal hours,
or 23 hours and 56 minutes on a normal clock. Our clock time is based on the earth's rotation with
respect to the sun from solar noon to solar noon.

Moon rotation: It also takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis. As a
result, the moon does not seem to be spinning but appears to observers from Earth to be keeping
almost perfectly still. Scientists call this synchronous rotation.

Synchronised rotation: The moon and earth have a synchronous rotation, meaning that they have
synchronised rotation. Synchronous rotation is the result of tidal forces that over time slow the
rotation of the smaller body until it is synchronized with its period of revolution around the larger
body. The Earth's Moon exhibits synchronous rotation, as do a majority of moons in the solar
system. Also called captured rotation. When the earth rotates, the moon rotates at the same level of
speed with the earth.

Middle of Earth spins faster than the poles: The Earth as a whole, rotates 360 degrees once every 24
hours. This rotation is responsible for the appearance of the sun rising in the East and setting in
the West. The surface speed of the Earths rotation at the is slower than that of the vast majority of
other places on the planet but equal to that of one other terrestrial location. Because the Earth is a
sphere, it is widest at the equator, becoming increasingly narrow further toward its top and bottom.
This means that the Earths circumference, or distance around, is greatest at the equator, lessening
with higher latitudes until it becomes nonexistent at the poles. An analogy to this is tying a string
around a basketball: More string is needed if its being tied around the balls center than near the
balls top, and its impossible to tie a string around the very top. Understanding this difference in
distance is crucial to figuring out the rest of the puzzle.

Universe

Galaxies: A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system, typically consisting of dark matter, gas, dust and
star, stellar remnants and interstellar gas. Galaxies populate the Universe, mainly residing in clusters
and groups. There are thought to be over 100 billion galaxies in the observable Universe. The most
well-known galaxy is our own Milky Way. Galaxies vary in different types of sizes. They range in size
from a few kiloparsecs, to over one hundred kiloparsecs in diameter. Our own Milky Way contains
over 100 billion stars, including our Sun, and the stellar disk extends to about 50 kpc in diameter.
The spherical stellar halo extends up to 100 kpc, and the dark matter halo may extend even beyond
this. There are 4 types of galaxies elliptical, spiral, irregular and dwarf galaxies.

Elliptical: Elliptical galaxies appear elliptical in shape. In the Hubble classification, the roundest
galaxies are labelled E0 and the flattest, E7. In the Hubble Classification scheme, elliptical galaxies
are allocated a number from 0 to 7 indicating their ellipticity. Unlike spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies
are not supported by rotation. The orbits of the constituent stars are random and often very
elongated, leading to a shape for the galaxy determined by the speed of the stars in each direction.
Faster moving stars can travel further before they are turned back by gravity, resulting in the
creation of the long axis of the elliptical galaxy in the direction these stars are moving.
Measurements reveal that elliptical galaxies come in a large range of sizes, from the rare giant
ellipticals found in the centres of galaxy clusters and stretching over hundreds of kiloparsecs, to the
very common dwarf ellipticals which may have diameters as small as 0.3 kiloparsecs. Giant ellipticals
can be 1013 times as bright as the Sun and contain up to 1013 solar masses of stars. At the other
extreme, dwarf ellipticals are faint (105 times as bright as the Sun) and contain as little as 107 solar
masses of stars. In some cases, the density of stars in a dwarf elliptical can be so low that we can see
straight through the galaxy! Two spiral galaxies merge into each other to form an elliptical galaxy.

Spiral: All spiral galaxies can broadly be described visually as having a central bulge of old stars
surrounded by a flattened disk of young stars, gas and dust. The central bulge or bar is yellow
indicating older stars, while the bright nebulae and young blue stars formed from gas and dust in the
galaxy trace out the spiral arms within the disk. Spiral galaxies are classified as Sa/SBa, Sb/SBb or
Sc/SBc (classic/barred) according to the tightness of their spiral, the clumpiness of their spiral arms,
and the size of their central bulge. These differences can be traced back to the relative amounts of
gas and dust contained within the galaxies.Dust is also visible in edge-on spirals as dark lanes, similar
to the dark lanes we see in our own Milky Way when we observe the night sky. Spiral galaxies come
in a wide range of sizes, from 5 to 100 kiloparsecs across, have masses between 109 and 1012 solar
masses, and luminosities ranging from 108 to 1011 time that of the Sun. The majority of spiral
galaxies rotate in the sense that the arms trail the direction of the spin. By measuring the rotation
curves of spiral galaxies, we find that the orbital speed of material in the disk does not fall off as
expected if most of the mass is concentrated near the centre. From this it is clear that the visible
portion of spiral galaxies contains only a small fraction of the total mass of the galaxy, and that spiral
galaxies are surrounded by an extensive halo consisting mostly of dark matter.

Irregular: An irregular galaxy is the catchall name given to any galaxy that does not neatly fit into one
of the categories of the Hubble classification scheme. They have no defined shape nor structure and
may have formed from collisions, close encounters with other galaxies or violent internal activity.
They contain both old and young stars, significant amounts of gas and usually exhibit bright knots of
star formation. Due to the diversity of objects that fall into this category it is difficult to constrain
sizes, masses and luminosities. Dwarf irregulars can be as small as 3 kiloparsecs and contain as little
as 108 solar masses of material. At the other end of the scale, the larger irregulars can be up to 10
kiloparsecs across and contain 1010 solar masses of material. Their luminosities range from 107 to
109 solar, making them generally fainter than spiral galaxies. The best known examples of irregular
galaxies are the Small and Large Magellanic clouds. These are companion galaxies to our own Milky
Way, and can be easily seen at dark sites in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dwarf: Dwarf galaxies are the most abundant type of galaxy in the universe but are difficult to
detect due to their low luminosity, low mass and small size. They are most commonly found in
galaxy clusters, often as companions to larger galaxies, and are classified into three main types:

Dwarf elliptical galaxies

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies
Dwarf irregular galaxies

Galaxies in the early Universe that have not formed stars yet are known as proto-galaxies, and
these galaxies typically contain just dark matter and gas. It has been postulated that some such
proto-galaxies may still exist, and in fact that there might be a class of dark galaxies that do not
have the right conditions to ever form stars these galaxies are solely made of dark matter, and
perhaps gas. The theory of galaxy formation is actively being investigated by astronomers and
astrophysicists. Although the formation of galaxies is not fully understood, astronomers have
identified the three key processes involved:

Primordial collapse: the collapse of individual gas clouds early in the history of the Universe.
Hierarchical clustering: the formation of large galaxies through the merging of many smaller ones.

Secular evolution: formation as a result of internal processes, such as the actions of spiral arms and
bars.

All galaxies spin and our solar system is in the middle of the Orion arm in the Milky Way.

Age of the universe: Our universe is 14 billion years old. Knowing the current speeds and distances
to galaxies, coupled with the rate at which the universe is accelerating, allows us to calculate how
long it took for them to reach their current locations. The answer is about 14 billion years. The
second method involves measuring the ages of the oldest star clusters.

Age of Earth: 4.543 billion years. Based on fragments such as meteorites and very old rocks,
scientists have been able to accurately estimate the age of Earth.

Formation of the universe: The Big Bang theory states that the universe was formed about 14 billion
years ago as the result of a giant explosion of very dense and hot matter. This matter expanded and
started to cool down, going through different transitional phases. The universe has been expanding
ever since. During the Big Bang, all of the space, time, matter, and energy in the Universe was
created. This giant explosion hurled matter in all directions and caused space itself to expand. As the
Universe cooled, the material in it combined to form galaxies, stars, and planets. This universal
expansion was predicted from general relativity by Alexander Friedmann in 1922 and Georges
Lematre in 1927, well before Hubble made his 1929 analysis and observations, and it remains the
cornerstone of the Big Bang theory as developed by Friedmann, Lematre, Robertson, and Walker.

Gravitational waves: Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as
waves at the speed of light, generated in certain gravitational interactions that propagate outward
from their source. When an object accelerates, it creates ripples in space-time, just like a boat
causes ripples in a pond (and also similarly an accelerating electrical charge produces an
electromagnetic wave). These space-time ripples are gravitational waves. They are extremely weak
so are very difficult to detect.

Black holes: A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get
out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen
when a star is dying. Because no light can get out, people can't see black holes. They are invisible.
Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that
are very close to black holes act differently than other stars. Black holes can be big or small.
Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny
but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or "stuff," in an object.
Another kind of black hole is called "stellar." Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of
the sun. There may be many, many stellar mass black holes in Earth's galaxy. Earth's galaxy is called
the Milky Way. The largest black holes are called "supermassive." These black holes have masses
that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy
contains a supermassive black hole at its centre. The supermassive black hole at the centre of the
Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit
inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths.

Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began. Stellar black holes are
made when the centre of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it
causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space. Scientists
think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in. Only stars
with very large masses can become black holes. Our Sun, for example, is not massive enough to
become a black hole. Four billion years from now when the Sun runs out of the available nuclear fuel
in its core, our Sun will die a quiet death. Stars of this type end their history as white dwarf stars.
When gigantically massive stars explode into supernovas, they form black holes, though this is quite
rare. A black hole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the
black hole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the black
hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting, a black hole. When a
black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light can not be seen
with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light. Black
holes do not go around in space eating stars, moons and planets. Earth will not fall into a black hole
because no black hole is close enough to the solar system for Earth to do that. Even if a black hole
the same mass as the sun were to take the place of the sun, Earth still would not fall in. The black
hole would have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets would orbit the black hole
as they orbit the sun now. The sun will never turn into a black hole. The sun is not a big enough star
to make a black hole. The centre of all galaxies is a black hole including ours.

Dark energy: In the early 1990s, one thing was fairly certain about the expansion of the universe. It
might have enough energy density to stop its expansion and re-collapse, it might have so little
energy density that it would never stop expanding, but gravity was certain to slow the expansion as
time went on. Granted, the slowing had not been observed, but, theoretically, the universe had to
slow. The universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. Then
came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of very distant supernovae that
showed that, a long time ago, the universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today. So
the expansion of the universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been
accelerating. No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.
Eventually theorists came up with three sorts of explanations. Maybe it was a result of a long-
discarded version of Einstein's theory of gravity, one that contained what was called a "cosmological
constant." Maybe there was some strange kind of energy-fluid that filled space. Maybe there is
something wrong with Einstein's theory of gravity and a new theory could include some kind of field
that creates this cosmic acceleration. Theorists still don't know what the correct explanation is, but
they have given the solution a name. It is called dark energy.

More is unknown than is known. We know how much dark energy there is because we know how it
affects the universe's expansion. Other than that, it is a complete mystery. But it is an important
mystery. It turns out that roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about
27%. The rest - everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal
matter - adds up to less than 5% of the universe. Come to think of it, maybe it shouldn't be called
"normal" matter at all, since it is such a small fraction of the universe. One explanation for dark
energy is that it is a property of space. Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty
space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be
understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come
into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological
constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this
energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes
into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear. As a result, this form of energy would
cause the universe to expand faster and faster. Unfortunately, no one understands why the
cosmological constant should even be there, much less why it would have exactly the right value to
cause the observed acceleration of the universe.
Another explanation for dark energy is that it is a new kind of dynamical energy fluid or field,
something that fills all of space but something whose effect on the expansion of the universe is the
opposite of that of matter and normal energy. Some theorists have named this "quintessence," after
the fifth element of the Greek philosophers. But, if quintessence is the answer, we still don't know
what it is like, what it interacts with, or why it exists. So the mystery continues.

*Dark energy powers galaxies to spin

We are much more certain what dark matter is not than we are what it is. First, it is dark, meaning
that it is not in the form of stars and planets that we see. Observations show that there is far too
little visible matter in the universe to make up the 27% required by the observations. Second, it is
not in the form of dark clouds of normal matter, matter made up of particles called baryons. We
know this because we would be able to detect baryonic clouds by their absorption of radiation
passing through them. Third, dark matter is not antimatter, because we do not see the unique
gamma rays that are produced when antimatter annihilates with matter. Finally, we can rule out
large galaxy-sized black holes on the basis of how many gravitational lenses we see. High
concentrations of matter bend light passing near them from objects further away, but we do not see
enough lensing events to suggest that such objects to make up the required 25% dark matter
contribution.

Tides, Seasons, Eclipses

Lunar eclipse: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts a shadow in space on the opposite side to
the Sun. The suns sunlight shines on the earth, allowing the earth to cast a shadow on the moon.
The Umbra is the dark inner part of the shadow and the Penumbra is the lighter outer part of the
shadow.

An Eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Moon moves into the Earths shadow. A lunar eclipse can
only occur at full moon. A lunar eclipse occurs only when the moon merges into the earths umbra.

The Moons orbit is inclined to the ecliptic (Earths orbit around the Sun). At each full moon, the
Moon usually passes above or below the Earths shadow in space. There will be no lunar eclipse if
the moon does not pass through the umbra of earths shadow.
Sometimes the Moon in its orbit, is in line with the ecliptic. The moon passes through the umbra of
the Earths shadow. There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse, because the moon is in the umbra of earths
shadow.

Sometimes the Moon in its orbit, is a little off line with the ecliptic. The moon passes through the
edge of the umbra of the Earths shadow. There will be a Partial Lunar Eclipse. The Moon is only
partially immersed in the Earths shadow and is between the penumbra and the umbra.

Sometimes the Moon in its orbit, is more off line with the ecliptic. The moon passes through the
penumbra of the Earths shadow. There will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. The only effect is a slight
darkening in the appearance of the Moon. This is called the penumbral lunar eclipse because the
moon is in the penumbra of the earths shadow.

With a Total Lunar Eclipse no sunlight shines directly on the Moon. The Moon is illuminated by light
which is refracted around through the Earths atmosphere causing it to be red. With a Partial Lunar
Eclipse only part of the Moon enters the Earths shadow.
Solar eclipse: A Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun and casts
a shadow on the Earth. There are two parts to the Moons shadow:

The dark inner cone shaped part called the Umbra from which the Sun cannot be seen at all;
and
The lighter outer part called the Penumbra from which part of the Sun can be seen.

If you are in the area covered by the umbra you cannot see the Sun at all and there will be a Total
Solar Eclipse. If you are in the area covered by the penumbra you can see part of the Sun and there
will be a Partial Solar Eclipse.

As the Moon orbits the Earth and the Earth rotates, the umbra traces out a narrow path called the
Path of Totality. A Total Solar Eclipse can be seen from within the path of totality. As the umbra
approaches any location in the path, the Moon will firstly gradually cover the Sun taking about an
hour. As the umbra arrives there will be the brief total part of the eclipse. The Moon will then
gradually uncover the Sun taking about another hour. The path of totality is the path of movement
based on the moons umbra.

A Partial Solar Eclipse can be seen from the area swept by the penumbra outside the path of totality.
No eclipse can be seen outside the path covered by the penumbra. The partial solar eclipse occurs
when the earth is partially in the moons umbra and penumbra.

During a solar eclipse, the sun and moon may appear to be the same size, but actually they are very
different. The Moon travels in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. Sometimes it is closer to the Earth
and sometimes further away. So, sometimes it appears larger and at other times it appears smaller.
At Perigee the Moon appears large enough to cover the Sun. At Apogee the Moon appears too small
to cover the Sun.

An Annular Eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun but the Moon does
not appear large enough to cover the Sun. The umbra does not reach the Earth. The extension of the
umbra is called the Antumbra. From within the Antumbra the Moon appears too small to completely
cover the Sun and a ring of bright Sun surrounds the Moon.

For any location within the Antumbra a ring of the Sun remains and there will be an Annular Eclipse.
From within the penumbra, as with a total eclipse, the Sun will be partially covered and there will be
a Partial Solar Eclipse.

From the path of annularity:

The Moon gradually covers up the Sun in the initial partial phase; at maximum the Moon moves in
front of the Sun and if it is too small to completely cover the Sun a ring or annulus of bright sunlight
remains; then the Moon moves on to uncover the Sun in the final partial phase. The remaining ring
of sunlight makes it too bright to be able to see the Suns corona and the sky does not go very dark.

When there is a close match between the apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon, the umbra will be
just long enough to reach the Earth in the centre of the path of the eclipse. The umbra will not be
long enough to reach the Earth at the beginning and end of the path. The eclipse will start annular,
change to total and then change back to annular. This is called a Hybrid Eclipse.

Total Solar Eclipses occur somewhere on the Earth on average about once every 18 months. Annular
Eclipses occur slightly more frequently than total solar eclipses. The maximum number of solar
eclipses in any one year is five (of which four will be partial). Solar eclipses repeat in a regular
pattern called a Saros which is 18 years 111/3 days. Because each total solar eclipse occurs on a
narrow path across the Earth, the average time between total solar eclipses for any specific location
is 350 to 400 years but this interval can vary widely.

Eclipses repeat in a pattern every 18 years 111/3 days called a Saros. This is because this period is a
multiple of:

223 lunar months (period from one full moon to the next);

19 eclipse years (period between 2 node crossings); and

239 Anomalistic months (apogee perigee apogee period).

Eclipses each belong to a saros family.

Earth axis tilt: Axial tilt is the angle between a planet's rotational axis at its north pole and a line
perpendicular to the orbital plane of the planet. It is also called axial inclination or obliquity. The
axial tilt of Earth is the cause of seasons like summer and winter on Earth.23.5 degrees;

Tides: Tides are periodic rises and falls of large bodies of water. Tides are caused by the gravitational
interaction between the Earth and the Moon. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the
oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. The reason the Moon has a big effect on our planet
is that it's both massive and nearby. Gravity depends on mass and distance: the more mass an object
has, and the closer it is, the stronger its pull. But some parts of the Earth are closer to the Moon than
others. So the Moon pulls on the closer parts more than it does on the further parts. The moon
gravitationally pulls on the closest parts of earth, affecting the ocean and causing it to bulge.

Neap tide: Seven days after a spring tide, the sun and moon are at right angles to each other. When
this happens, the bulge of the ocean caused by the sun partially cancels out the bulge of the ocean
caused by the moon. This produces moderate tides known as neap tides, meaning that high tides are
a little lower and low tides are a little higher than average. Neap tides occur during the first and third
quarter moon, when the moon appears "half full."

Spring tide: During full or new moonswhich occur when the Earth, sun, and moon are nearly in
alignmentaverage tidal ranges are slightly larger. This occurs twice each month. The moon appears
new (dark) when it is directly between the Earth and the sun. The moon appears full when the Earth
is between the moon and the sun. In both cases, the gravitational pull of the sun is "added" to the
gravitational pull of the moon on Earth, causing the oceans to bulge a bit more than usual. This
means that high tides are a little higher and low tides are a little lower than average. These are
called spring tides.

King tide: The king tide is the highest predicted high tide of the year at a coastal location. It is above
the highest water level reached at a high tide on an average day. King tides are also known as
perigee spring tides. King tides bring unusually high water levels, and they can cause local tidal
flooding. Over time, sea level rise is raising the height of tidal systems. Average daily water levels are
rising along with the oceans. As a result, high tides are reaching higher and extending further inland
than in the past. King tides preview how sea level rise will affect coastal places. As time goes by, the
water level reached now during a king tide will be the water level reached at high tide on an average
day.

When we are facing the moon, we have a high tide because of the moons gravitational pull. When
we are facing away from the moon our tides are low. The outward flow of water is known as an ebb
tide and the inward flow is called a flood tide. The area that gets periodically covered and exposed
by the tides is the intertidal zone, which is usually made up of mud flats and rock ledges. Intertidal
zones are home to whole communities of living things such as birds, crabs and barnacles that
depend on the daily ebb and flow of water in different ways.
Apogee: Apogee is a term describing when an orbiting body is farthest away from Earth. Most
orbiting objects like the Moon do not follow a perfectly circular orbit, but instead an elliptical shape,
which has points closer and farther away from earth.

Perigee: When a satellite is at its closest point to the earth, it is at the perigee of the orbit.

Angle of incidence of sunlight: The intensity of solar radiation is largely a function of the angle of
incidence, the angle at which the Sun's rays strike the Earth's surface. If the Sun is positioned directly
overhead or 90 from the horizon, the incoming insolation strikes the surface of the Earth at right
angles and is most intense.

Northern light: The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically
charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the
magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. The Northern Lights are actually the
result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles
released from the sun's atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are
colliding. The most common auroral colour, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules
located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen,
at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.

Summer and winter solstice: Because the path of the Earth around the Sun is an ellipse, not a circle,
and because the Earth is off-centre on its axis, these combined phenomena can create up to several
minutes difference between solar and mean time. Around the date of summer solstice, these effects
make the Sun appear to move slightly slower than expected when measured by a watch or clock. As
a result, the earliest sunrise occurs before the date of the summer solstice, and the latest sunset
happens after the summer solstice. For the same reasons, around the winter solstice, the time of
sunrise continues to get later in the days after the solstice. The winter solstice occurs in the northern
hemisphere while the summer solstice occurs in the southern hemisphere.

Why do seasons occur: The tilt of the Earth's AXIS is the most important reason why seasons occur.
We have hot summers and cold winters because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. The tilt of the Earth
means the Earth will lean towards the Sun (Summer) or lean away from the Sun (Winter) 6 months
later.
Solar system extra facts:

Only ten planets are in the Goldilocks zone (including earth)

The Goldilocks zone is the zone where it is not too hot or not too cold

The terrestrial planets are called the rocky planets

The gaseous planets are called the jovial planets also known as the gas planets

The core of earth is solid

Saturns rings are made of ice, dust and rocks (these can be seen because of suns reflection
on the ice)- ice came from Enceladus (has giant water volcanoes) Enceladus is Saturns moon

All jovial planets have rings

Earth is pointing at Polaris

The movement of tectonic plates form volcanoes and mountains