Unit 1:

Origin and Structure of

the Earth
 Ancient Astronomy
• The Greeks used basic geometry and
trigonometry to measure the sizes and distances
of the Sun and the Moon.
• They believed that the earth is at the center of
the universe and it is sphere-shape. The moon,
the sun, and the planets are revolving around
the earth.
 Greek Philosophers
Anaxagoras
• The moon is
sphere-shape
• It shines by only
half reflected
sunlight at one
time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxagoras#/media/File:Ana
xagoras_Nuremberg_Chronicle.jpg
 Greek Philosophers
Aristotle
• The earth is
spherical
• It casts a curved
shadow when it
eclipses the
moon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle#/media/File:Francesco_Hay
ez_001.jpg
 Greek Philosophers
Aristarchus
• He professed the
heliocentric

Helios – sun
centric – centered

https://www2.hao.ucar.edu/Education/FamousSolarPhysicist
s/aristarchus-samos-ca-320-250-bc
 Greek Philosophers
Hipparchus
• He determined the
location of almost 850
stars which he divided
into six groups
according to their
brightness
• He measured the length
An image of Hipparchus from the title page of of the year to within
William Cunningham's Cosmographicall
Glasse(1559). minutes
 Greek Philosophers
Claudius Ptolemy
• He presented the
geocentric model
that became
known as the
Ptolemaic system.

http://www.greek-names.info/names-of-ancient-greek-
astronomers/
Geocentric Model

http://www.bothfavorites.com/blog/category/science/page/2/
 Modern Astronomy

• It was developed from religious and

philosophical ideas of the great scientists.
Modern Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus
• He adapted the
scientific theory of
heliocentrism.
• The sun is at the
center of the
universe.
© Bettmann/ Corbis
http://skepticalpoet.blogspot.com/p/heliocentrism.html
Modern Astronomy
Tycho Brahe
• He expressed the
idea of stellar
parallax

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe
 Modern Astronomy
Johannes Kepler
Three Basic Laws of
Planetary Motion
•Law of Ellipses
•Law of Equal Areas
•Law of Harmonies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler#/media/
File:Johannes_Kepler_1610.jpg
 Modern Astronomy
Three Basic Laws of Planetary Motion
•Law of Ellipses - the path of the planets around the sun
is elliptical in shape
•Law of Equal Areas - an imaginary line drawn from the
center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep
out equal areas in equal intervals of time
•Law of Harmonies - ratio of the squares of the periods
of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of
their average distances from the sun
Law of Harmonies
 Modern Astronomy
Galileo Galilei
• greatest
contribution was
his first
description of the
moving objects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei#/media/File:J
ustus_Sustermans_-
_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei,_1636.jpg
 Modern Astronomy
Isaac Newton
• Law of Motion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Bra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#/media/File:Go
he#/media/File:Tycho_Brahe.JPG
dfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg
 Modern Astronomy
• Laws of Motion
a. Law of Inertia
- An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an
unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion
with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted
upon by an unbalanced force.
b. Law of Acceleration
- Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass.
The greater the mass the greater the amount of force
needed
c. Law of Interaction
- For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.
Universe
Origin of the Universe

It is an enormous empty space

that holds small particle to the
biggest galaxy.
 Solar System

group of planets, moons,

asteroids, and comets
https://www.rsc.org/cpd/resource/RES00001452/analogies-in-chemistry/RES00001448?cmpid=CMP00003576
 Origin of the
Universe

https://pixabay.com/en/milky-way-universe-person-stars-1023340/
Origin of the Universe
Oscillating
Big Bang Theory
Universe
• About 13.8 billion years
ago, all current and past
matter in the universe came
into existence.
• All matter were compacted
into a very small ball with
infinite density and intense
heat known as Singularity
 Origin of the
Solar System

https://www.rsc.org/cpd/resource/RES00001452/analogies-in-chemistry/RES00001448?cmpid=CMP00003576
 Nebular Hypothesis
• hydrogen and
other gases
swirled around
and condensed
into our sun and
its planets

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/lec24.html
 Fission Theory
• proposed by George
Darwin
• the sun burst open and
planets and moons
went to their respective
places and started
orbiting the sun as the http://burro.cwru.edu/academics/Astr221/SolarSys/lunafo
rm.html

moon began orbiting

the planets
 Capture Theory
• planets and
moons were
flying around, and
some were
captured by our
sun and began https://reptilianilluminati.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/the-

circling moons-origins/
 Accretion Theory
• a pile of space dust and
rock chunks pushed
together into our planet,
and another pile pushed
itself into our moon
• the moon got close
enough and began
encircling the Earth
http://flynt.pbworks.com/w/page/9198202/accretion%
20theory
Planetary Collision Theory
• our world collided
with small planet,
and the explosion
threw off rocks
which became the
moon, and then it
began orbiting us http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/10/22/hypothesis-new-
evidence-on-origin-of-the-moon-support-cataclysmic-collision-
theory/
Stellar Collision Theory
• our planets,
moons, and suns
spuns off from the
collision between
stars http://pmhsscience9110.wikispaces.com/The+Universe?sho
wComments=1
 Gas Cloud Theory
• gas clouds were
captured by our sun
but instead of being
drawn into it, they
began whirling and
pushing themselves
into planets and
moons http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2008/smithscloud/
Terrestrial
Planets

Asteroid Belt
Jovian
Planets
 Planets
Terrestrial planets
• rock, metals
• high densities
• slow in rotation
• weak magnetic field https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_planet

• absence of rings Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

 Planets
Jovian planets
• gases
• low densities
• fast rotation
• strong magnetic field http://www.britannica.com/topic/giant-planet/images-videos/The-
Jovian-or-gaseous-Jupiter-like-planets/155657

• many rings Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

© Wikipedia/Kelvinsong
 Sun
It is the star at the center of the solar system.
Photosphere Chromosphere Atmosphere or
- interior surface - middle layer corona
• sunspot – dark spots • prominences – column - outermost layer
• granulation – grainy of hot gas - composed of
appearance • flares - flashes of bright carbon, iron and
• faculae – bright light that is visible on rocky materials
spots earth • coronal hole
• pores – small
sunspots
Asteroid Belt

group of rocks that appears to

have never joined to form the
planet
Source: empoweryourknowledgeandhappytrivia.wordpress.com)
 Comet
dirty snowballs of dust
and rock in methane,
ammonia, and ice.

Source: http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/physics/research/xroa/astronomical-facilities-1/educational-guide/comets-asteroids-
and-meteorites
 Astronomy
It is a natural science of celestial body, processes,
physics, chemistry, and evolution of such objects and all
phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of the
Earth.
Three Branches:
• Astrophysics – physical nature of celestial bodies
• Celestial Mechanics – calculation of motion of celestial
objects
• Cosmology – origin and development of universe
 Telescope
- optical instrument that helps magnifies distant
object
- collects and focuses light and other forms of
electromagnetic radiation

Types:
• Refracting
• Reflecting
Refracting Telescope
- invented by Galileo
- provides view by looking through a lens or
series of lenses that focus on one eyepiece

http://binoculas.net/reflecting-and-refracting-telescopes/
 Reflecting Telescope
- invented by Sir Isaac Newton
- provides view by focusing light through a
concave mirror

http://ryansastronomysite.weebly.com/telescopes.html
 References
• Earth in Crisis an introduction to the earth sciences. Thomas L.
Burrus/Herbert J. Spiegel
• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/orig
ins-universe-article/
• http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/origin-universe
• m.phys.org/news/2015-12-big-theory.html
• www.physicsoftheuniverse.com
• http://futurism.com/science-explained-the-possibility-of-life-on-
mars/
• http://www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-
planet/