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The Universe
Universe all existing matter (tiniest subatomic particles to galactic super-clusters) and
space
The universe is incomprehensively large in size and dimension.
100 billion galaxies
each comprising an average of 100 billion of stars.
universe began about 13.8 billion years ago
in what has become known as the .
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the birth of the universe.
It states that at some moment all of space was contained in a single point from which the Universe
has been expanding ever since.
13.8 billion years ago, which is thus considered the age of the universe
After the initial expansion, the Universe cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic
particles, and later simple atoms.
primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies.
The majority of atoms produced by the Big Bang were hydrogen, along with helium
Universe would reach a maximum size and then begin to collapse. It would become denser and hotter
again, ending with a state similar to that in which it started—a Big Crunch
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR
Outlined below are the many steps involved in a stars evolution, from its formation in a nebula, to
its death as a white dwarf or neutron star.
NEBULA
STAR
RED GIANT
SUPERNOVA
Nova
nuclear explosion on a white dwarf, which causes a sudden brightening of the star.
Novae are thought to occur on the surface of a white dwarf in a binary system.
NEUTRON STARS
These stars are composed mainly of neutrons and are produced when a supernova explodes, forcing
the protons and electrons to combine to produce a neutron star.
Neutron stars are very dense.
Typical stars having a mass of three times the Sun but a diameter of only 20 km.
If its mass is any greater, its gravity will be so strong that it will shrink further to become a black
hole.
Great densities are only possible when electrons are displaced from their regular shells and pushed
closer to the nucleus, allowing atoms to take up less space. The matter in this state is called
'degenerate matter'.
BLACK HOLES
Black holes are believed to form from massive stars at the end of their life times.
The gravitational pull in a black hole is so great that nothing can escape from it, not even light.
The density of matter in a black hole cannot be measured. Black holes distort the space around
them, and can often suck neighbouring matter into them including stars.
The CMB is well explained as radiation left over from an early stage in the development of
the Universe, and its discovery is considered a landmark test of the Big Bang model of the
Universe.
Galaxies
Galaxy a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by
gravitational attraction.
A galaxy is a huge mass of stars, nebulae, and inter-stellar material. The smallest galaxies contain
about 100,000 stars, while the largest contains up to 3000 billion stars.
Galaxies are the major building blocks of the universe.
A galaxy is a giant family of billions of stars, and is held together by its own gravitational field.
From the billions of galaxies, two basic types have been identified:
1. Regular galaxies, and
2. Irregular galaxies.
The regular galaxies (Fig. 1.1 ) may be disc-shaped, elliptical and they generally have
new stars. The stars of the irregular galaxies are very old (Fig. 1.2).
1. Regular Galaxies
a) Spiral Galaxies
b) Elliptical Galaxies
c) Irregular Galaxies
It consists of stars, gas and dust; superimposed on the general distribution of the star in the pair of
spiral arms.
We do not know exactly how far the Sun is from the centre, but it is conventionally taken to be
33,000 light years away. Thus our solar system is relatively far from the galactic centre.
Our galaxy is vast, about 100,000 light years across. In comparison the solar system seems small of
about 12 light years across
The entire galaxy is rotating in the space, although the inner stars travel faster than those further
out. The Sun which is about one-third out from the centre, completes one lap of galaxy in about
every 220 million years (Fig.1.3).