Space Physics

CONTENTS

Earth & The Solar System

The Earth, Moon & Sun
Calculating Orbital Speeds
The Solar System
Orbiting Bodies
Gravitational Effects on Orbits
Stars & The Universe
The Sun as a Star
Stars
The Expanding Universe
The Big Bang Theory
Hubble & The Age of the Universe
 Earth & The Solar System
The Earth, Moon & Sun
The Earth's Axis

• The Earth is a rocky planet that rotates in a near circular orbit around the Sun
• It rotates on its axis, which is a line through the north and south poles
The axis is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.4° from the vertical The
Earth completes one full rotation (revolution) in approximately 24 hours (1 day)

• This rotation creates the apparent daily motion of the Sun rising and setting Rotation of
the Earth on its axis is therefore responsible for the periodic cycle of day and night
Day and Night

• The Earth's rotation around its axis creates day and night
Day is experienced by the half of the Earth's surface that is facing the Sun
Night is the other half of the Earth's surface, facing away from the Sun
 Rising and Setting of the Sun
• The Earth's rotation on its axis makes the Sun looks like it moves from east to west

At the equinoxes the Sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west
Equinox (meaning 'equal night') is when day and night are approximately of equal length

• However, the exact locations of where the Sun rises and sets changes throughout the
seasons

• In the northern hemisphere (above the equator):

In summer, the sun rises north of east and sets north of west
In winter, the sun rises south of east and sets south of west
The Sun is highest above the horizon at noon (12 pm)

In the northern hemisphere, the daylight hours are longest up until roughly the 21st June
This day is known as the Summer Solstice and is where the Sun is at its highest
point in the sky all year

The daylight hours then decrease to their lowest around 21st December
This is known the Winter Solstice and is where the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky all
year
 The Earth's Orbit
• The Earth orbits the Sun once in approximately 365 days
This is 1 year
• The combination of the orbiting of the Earth around the Sun and the Earth's
tilt creates the seasons

Seasons in the Northern hemisphere caused by the tilt of the Earth

• Over parts B, C and D of the orbit, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun
This means daylight hours are more than hours of darkness
This is spring and summer
• The southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun
This means there are shorter days than night
This is autumn and winter
• Over parts F, G and H of the orbit, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun
The situations in both the northern and southern hemisphere are reversed
It is autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere, but at the same time it is spring and summer in
the southern hemisphere

• At C:
This is the summer solstice
The northern hemisphere has the longest day, whilst the southern hemisphere has its shortest day

• At G:
• This is the winter solstice
The northern hemisphere has its shortest day, whilst the southern hemisphere has its longest day
• At A and D:
Night and day are equal in both hemispheres
 Moon & Earth
• The Moon is a satellite around the Earth
• It travels around the Earth in roughly a circular orbit once a month
This takes 27-28 days
• The Moon revolves around its own axis in a month so always has the same side facing the
Earth at all times
• We never see the hemisphere that is always facing away from Earth, although astronauts
have orbited the Moon and satellite have photographed it
• The Moon shines with reflected light from the Sun, it does not produce its own light
Phases of the Moon
The way the Moon's appearance changes across a month, as seen from Earth, is
called its periodic cycle of phases

Phases of the Moon as it orbits around Earth

• In the image above, the inner circle shows that exactly half of the Moon is illuminated by
the Sun at all times

• The outer circle shows how the Moon looks like from the Earth at its various positions
• In the New Moon phase:

The Moon is between the Earth and the Sun

Therefore, the sunlight is only on the opposite face of the Moon to the Earth
This means the Moon is unlit as seen from Earth, so it is not visible

• At the Full Moon phase:

The Earth is between the Moon and the Sun

The side of the Moon that is facing the Earth is completely lit by the sunlight
This means the Moon is fully lit as seen from Earth

• In between, a crescent can be seen where the Moon is partially illuminated from
sunlight
Calculating Orbital Speeds
Orbital Speed
• When planets move around the Sun, or a moon moves around a planet, they orbit in
circular motion
This means that in one orbit, a planet travels a distance equal to the circumference

of a circle (the shape of the orbit)

This is equal to 2πr where r is the radius a circle
• The relationship between speed, distance and time is:

• The average orbital speed of an object can be defined by the equation:

This orbital period (or time period) is defined as:
The time taken for an object to complete one orbit
The orbital radius r is always taken from the centre of the object being orbited to the
object orbiting

Orbital radius and orbital speed of a planet moving around a Sun

Worked Example :
The Hubble Space Telescope moves in a circular orbit. Its distance above the Earthʼs
surface is 560 km and the radius of the Earth is 6400 km. It completes one orbit in 96
minutes. Calculate its orbital speed in m/s.

Radius of the Earth, R = 6400 km

Distance of the telescope above the
Earth's surface, h = 560 km
Time period, T = 96 minutes
relevant equation
v = 2πr /T
The orbital radius is the distance
from the centre of the Earth to the
telescope
r=R+h
 r = 6400 + 560 = 6960 km
Convert any units The time period needs
to be in seconds
1 minute = 60 seconds
96 minutes = 60 × 96 = 5760 s
The radius needs to be in metres
1 km = 1000 m
6960 km = 6 960 000 m
Substitute values into the orbital speed
equation
v = 2π × 6 960 000/5760
v = 7592.18 = 7590 m/s
The Solar System
The Solar System consists of:

1. The Sun
2. Eight planets
3. Natural and artificial satellites
4. Dwarf planets
5. Asteroids and comets

The Sun & the Planets

• The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System
• The Sun is a star that makes up over 99% of the mass of the solar system
• There are eight planets and an unknown number of dwarf planets which orbit the Sun
• The gravitational field around planets is strong enough to have pulled in all nearby
objects with the exception of natural satellites
• The gravitational field around a dwarf planet is not strong enough to have pulled in
nearby objects
Satellites
There are two types of satellite:
• Natural
• Artificial

• Some planets have moons which orbit them

Moons are an example of natural satellites
• Artificial satellites are man-made and can orbit any object in space
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth and is an example of an
artificial satellite
Asteroids & Comets:
• Asteroids and comets also orbit the sun
• An asteroid is a small rocky object which orbits the Sun
The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter
• Comets are made of dust and ice and orbit the Sun in a different orbit to those of planets
The ice melts when the comet approaches the Sun and forms the cometʼs tail
The 8 planets in our Solar System in ascending order of the distance from the Sun are:

• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
Accretion Model of the Solar System
There are 4 rocky and small planets:

• Mercury,
• Venus,
• Earth
• Mars
These are the nearest to the Sun
There are 4 gaseous and large planets:

• Jupiter,
• Saturn,
• Uranus
• Neptune
There are the furthest from the sun
• The differences in the types of planets are defined by the accretion model for Solar
System formation
• The Sun was thought to have formed when gravitational attraction of pulled
together clouds of hydrogen dust and gas (called nebulae)

• The Solar System then formed around 4.5 billion years ago

• The planets were formed from the remnants of the disc cloud of matter left over
from the nebula that formed the Sun

• These interstellar clouds of gas and dust included many elements that were created
during the final stages of a star's lifecycle (a previous supernova)

• Gravity collapsed the matter from the nebula in on itself causing it to spin around
the Sun
• The gravitational attraction between all the small particles caused them to join
together and grow in an accretion process
• A rotating accretion disc is formed when the planets emerged
The accretion model of the creation of the Solar System
Orbiting Bodies
Light Speed
• The planets and moons of the solar system are visible from Earth when they
reflect light from the Sun
• The outer regions of the Solar System are around 5 ×1012 m from the Sun, which
means even light takes some time to travel these distances
• The Sun is so far away from Earth that the light we see actually left the Sun eight
minutes earlier
the nearest star to us after the Sun is so far away that light from it takes four
years to reach us
The Milky Way galaxy contains billions of stars, huge distances away, with the
light taking even longer to be seen from Earth
• The speed of light is a constant 3 × 108 m/s
Therefore, using the equation:
speed = distance/time
• As the Sun grew in size it became hotter
Where the inner planets were forming near the Sun, the temperature was too high for
molecules such as Hydrogen, Helium, water and Methane to exist in a solid state
Therefore, the inner planets are made of materials with high melting temperatures such
as metals (e.g. iron)
Only 1% of the original nebula is composed of heavy elements, so the inner, rocky
planets could not grow much and stayed as a small size, solid and rocky
The cooler regions were further away from the Sun, and temperature was low enough
for the light molecules to exist in a solid state
The outer planets therefore could grow to a large size up and include even the lightest
element, Hydrogen
These planets are large, gaseous and cold
Analysing Orbits
Over many years, data about all the planets, moons and the Sun have been
collected
This is not just for general interest, but to indicate:
Factors that affect conditions on the surface of the planets
Environmental problems that a visit (using manned spaceships or robots)
would encounter
Elliptical Orbits
Orbits of planets, minor planets and comets are elliptical
An ellipse is just a 'squashed' circle
Planets, minor planets and comets have elliptical orbits
However, the Sun is not at the centre of an elliptical orbit
This is only the case when the orbit is approximately circular
In an elliptical orbit, the Sun is not at the centre of the orbit
However, in a circular orbit, the Sun is at the centre

Planets and comets travel in elliptical orbits, but the Sun is not at the
centre of these orbits
There are some common themes from the data of the planets is:
• Orbital duration (how long it takes to travel around the Sun) increases with orbital
distance (distance from the Sun)
• The circular path that the planet's travel in has a larger radius
• Orbital duration increases with orbital distance
E.g. Neptune travels much slower than Mercury
• The planets further away from the Sun experience a weaker gravitational pull,
so move slower in their orbit
• Surface temperature decreases with orbital distance except for Venus
• Venus has a dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, trapping in heat through the
greenhouse effect
• The surface gravitational field strength doesn't just depend on a planet's size, but
also its mass
• This is why although Uranus is 4 times larger than Earth, it has a smaller
gravitational field strength because it is less dense
• Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g
differs between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space,
including the Moon because of the planet or moon's mass
The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field
strength
• A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards
the centre of that planet or moon
• g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is
roughly the same
Gravitational Effects on Orbits
Gravitational Field Strength
• The strength of gravity on different planets after an object's weight on that
planet
Weight is defined as:
The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction
• Planets have strong gravitational fields
Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong
gravitational force
• Because of weight:
Objects stay firmly on the ground
Objects will always fall to the ground
Satellites are kept in orbit
The strength of the field around the planet decreases as the distance from the
planet increases
However, the value of g on the surface varies dramatically for different planets and
moons
The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg
The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the
Earth
This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than
on the Earth
The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and
Saturn) is more than on the Earth
This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the
Earth
On such planets such as Jupiter, an objectʼs mass
remains the same at all points in
space
However, their weight will be a lot greater
meaning for example, a human will be
unable to fully stand up
Gravitational Attraction of the Sun
There are many orbiting objects in our solar system and they each orbit
a different
type of planetary body
A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body
For example, a planet orbiting the Sun
In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling
the object towards that body
Gravity provides this force
Therefore, it is said that the force that keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun is the
gravitational attraction of the Sun
The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always
attractive
Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger
body
Therefore, the force that keeps an object in orbit around the Sun is the
gravitational attraction of the Sun and is always directed from the orbiting object
to the centre of the Sun
The gravitational force will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path
Sun's Gravitational Field & Distance
As the distance from the Sun increases:
The strength of the Sun's gravitational field on the planet decreases
Their orbital speed of the planet decreases
To keep an object in a circular path, it must have a centripetal force
For planets orbiting the Sun, this force is gravity
Therefore, the strength of the Sun's gravitational field in the planet affects how
much centripetal force is on the planet
This strength decreases the further away the planet is from the Sun, and the
weaker the centripetal force
The centripetal force is proportional to the orbital speed
Therefore, the planets further away from the Sun have a smaller orbital speed
This also equates to a longer orbital duration
This can be seen from data collected for a planet's orbital distance against
their
orbital speed
E.g. Neptune travels much slower than Mercury
Orbits & Conservation of Energy
An object in an elliptical orbit around the Sun travels at a different speed
depending on its distance from the Sun
Although these orbits are not circular, they are still stable
For a stable orbit, the radius must change if the comet's orbital speed
changes
As the comet approaches the Sun:
The radius of the orbit decreases
The orbital speed increases due to the Sun's strong gravitational pull
As the comet travels further away from the Sun:
The radius of the orbit increases
The orbital speed decreases due to a weaker gravitational pull from the Sun
Gravitational Attraction of the Sun
There are many orbiting objects in our solar system and they each orbit a different
type of planetary body
A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body
For example, a planet orbiting the Sun
In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling
the object towards that body
Gravity provides this force
Therefore, it is said that the force that keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun is the
gravitational attraction of the Sun
The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always
attractive
Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger
body
Therefore, the force that keeps an object in orbit around the Sun is the
gravitational attraction of the Sun and is always directed from the orbiting object
to the centre of the Sun
The gravitational force will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path
Conservation of Energy
Although an object in an elliptical orbit, such as a comet, continually changes its
speed its energy must still be conserved
Throughout the orbit, the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy of
the comet changes
As the comet approaches the Sun:
It loses gravitational potential energy and gains kinetic energy
This causes the comet to speed up
This increase in speed causes a slingshot effect, and the body will be flung
back out into space again, having passed around the Sun
As the comment moves away from the Sun:
It gains gravitational potential energy and loses kinetic energy
This causes it to slow down
Eventually, it falls back towards the Sun once more
In this way, a stable orbit is formed
The Sun
The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System
The Sun is a star which makes up over 99% of the mass of the solar system
The fact that most of the mass of the Solar System is concentrated in the Sun is
the reason the smaller planets orbit the Sun
The gravitational pull of the Sun on the planets keeps them in orbit
The Sun is a medium sized star consisting of mainly hydrogen and helium
It radiates most of its energy in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum
Stars come in a wide range of sizes and colours, from yellow stars to red dwarfs,
from blue giants to red supergiants
These can be classified according to their colour
Warm objects emit infrared and extremely hot objects emit visible light as well
Therefore, the colour they emit depends on how hot they are
A star's colour is related to its surface temperature
A red star is the coolest (at around 3000 K)
A blue star is the hottest (at around 30 000 K)
A huge amount of energy is released in the reaction
This provides a pressure that prevents the star from collapsing under its gravity
Nuclear Fusion in Stars

In the centre of a stable star, hydrogen atoms undergo nuclear fusion to form
helium
The equation for the reaction is shown here:

Deuterium and Tritium are both isotopes of hydrogen. They can be formed through
other fusion reactions in the star
6.2.2 Stars
The Milky Way
Galaxies are made up of billions of stars
The Universe is made up of many different galaxies
The Sun is one of billions of stars in a galaxy called the Milky Way
Other stars in the Milky Way galaxy are much further away from Earth than the Sun
is
Some of these stars also have planets
which orbit them

Our solar system is just one out of

potentially billions in our galactic
neighbourhood,
the Milky Way. There are estimated
to be more than 100 billion galaxies
in the entire
universe
Astronomical distances such as the distances between stars and galaxies, are so
large that physicists use a special unit to measure them called the light-year
One light-year is:
The distance travelled by light through (the vacuum of) space in one year
The speed of light is the universal speed limit, nothing can travel faster than the
speed of light
But over astronomical distances, light actually travels pretty slowly
The diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100 000 light-years
This means that light would take 100 000 years to travel across it

One light year = 9.5 × 10 km = 9.5 × 10 m

Life Cycle of Stars
1. Nebula
All stars form from a giant interstellar cloud of hydrogen gas and dust called a
nebula
2. Protostar
The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the particles closer together until it
forms a hot ball of gas, known as a protostar
As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar will
increase
This will result in more frequent collisions between the particles which causes
the temperature to increase
3. Main Sequence Star
Once the protostar becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion reactions occur within its
core
The hydrogen nuclei will fuse to form helium nuclei
Every fusion reaction releases heat (and light) energy which keeps the core hot
Once a protostar is formed, its life cycle will depend on its mass
The different life cycles are shown below:
Flow diagram showing
the life cycle of a star
which is the same size as
the Sun (solar
mass) and the lifecycle of
a star which is much
bigger than the Sun
Once a star is born it is known as a main-sequence star
During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to
be stable
The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward pressure
force from
the fusion reactions
4. Red Giant or Red Super Giant
After several billion years the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in the star will
begin to run out Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down
This causes the core to shrink and heat up The core will shrink because the inward force due
to gravity will become greater than the outward force due to the pressure of the expanding
gases as the fusion dies down A new series of reactions will then occur around the core, for
example, helium nuclei will undergo fusion to form beryllium These reactions will cause the
outer part of the star to expand A star the same size as the Sun or smaller will become a red
giant A star much larger than the Sun will become a red super giant It is red because the
outer surface starts to cool
5. For Red Giant Stars
Planetary Nebula
Once this second stage of fusion reactions have finished, the star will become
unstable and eject the outer layer of dust and gas
The layer of dust and gas which is ejected is called a planetary nebula
White Dwarf
The core which is left behind will collapse completely, due to the pull of gravity,
and the star will become a white dwarf
The white dwarf will be cooling down and as a result, the amount of energy it
emits will decrease
Black Dwarf
Once the star has lost a significant amount of energy it becomes a black dwarf
It will continue to cool until it eventually disappears from sight
6. For Red Super Giants
Supernova
Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the core of the
star will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion
This is called a supernova
At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
The outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during the supernova
explosion, forming a planetary nebula
The nebula from a supernova may form new stars with orbiting planets
Neutron Star (or Black Hole)
In the case of the biggest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will
continue to collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole
A black hole is an extremely dense point in space that not even light can
escape from
Lifecycle of a star much larger than our Sun
6.2.3 The Expanding Universe
Galaxies & Redshift
Usually, when an object emits waves, the wavefronts spread out symmetrically
If the wave source moves, the waves can become squashed together or stretched
out Diagram showing the wavefronts produced from a stationary object and a moving
object A moving object will cause the wavelength, λ, (and frequency) of the waves to
change:
The wavelength of the waves in front of the source decreases and the
frequency increases
The wavelength behind the source increases and the frequency decreases
This effect is known as the Doppler effect
The Doppler effect also affects light
If an object moves away from an observer the wavelength of light increases
This is known as redshift as the light moves towards the red end of the
spectrum
Redshift is:
An increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnet radiation emitted
from receding stars and galaxies

Light from a star that is moving towards an observer will be blueshifted and light from a star moving away from an observer
The observer behind
observes a red shift
The Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies that make up the Universe
Light emitted from distant galaxies appears redshifted when compared with light
emitted on Earth
The diagram below shows the light coming to us from a close object, such as the
Sun, and the light coming to us from a distant galaxy

Comparing the light spectrum produced from the Sun and a distant galaxy
The diagram also shows that the light coming to us from distant galaxies is
redshifted
The lines on the spectrum are shifted towards the red end
This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us
If the galaxies are moving away from us it means that the universe is expanding
The observation of redshift from distant galaxies supports the Big Bang theory
Another observation from looking at the light spectrums produced from distant
galaxies is that the greater the distance to the galaxy, the greater the redshift
This means that the further away a galaxy, the faster it is moving away from
us

Graph showing the greater the distance

to a galaxy, the greater the redshift
The Big Bang
Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region that
was extremely hot and dense
Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the Big Bang
This caused the universe to expand from a single point, cooling as it does so, to
form the universe today
Each point expands away from the others
This is seen from galaxies moving away from each other, and the further away
they are the faster they move
Redshift in the light from distant galaxies is evidence
that the Universe is expanding and supports the
Big Bang Theory As a result of the initial explosion,
the Universe continues to expand

All galaxies are moving away from

each other, indicating that the
universe is expanding
An analogy of this is points drawn on a balloon where the balloon represents
space and the points as galaxies
When the balloon is deflated, all the points are close together and an equal
distance apart
As the balloon expands, all the points become further apart by the same
amount This is because the space itself has expanded between the galaxies

A balloon inflating is
similar to the
stretching of the space
between galaxies
Redshift and CMBR
Evidence for the Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is very well supported by evidence from a range of sources
The main pieces of evidence are
Galactic red-shift
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)
Evidence from Galactic Red-Shift
Galactic redshift provides evidence for the Big Bang Theory and the expansion of
the universe
The diagram below shows the light coming to us from a close object, such as the
Sun, and the light coming to the Earth from a distant galaxy

Comparing the light spectrum

produced from the Sun and a distant galaxy
Red-shift provides evidence that the Universe is expanding because:
Red-shift is observed when the spectral lines from the distant galaxy move closer
to the red end of the spectrum
This is because light waves are stretched by the expansion of the universe so
the wavelength increases (or frequency decreases)
This indicates that the galaxies are moving away from us
Light spectrums produced from distant galaxies are red-shifted more than nearby
galaxies
This shows that the greater the distance to the galaxy, the greater the
redshift
This means that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away
from the Earth
These observations imply that the universe is expanding and therefore support
the Big Bang Theory
Tracing the expansion
of the universe back
to the beginning of
time leads to the idea
the universe began
with a “big bang”
Evidence from CMB Radiation
The discovery of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) radiation led to the Big
Bang theory becoming the currently accepted model
The CMB is a type of electromagnetic radiation which is a remnant from the
early stages of the Universe
It has a wavelength of around 1 mm making it a microwave, hence the name
Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
In 1964, Astronomers discovered radiation in the microwave region of the
electromagnetic spectrum coming from all directions and at a generally uniform
temperature of 2.73 K
They were unable to do this any earlier since microwaves are absorbed by the
atmosphere
Around this time, space flight was developed which enabled astronomers to
send telescopes into orbit above the atmosphere
According to the Big Bang theory, the early Universe was an extremely hot and
dense environment As a result of this, it must have emitted thermal radiation

The radiation is in the microwave region This is because over the past 14 billion years or so,
the radiation initially from the Big Bang has become redshifted as the Universe has expanded
Initially, this would have been high energy radiation, towards the gamma end
of the spectrum As the Universe expanded, the wavelength of the radiation increased
Over time, it has increased so much that it is now in the microwave region of the spectrum

The CMB is a result of

high energy radiation
being redshifted over
billions of years
The CMB radiation is very uniform and has the exact profile expected to be emitted
from a hot body that has cooled down over a very long time
This phenomenon is something that other theories (such as the Steady State
Theory) cannot explain
The CMB is represented by the following map:

The CMB map with

areas of higher and
lower temperature.
Places with higher
temperature have a
higher concentration
of galaxies, Suns and
planets
This is the closest image to a map of the observable Universe
The different colours represent different temperatures
The red / orange / brown regions represent warmer temperature indicating a
higher density of galaxies
The blue regions represents cooler temperature indicating a lower density of
galaxies
The temperature of the CMB radiation is mostly uniform, however, there are
minuscule temperature fluctuations (on the order of 0.00001 K)
This implies that all objects in the Universe are more or less uniformly spread
out
Hubble & The Age of the Universe
Hubble Constant Calculations
EXTENDED
In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that the universe was expanding
He did this by observing that the absorption line spectra produced from the
light of distant galaxies was shifted towards the red end of the spectrum
This doppler shift in the wavelength of the light is evidence that distant
galaxies are moving away from the Earth
Hubble also observed that light from more distant galaxies was shifted further
towards the red end of the spectrum compared to closer galaxies
From this observation he concluded that galaxies or stars which are further
away from the Earth are moving faster than galaxies which are closer
Hubbleʼs law states:
The recessional velocity v of a galaxy is proportional to its distance from Earth
Hubbleʼs law can be expressed as an equation:

Where:
H = Hubble constant, this will be provided in your examination along with the
correct units (km s Mpc )
The accepted value is that H = 2.2 × 10 per second
v = recessional velocity of an object, the velocity of an object moving away
from an observer (km s )
d = distance between the object and the Earth (Mpc)
As the equation shows, the Hubble Constant, H is defined as:
The ratio of the speed at which the galaxy is moving away from the Earth, to its
distance from the Earth
Age of the Universe
Since Hubble's Law states that

It can be rearranged to show that

Hubbleʼs law shows that the further away a star is from the Earth, the faster it is
moving away from us
A key aspect of Hubble’s law is that the furthest galaxies appear to move away
the fastest
The gradient of the graph can be used to find the Age of the Universe
When the distance equals zero, this represents all the matter in the Universe
being at a single point
This is the singularity that occurred at the moment of the Big Bang
The units of the gradient are per second (the same as the units of the Hubble
Constant)
By taking the reciprocal, or,
1
H0
the units will become seconds
Therefore the reciprocal of the gradient represents time and gives the amount
of time which the Universe has been expanding for
Astronomers have used this formula to estimate the age of the Universe at about
13.7 billion years