Lecture Outline: Earth Earth

Chapter 1
Cosmology and the Birth of Earth
LECTURE OUTLINE
earth
Portrait of a Planet
Third Edition
2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter 1: Cosmology and the Birth of Earth
Cosmology and the
Birth of Earth
Prepared
Prepared by
by
Ron Parker,
Earlham
Earlham College,
College, Department
Department of
of Geosciences
Geosciences
Richmond,
Richmond, Indiana
Indiana
Our Island in Space
We pass our lives on our one planet Earth.
Earth may seem endless; it isnt.
Viewed from space, Earth is a small, shiny globe.
It is truly our island oasis in space.
Our Island in Space
The Earth is a very special and unique planet.
Its temperature, composition and atmosphere favor life.
It is dynamic and ever-changing.
It has a long and complex history.
Cosmology
Conscious thought distinguishes humans.
Developed across thousands of generations.
Lends us curiosity, insight, and the ability to learn.
As a result, we seek to explain our surroundings.
Where do we come from?
Where do we fit in the Universe?
Why are we here?
Cosmology
Study of the structure and evolution of the Universe.
Cosmology is a complicated science.

Requires thinking in unfamiliar scales of space and time.
Spatial scales.
Attometers
Attometers (10-21
-21 meters),
meters), to
10s
10s of
of billions
billions of
of light
light years
years (9.46 22 meters
(9.4622 meters +).
Temporal scales.
Attoseconds
Attoseconds (10 -21 seconds), to
(10-21
10s
10s of
of billions
billions of
of years
years (3.15 17 seconds
(3.1517 seconds +).
+).
Cosmology
Ideas about the Universe have a rich history.
These ideas are often culturally determined.
Commonly include supernatural forces.
The Western tradition applies scientific discovery.
Science
The systematic analysis of natural phenomenon.
Has evolved as the most significant human
development for understanding the natural world.
Rationally explains cosmological evolution.
Scientific understanding can evolve and change.
Earths Changing Place
3,000 years ago, humans knew the heavens well.
They knew that stars were fixed relative to other stars.
They knew that stars moved predictably across the sky.
They saw retrograde motion separating planets from stars.
They did not think of Earth as a planet, however.
Movement in the heavens was attributed to deities.
An Evolving Image of Earth
The ancients thought the Universe was geocentric.
Heavenly bodies circle around a motionless central Earth.
Proven by Ptolemy (100-170 C.E.
C.E.), the idea was still wrong.
Yet it held as doctrine for 1,400 years during the dark ages.
It became religious dogma supporting the importance of
Earth in the scheme of heaven.
The Renaissance
A rebirth of rational thinking in 15thth-century Europe.
Copernicus Published evidence for heliocentricity.
Kepler His elliptical planetary orbits refuted Ptolemy.
Galileo Observed moons orbiting Jupiter.
These ideas were considered to be heresy.
Earth didnt center the Universe.
Planetary orbits werent circular.
Not all bodies orbited Earth.
The Enlightenment
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) devised
The Law of Universal Gravitation.
The Three Laws of Motion.
The mathematics of change (calculus).
He proved that natural law governs natural events.
Geocentricity faded away.
Earth as a Sphere
A flat Earth was dispelled by ~ 250 B.C.E.
Abundant evidence suggested a spherical Earth.
A curved shadow crossed the Moon during eclipses.
Only the tops of distant sailing ships were visible.
In 1520, Magellan circumnavigated this sphere.
Earths Rotation
How do we know that Earth rotates about Polaris?
Clearly visible in a time-lapse photograph of the night sky.
Foucaults pendulum (1851) proved Earths rotation.
Earths Circumference
Eratosthenes calculated ~25,000 miles in ~ 200 B.C.
He measured shadows in deep wells 800 km apart.
Measurement taken at noon on the same day.
Syene Shadow absent (directly overhead).
Alexandria Shadow at 7.2oo.
He calculated that 800 km was
1/50th of Earths circumference.
He was correct!!
Distances from Earth
The dimensions of the Universe are staggering!
We must consider huge expanses of space and time.
The speed of light (c) is 186,000 miles/s (300,000 km/s).
The Moon is 1.3 light seconds (~237,000 miles) away.
The Sun is 8.3 light minutes (~93 million miles) away.
A light year measures a distance of 5.87 trillion miles.
Alpha Centauri, the closest star, is 4.3 light years away.
The visible Universe is > 13 billion light years away
Modern View of the Universe
Current concepts differ wildly from 100 years ago.
Earth is one of nine planets in the solar system.
The solar system is on an arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
Our Sun is one of 300 billion stars in this galaxy.
You are HERE!
Modern View of the Universe
Current concepts differ wildly from 100 years ago.
The vastness of the Universe is almost incomprehensible.
Andromeda, the next galaxy, is 2,200,000 light years away.
The Universe contains more than a billion galaxies.
Questions
Science is the basis for addressing hard questions.
How did the Universe form?
Do galaxies move with respect to each other?
Is the Universe expanding? Contracting?
How do we know anything about these matters?
The Doppler Effect permits us to detect star motion.
The Doppler Effect
Waves compress or relax with relative motion.
Applies to waves of both sound and light.
The stopped train sounds the same to Anna and Bill.
The moving train sounds different to Anna and Bill.
Anna
Anna hears
hears a higher
higher pitch
pitch from
from compressed
compressed sound
sound waves.
waves.
Bill hears a lower
lower pitch
pitch from expanded sound waves.
As the
the train
train passed
passed Anna,
Anna, the
the pitch
pitch would
would drop
drop (higher
(higher to
to lower).
lower).
This is commonly heard as cars cars whiz
whiz by
by on
on aa road.
road.
The Doppler Effect
Light waves behave like sound waves.
Visible light is electromagnetic radiation.
Visible wavelengths range from 400 to 700 nanometers.
400 nm Blue = Higher frequency
700 nm Red = Lower frequency
The Doppler Effect
A moving star displays Doppler-shifted light.
Light from an approaching star is compressed.
This causes a shift to higher frequencies, so that
Stars moving toward Earth are shifted toward blue.
Light from a receding star is expanded.
This causes a shift to lower frequencies, so that...
Stars moving away from Earth are shifted toward red.
The Expanding Universe
Light from distant galaxies appeared red shifted.
In 1929, Hubble recognized this as a Doppler shift.
He concluded that galaxies were moving away rapidly.
No galaxies were found to be moving toward Earth.
This led to the development of the Expanding
Universe Theory, analogous to expanding bread.
Big Bang
When did the expanding Universe begin?
The best answer so far? The big bang.
All of the mass and energy in the Universe was packed into
a single small point.
It exploded 13.7 Ga and has been expanding ever since.
The Modern
Universe
Big Bang
Rooted in the Laws of Physics.
Started as a rapid cascade of events.
Protons and neutrons formed within 1 second.
Hydrogen atoms formed within 3 minutes.
Hydrogen fused to form new light elements (He, Be, Li, B)
via big bang nucleosynthesis.
The Universe continued to
Expand.
Cool.
Decrease in density.
After the Big Bang
With expansion and cooling, atoms began to bond.
Hydrogen formed H22 molecules - The fuel of stars.

Atoms and molecules coalesced into gaseous nebulae.
Gravity caused collapse of gaseous nebulae.
Collapse resulted in increases in
Temperature.
Density.
Rate of rotation.
After the Big Bang
Condensed nebulae formed flattened accretion discs.
Heat and mass from collapse ignited nuclear fusion.
These 1st
st-generation stars consumed H 2 fuel rapidly.
2
As the stars became H22 starved, they initiated
Collapse and heating.
Heavy element production.
Catastrophic explosion
(supernova).
Nucleosynthesis
Stars are truly element factories.
Big bang nucleosynthesis formed lighter elements.
Atomic #s 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (H, He, Li, Be, and B).
Heavier elements are from stellar nucleosynthesis.
Atomic #s 6 - 26 (C to Fe).
Elements with atomic #s > 26
form during supernovae.
Nucleosynthesis
The mass of a star governs its element production.
Smaller-mass stars (like the Sun).
Burn slowly.
Live longer (10 Ga).
Create lighter elements up to carbon (C).
Larger-mass stars (10-100x the mass of the Sun).
Burn rapidly.
Are shorter lived (10s of Ma).
Create heavier elements up to iron (Fe).
Nucleosynthesis
When fuel dwindles, stars heat by inward collapse.
This leads to a cataclysmic explosion (a supernova).
The supernova creates heavier elements.
Uranium (atomic # 92) is the heaviest natural element.
The Solar System
Earth shares the solar system with 7 other planets.

Planet A precise definition developed in 2006. A planet
Is a large solid body orbiting a star (e.g., the Sun).

Has a nearly spherical shape.
Has cleared its neighborhood of other objects.
Thus, Pluto, previously defined as a planet, is excluded.
Moon A solid body locked in orbit around a planet.
The Planets: An Overview
Two groups of planets occur in the solar system.
Terrestrial (Earth-like) - Small, dense, rocky planets.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Jovian (Jupiter-like) - Large, low-density, gas-giant planets.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

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The Solar System
Our solar system also includes
The Sun An average star.
Asteroids Rocky or metallic fragments.
Comets Fragments of ice orbiting the Sun.
Kuiper Belt and Oort Belt objects.
Planetary systems have been found near other stars.

Solar System Formation
The Nebular Theory
A 3rd, 4th or nth generation nebula forms 4.56 Ga.
Hydrogen and helium left over from the big bang.
Heavier elements produced by stellar fusion and supernovae.
The nebula condenses into an accretion disc.

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The ball at the center grows dense and hot.
Fusion reactions begin; the Sun is born.
Dust in the rings condenses into particles.
Particles coalesce to form planetesimals.

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Planetesimals accumulate into a larger mass.
An irregularly-shaped proto-Earth develops.
The interior heats and becomes soft.

Gravity shapes the Earth into a sphere.
The interior differentiates into
a nickel-iron core, and
a stony (silicate) mantle.
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Soon, a small planetoid collides with Earth.
Debris forms a ring around the Earth.
The debris coalesces and forms the Moon.

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Cosmologyand
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The atmosphere develops from volcanic gases.
When the Earth becomes cool enough,
moisture condenses and accumulates, and
the oceans are born.

Chapter1:
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Cosmologyand
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Synopsis

Chapter1:
1:Cosmology
Cosmologyand
andthe
theBirth
Birthof
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Earth
The Nebular Theory of Solar System Formation is
supported by the configuration of planets.
The orbital planes of the planets lie within 3 of the Sun's
equator.

Chapter1:
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Cosmologyand
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This concludes the
Chapter 1
Cosmology and the Birth of Earth
LECTURE OUTLINE
earth
Portrait of a Planet
Third Edition
2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Lecture Outline: Earth Earth

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Chapter 1

Cosmology and the Birth of Earth

Cosmology is a complicated science.

You are HERE!

The Universe contains more than a billion galaxies.

Hydrogen formed H22 molecules - The fuel of stars.

Earth shares the solar system with 7 other planets.

Is a large solid body orbiting a star (e.g., the Sun).

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

Planetary systems have been found near other stars.

The nebula condenses into an accretion disc.

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

Particles coalesce to form planetesimals.

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

The interior heats and becomes soft.

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak Chapter

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