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          1. THE UNIVERSE

          Talking book 

          For thousands of years humans have wondered about the composition and origin of the Universe. The science that studies the origin and evolution of the Universe is astronomy.

          The Universe or Cosmos is defined as everything that exists.

           

          1.1. The origin of the universe

          Talking book 

          Throughout history, astronomers have suggested different hypotheses to explain the origin of the Universe. Today, the theory most widely accepted by scientists is the Big Bang theory.

          1.1.1. The Big Bang theory

          Talking book 

          According to this theory, before the Universe originated, all matter was concentrated in one point. There was so much matter and energy accumulated in this point that the temperature was extremely high.
          As a consequence, there was a huge explosion 13700 million years ago and this is the origin of everything that exists. Matter was released in all directions and the Universe expanded rapidly, in less than a second
          Since then, the expansion of the universe has not stopped, although it expands at a slower rate.

          1.1.2. The theory of inflation

          Talking book 

          This modern theory explains what happened during the first moments after the Big Bang. It studies what occurred one second after the explosion.

          1.2. The position of the Earth in the Universe

          Talking book 

          Different models have been proposed to explain the Earth's position in the universe. The two main models are the geocentric model and the heliocentric model.

          Geocentric model 

          Heliocentric model 

          The prefix geo– comes from Greek and means ‘earth’. This model was suggested by Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. and was formalised by Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D. This model was used until the 16th century. It is based on the following assertions: 

          ❚ The Earth is spherical and is the centre of the Universe. 

          ❚ The Sun, the Moon and the planets revolve in concentric circles around the Earth. 

          ❚ The stars are fixed on a dome that also revolves around the Earth. 

          The prefix helio– comes from Greek and means ‘sun’. This model was suggested by Aristarchus of Samos in the 2nd century B.C., but it was not until the 16th century that it was proposed by Copernicus and verified by Galileo. According to this model: 

          ❚ The Sun does not move and is in the centre of the Universe. 

          ❚ All the planets revolve around the Sun in concentric circles. 

          ❚ The Earth rotates on its axis and the Moon revolves around the Earth. 

          ❚ The stars are fixed on a dome that does not move. 

           

          From the 17th century onwards, scientists, like Johannes Kepler, discovered that the stars are not fixed and that the orbits of the planets are elliptical.

           

          1.3. Distances in the Universe

          Talking book 

          The Universe is so immense that in order to measure distances between galaxies, we need to use different units of measurement to those we use to measure distances on Earth. These units are the light year and the parsec. To measure shorter distances, such as those between the stars and planets of our Solar system, we use astronomical units.

          1.3.1. Light year

          Talking book 
          A light year is equivalent to the distance travelled by light in one year. Light travels at a speed of 300000 km per second.

           

          To have an idea of how far light travels in one year, first we need to find out how many seconds there are in this period of time.
          Given that a year has 365 days, we make the following calculations:

          • 1 year = 365 days
          • 365 days x 24 hours = 8760 h/year
          • 8760 hours x 3 600 s/hour = 31536000 s/year

          Once we have already calculated how many seconds there are in a year, and knowing that light travels 30 0000 km per second:

          31536000 s/year x 300000 km/s = 9460800000000 km

          This means that in one second light travels approximately 9.5 billion kilometres.

          1.3.2. Parsec

          Talking book 
          A parsec (pc) is equivalent to 3.26 light years. It is usually used to measure very large interstellar distances. 

           

          For example, the closest star to the Solar System is Proxima Centauri, which is 1.31 parsecs or 4.28 light years away.

          1.3.3. An astronomical unit

          Talking book 
          An astronomical unit (AU) is the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Its value is equivalent to approximately 150 000 000 km. 

           

          The enormous distance between the stars and the planets in our Solar System means that the light we see from the stars is light they produced in the past, and even the light of stars that are now extinct. It is the same with light from the Sun.
          We know that Earth is 1 AU (150 000 000 km) from the Sun. We also know that light travels at 300 000 km/s. So:

          •  fracción numerador 150 espacio 000 espacio 000 espacio k m entre denominador 300 espacio 000 espacio k m fin fracción = 500 s = 8.33 min 

          That means that the light from the Sun takes a little more than 8 minutes to reach our planet.

          1.4. Composition of the universe: galaxies

          Talking book 
          Key concepts
          • The universe is all the space, matter and energy that exists.
          • The Big Bang theory is the most widely accepted theory to explain the origin of the universe. The theory of inflation explains the first moments after the Big Bang.
          • To measure the distances between galaxies, we use a light year, a parsec and an astronomical unit.
          • A galaxy is a group of stars, nebulae and interstellar dust and gas.

          Because the Universe is immense, we only know a very small part of it, in which there are countless galaxies.

          Galaxies are huge group of stars, nebulae and interstellar dust and gas held together by the force of gravity


          Galaxies can have different shapes: elliptical, lenticular, spiral, barred spiral, and irregular. Spiral galaxies are the most common.

          Galaxies group together forming clusters. These clusters can be composed of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies.

          Weblink 1: Google sky 

          1.4.1.Nebulae

          Talking book 
          Nebulae are huge clouds of gas. They are formed by concentrations of hydrogen and helium as well as interstellar dust. 

           

          Although they do not contain stars, nebulae could have been formed from the remains of old stars that exploded.
          Some nebulae are places where stars are formed. These are born from the concentration of gases and an increase in temperature. This is why nebulae and clusters of stars are frequently found together.

           

           

           

          1

          Activity 1
          What would happen

          2

          Activity 2
          Find out about the Steady State and the Oscillating Universe theory. Write a brief description.

          3

          Activity 3
          Jupiter is around 5.19 AU from the Sun. How many thousands of kilometres is this equivalent to?

          4

          Activity 4
          Put the following distances in order from largest to smallest: 1500 million km, 2 light years and 0.5 pc.

          5

          Activity 5
          If the distance between Mars and the Sun is 228 million kilometres, how far is the Earth from Mars in millions of kilometres? How many AU units is the distance calculated equal to?

          6

          Activity 6
          How many AU are there in a light year?

          7

          Activity 7
          Match the beginning to the end of each sentence and discuss the differences between a galaxy and a nebula.

          8

          Activity 8
          Find out the names of the nearest galaxies to us. Describe their shape and write their distances from our galaxy.

          9

          Activity 9
          Observe the following images:

           
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

          Activity 1

          P
          What would happen if we painted some galaxies on a balloon and we continued to inflate it? What would happen to the galaxies? Would they get closer or further apart? What would happen if we painted some galaxies on a balloon and we continued to inflate it? What would happen to the galaxies? Would they get closer or further apart? What would happen if we painted some galaxies on a balloon and we continued to inflate it? What would happen to the galaxies? Would they get closer or further apart?
          The expansion of the Universe
          The expansion of the Universe

            1 attempt
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
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          Activity 2

          P
          Find out about the Steady State and the Oscillating Universe theory. Write a brief description.  

            1 attempt
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
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          Activity 3

          0/1
          Jupiter is around 5.19 AU from the Sun. How many thousands of kilometres is this equivalent to? 
          • 150 000 000 km = 540 000 000 km

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer
          • 150 000 000 km = 778 500 000 km

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer
          Distances in the Solar System
          Distances in the Solar System

            3 attempts
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
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          Activity 4

          0/3

          Put the following distances in order from largest to smallest: 1500 million km, 2 light years and 0.5 pc. 

          • 1. 2 light years

          • 2. 1500 million km

          • 3. 0.5 pc.

            3 attempts
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
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          Activity 5

          0/1
          If the distance between Mars and the Sun is 228 million kilometres, how far is the Earth from Mars in millions of kilometres? How many AU units is the distance calculated equal to? 
          • 228 million km - 150 million km = 45 million km / 150 million = 0.25 AU

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer
          • 228 million km - 150 million km = 78 million km / 150 million = 0.52 AU

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer

            3 attempts
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
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          Activity 6

          0/1
          How many AU are there in a light year? 
            63,072

            3 attempts
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
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          0/1

          How many kilometres are equal to a parsec? 

          • 4,320,500,000 km

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer
          • 9,460,800,000,000 km

          • Correct answer
            Wrong answer

            3 attempts
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
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          Activity 7

          0/5
          Match the beginning to the end of each sentence and discuss the differences between a galaxy and a nebula. 
          • Galaxies are huge groups

          • Nebulae

          • Galaxies remain connected with each other

          • In galaxies several elements are grouped together:

          • Nebulae are mostly made up of

          • are huge accumulations of gases, mostly hydrogen and helium, as well as interstellar dust.

          • hydrogen, helium and interstellar dust.

          • stars, nebulae and interstellar dust.

          • due to the force of gravity.

          • that include nebulae with stars and interstellar dust.

          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

          Activity 8

          P
          Find out the names of the nearest galaxies to us. Describe their shape and write their distances from our galaxy. 

            1 attempt
          Done
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

          Activity 9

          Observe the following images: 

          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

           

          NaN/0
          t11-multimedia
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

           

          NaN/0
          t12-multimedia
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

           

          NaN/0
          t13-multimedia
          The Universe
          The Earth in the universe
          Without background sound
          Logo

           

          P

          Find out what causes the colour of the nebulae you can see in the photos. 

           

            1 attempt
          Done