Our galaxy also known as the Milky Way, with reference to a Greek word galaktos mean- ing milk, is the most studied galaxy. It is also referred as the Galaxy. A part of it can be seen on clear dark nights as a faint white band of light stretching across the sky. Study of its constituent stars will help to understand its structure and evolution. The structure of it is the intense subject of many studies for the last four centuries. A brief account of it is given here. In 1610s, Galileo Galilei using
Universe is a collection of millions of galaxies and extends beyond human imagination. After the big bang, the universe was found to be composed of radiation and subatomic particles. Information following big bang is arguable on how galaxies formed, that is whether small particles merged to form clusters and eventually galaxies or whether the universe systematized as immense clumps of matter that later fragmented into galaxies (Nasa World book, 2013). A galaxy is a massive area of empty space full
the interaction of two or more galaxies. The results of a galactic interaction are so varied that each event is unique. Therefore, only a select few examples will be described in the following pages. An examination of the term “galactic interaction” does not immediately convey much in the way of understanding as to exactly what happens during one of these events. The problem is that the word “interaction” is fairly ambiguous, yet it must be so because two galaxies can interact in so many ways that
Sabdy Mariscal IPC-4B Astronomy Astronomy is the science of space beyond earth’s atmosphere like stars, comets, galaxies, nebula, and comets – as well as the large scale of properties of the universe also known as the big picture. However I’m only going to write about stars, comets, galaxies, and the nebula because I think those are the most interesting aspects of astronomy. Stars have different size, color, and temperature. There are different types of stars; some are smaller than the earth and
the 1930s, based on Edwin Hubble's discovery that distant galaxies are receding. Hubble measured the distances to a large number of galaxies (based on the observed brightness of certain stars within them), and compared these distances with their electromagnetic spectra. As it turned out, more distant galaxies had the features in their spectra (spectral lines) shifted to lower frequencies in a linear manner: that is, more distant galaxies exhibit greater redshifts. The only known mechanism for generating
discovery of the vast universe, that exists outside our galaxy, began with Edwin Hubble’s discovery of a Cepheid Variable star in Andromeda, which he used to measure the distance to our neighbouring galaxy (Bennett et al. 109). This was instrumental in establishing Hubble’s law or the theory that the universe is expanding and galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way (Bennett et al. 109). However, Andromeda poses a contradiction; while other galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way, Andromeda is actually
system of millions in a galaxy of many more in the universe. A galaxy, also called a nebula, consists of billions of stars, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter which are all bound to form a massive cloud in which we live in. Although it cannot be very well explained, dark matter makes up at least 90% of a galaxy’s mass. Galaxies also contain billions upon billions of stars and their diameter can range from 1,500 to 300,000 light years. That’s huge! The Milky Way, the galaxy in which we live in
the matter that we see today which includes stars and galaxies. Due to the fact that dark matter doesn’t interact with the electromagnetic force, dark matter doesn’t absorb, reflect or emit light. Dark energy doesn’t have local gravitational effects but it does affect the universe as a whole. The importance of dark matter and dark energy is that they make the majority of the mass in the universe. Dark matter and energy are important to how galaxies function and survive. Dark matter must help make up
suddenly increases many millions of times its normal level. The supernova came around the 1930’s by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky. Supernovas are very rare to see they happen every 50 years in the Milky Way. Supernovas cannot be predicted in our galaxies it is impossible.(“Supernova”) A supernova is an explosion of a massive supergiant star. It may shine with a brightness of 10 billion suns! The total energy output may be 10^44 joules, as much as the total output of the sun during its 10 billion
Discussing the Hypothesis of a Supermassive Black Hole in the Milky Way Galaxy There is evidence that supports the hypothesis that the Milky Way Galaxy has a massive black hole at its core. At the center of our very own galaxy is a mysterious source of energy. Vast amounts of radiation pour from this compact source which may be a Supermassive Black Hole. Astronomers found an intense radio source with strings of other radio sources clustered about it in the direction of the galactic center. The
How the Big Bang Evolved into Life On Earth Should we as humans expect to find intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe? There are many reasons for and against this concept, but first we should trace just how our terrestrial life started. The beginning of time and the universe began with the Big Bang. This was an explosion that started the expansion of the universe. In the most basic sense, the standard model is simply the idea that every bit of the matter and energy in the universe was once
A Galaxy is an enormous collection of billions of stars, gas and dust held together by the force of gravity. Our sun and all the other visible stars in the night sky belong to the Milky Way galaxy. The entire Milky Way galaxy itself contains over 200 billion stars with an average separation of 5 light years between each of them. Similarly, there are billions of other galaxies are existing in our unimaginably vast Universe. Galaxies come in different shapes and sizes. They were first classified according
method used to discover the first quasars was based on coincidences between a strong radio source and a point-like optical source. Since each radio source was associated with a star it was originally thought that quasars were objects within the galaxy hence the term 'radio stars'. Quasars or quasi-stellar radio source, from the method by which they where originally discovered: as stellar optical counterparts to small regions of strong radio emission. With increasing spatial resolution of radio
In Astronomy the geocentric model or view of the universe is the description of Earth being the center orbit of all of earth’s celestial bodies. This model served as the predominant cosmological system in many ancient civilizations such as ancient Greece including the noteworthy systems of Aristotle and Ptolemy. As such, they assumed that the Sun, Moon, stars, and naked eye planets circled Earth. The many minor members of the solar system are the asteroid and comet. The asteroid is a small, rocky
telescope has also let us reach out and explore the far reaches of space and help to solve the unsolved questions about our own existence. We wanted to know what was in space and we used the telescope to know! Not only does it help us see planets, stars, galaxies, etc. but it also helps us discover them. Hubble has seen the birth and death of stars. That is how we know how they are born and how long they live. This telescope can help us know if there is a meteorite coming into earth and it gives us a warning
"Quantized Galaxy Red shifts" by William G. Tifft & W. John Cocker, University of Arizona, Sky & Telescope Magazine, Jan., 1987, pgs. 19-21. I thank Mark Stewart for this material: As the turn of the next century approaches, we again find an established science in trouble trying to explain the behavior of the natural world. This time the problem is in cosmology, the study of the structure and "evolution" of the universe as revealed by its largest physical systems, galaxies and clusters
The Cosmos dictate the life and death of every organism within its grasps. The universe gave birth to us and will eventually lead to the end of all human existence. What lies in the vast emptiness of space carries a great amount of crucial knowledge that all humans should be aware of. The cosmos should be an important subject in the life of any human who cherishes their life. Our universe should be of great importance to all people. A single event created everything we see today; time, space,
is now. Black holes have a power far greater than our minds can imagine. This report will go into further discussion on these massive holes in space. Now, though, astronomers have uncovered a much better candidate for a black hole in our galaxy. It lies in the constellation Monoceros some three or four thousand light-years away. Monoceros was discovered in 1975, when it emitted a shower of light and x-rays. Observations soon revealed that Monoceros was a binary consisting of
Galaxies are large groups of stars, dust, and gas. Galaxies contain planets, star system and clusters, and interstellar clouds. In between these objects, there’s a sparse interstellar medium of gas, dust, and cosmic rays. There are supermassive black holes located at the center of most galaxies. Supermassive black holes are the largest type of black hole. Galaxies that have less than a billion stars are considered “small galaxies”. Galaxies are categorized according to their shape. There are three
“Eventually, we reach the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows and search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial,” is a quote about Hubble’s views on discovery and exploration of the universe (Hubble, 1936). Edwin Powell Hubble was born in Marshfield, Missouri, USA on November 29 1889 but later moved to Chicago with his family, where he completed his post secondary education and obtained an undergraduate degree in mathematics and