Post on 20-Jan-2016
The History of the Universe
Spaceship Earth
The Human Adventure of Astronomy
A brief view of the steps that led to us…
Each day represents about 38 million years
On the Cosmic Calendar, in what month did the Milky Way form?
A) February
B) May
C) July
D) September
E) December
On the Cosmic Calendar, in what month did our solar system form?
A) February
B) May
C) July
D) September
E) December
On the Cosmic Calendar, on what date did humans first appear on earth?
A) New Year’s Day
B) Valentine’s Day
C) Memorial Day
D) Halloween
E) New Year’s Eve
Motion of the surface of Earth due to rotation
~ 1000 mph
~ 780 mph
Motion of the Earth due to revolution
107,000 km/hr
(Astronomical Unit)
~ 67,000 mph
Motion of the solar system with respect to the galaxy
> 100,000 km/hr
And our galaxy moves with respect to other galaxies, too!
~ 480,000 mph
And galaxies move relative to each other…
The Local Group
> 350,000 mph
The flow of galaxies in our supercluster
500 million ly across
The raisin cake analogy for the expansion of the universe
The universe is expanding
A summary of all the motions…
Aristotle
Aristarchus
Ancient Views of the Universe
But the evidence wasn’t convincing
at the time…
CopernicusProposed the Sun-
centered model again
KeplerFirst to propose the
correct model of planetary orbits
GalileoProvided solid evidence that the
Earth orbits the Sun
Developments in the 1500’ and 1600’s
Harlowe ShapleyMeasured the size of our galaxy.
Showed we are not in the center of that, either.
Edwin HubbleMeasured distances to other galaxies.
Discovered the expansion of the universe.
Developments in the 20th century
And we continue to explore and extend our reach
Curiosity – Mars
Cassini – Saturn
New Horizons – Pluto, and beyond!
Astro-Cash Cab!
Jonathon Hazard
Jessica Chiles
Nick Smith
Derek DiThomas
Rebecca Lopez
1) True or False?
People who live in Alaska are moving faster than people who live in Ecuador.
2) Name one space probe we’ve put up to explore our solar system
3) On the Cosmic Calendar, in what month did the Sun and planets form?
March
June
September
December
4) The average distance from the Sun to
the Earth is called a(n) … ?