History of the Universe Timeline

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

History of the Universe Timeline Document name: History of the universe timeline Document date: 2015 Copyright information: BBC/The Open University OpenLearn Study Unit: In the night sky: Orion OpenLearn url: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/course/view.php?id=1270 History of the universe timeline Monica Grady www.open.edu/openlearn Page 1 of 1 STARGAZING LIVE THE UNIVERSE THROUGH TIME 20 BILLION YEARS You can download the 13.7 BILLION Stargazing LIVE Star Guide YEARS and find out more about 10 BILLION free Stargazing LIVE events at bbc.co.uk/stargazing 9 BILLION YEARS SUN expands A FEW BILLION YEARS to RED GIANT A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS 300,000 YEARS S A FEW YEARS N I MINUTES Y G A E D N B O I FIRST H T T UNIVERSE BIG NUCLEI EXPANSION OF THE A HIGH FORM FIRST GALAXIES R eventually L ENERGY COLD UNIVERSE BEGINS A F particle FIRST AND DARK BANG AND STARS FORM E atoms N REACTIONS I form TO ACCELERATE N T O N E E F I S END OF LIFE E Formation OF THE L ON EARTH The Universe has R SOLAR SYSTEM, expanded and P cooled ever since INCLUDING EARTH TIME SIZE UNOBSERVABLE UNIVERSE (PAST) POTENTIALLY OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE (PAST) TODAY FUTURE THE BEGINNING FRACTION OF 1 SECOND 100 – 1000 300,000 YEARS A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS A FEW BILLION YEARS 9 BILLION YEARS 10 BILLION YEARS 13.7 BILLION YEARS 20 BILLION YEARS 10100 YEARS The Universe begins 13.7 A SECOND The Large Hadron SECONDS We can detect radiation Matter clumps together under its own gravity forming the first protogalaxies and Initially, the expansion of the Universe decelerated – but a The Sun, along with its eight The first life appears on This is where we are today. Using our own In a few billion years the Sun’s outer layers Stars no longer form; matter is trapped in billion years ago with an event Collider at CERN is from the early formation within them, the first stars. few billion years after the Big Bang, the expansion began to planets, and all the Earth in the form of simple ingenuity, humanity is probing the depths of the will expand as it turns into a Red Giant star. black holes or dead stars. Protons decay Rapid expansion occurs Nuclei of hydrogen, known as the Big Bang. recreating the of the Universe back as accelerate. The acceleration is caused by a mysterious asteroids, comets and cells. Impacting comets and Universe and trying to unravel its mysteries, Life on Earth will become impossible. and black holes evaporate, leaving the during a billionth of a helium, lithium and Stars are nuclear furnaces in which heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen, silicon conditions that far as this point. Before force known as ‘dark energy’, the nature of which is Kuiper Belt objects, such as asteroids might have from our tiny, home planet, Earth. The visible Universe to its ultimate fate as cold, dead, Both time and space are billionth of a billionth of a other light elements and iron are formed. Massive stars exploding as supernovae create even heavier Expansion of the Universe will continue to prevailed a fraction this, the Universe is completely unknown. Pluto, form from the debris contributed organic Universe contains billions of galaxies, each empty space, containing only radiation, which created in this event. billionth of a second – the form. elements. Such explosions send material into space ready to be incorporated into accelerate. of a second after the opaque: it’s as if a veil left behind by earlier molecules to Earth. Life comprising billions of stars. Within our own itself too will eventually disperse. visible Universe is the size future generations of stars and planets. Big Bang. has been pulled over it. generations of stars. spreads across the globe. Galaxy, hundreds of exoplanets have been of a grapefruit. discovered orbiting other stars. Stargazing LIVE is a BBC and Open University co-production. Credit: Photography sourced from NASA..
Recommended publications
  • Dark Energy and Dark Matter As Inertial Effects Introduction
    Dark Energy and Dark Matter as Inertial Effects Serkan Zorba Department of Physics and Astronomy, Whittier College 13406 Philadelphia Street, Whittier, CA 90608 [email protected] ABSTRACT A disk-shaped universe (encompassing the observable universe) rotating globally with an angular speed equal to the Hubble constant is postulated. It is shown that dark energy and dark matter are cosmic inertial effects resulting from such a cosmic rotation, corresponding to centrifugal (dark energy), and a combination of centrifugal and the Coriolis forces (dark matter), respectively. The physics and the cosmological and galactic parameters obtained from the model closely match those attributed to dark energy and dark matter in the standard Λ-CDM model. 20 Oct 2012 Oct 20 ph] - PACS: 95.36.+x, 95.35.+d, 98.80.-k, 04.20.Cv [physics.gen Introduction The two most outstanding unsolved problems of modern cosmology today are the problems of dark energy and dark matter. Together these two problems imply that about a whopping 96% of the energy content of the universe is simply unaccounted for within the reigning paradigm of modern cosmology. arXiv:1210.3021 The dark energy problem has been around only for about two decades, while the dark matter problem has gone unsolved for about 90 years. Various ideas have been put forward, including some fantastic ones such as the presence of ghostly fields and particles. Some ideas even suggest the breakdown of the standard Newton-Einstein gravity for the relevant scales. Although some progress has been made, particularly in the area of dark matter with the nonstandard gravity theories, the problems still stand unresolved.
    [Show full text]
  • Geological Timeline
    Geological Timeline In this pack you will find information and activities to help your class grasp the concept of geological time, just how old our planet is, and just how young we, as a species, are. Planet Earth is 4,600 million years old. We all know this is very old indeed, but big numbers like this are always difficult to get your head around. The activities in this pack will help your class to make visual representations of the age of the Earth to help them get to grips with the timescales involved. Important EvEnts In thE Earth’s hIstory 4600 mya (million years ago) – Planet Earth formed. Dust left over from the birth of the sun clumped together to form planet Earth. The other planets in our solar system were also formed in this way at about the same time. 4500 mya – Earth’s core and crust formed. Dense metals sank to the centre of the Earth and formed the core, while the outside layer cooled and solidified to form the Earth’s crust. 4400 mya – The Earth’s first oceans formed. Water vapour was released into the Earth’s atmosphere by volcanism. It then cooled, fell back down as rain, and formed the Earth’s first oceans. Some water may also have been brought to Earth by comets and asteroids. 3850 mya – The first life appeared on Earth. It was very simple single-celled organisms. Exactly how life first arose is a mystery. 1500 mya – Oxygen began to accumulate in the Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen is made by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) as a product of photosynthesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Geology Timeline
    Red Rock Canyon NCA Environmental Education Program Geology Timeline Grades: 3-12 Objective: Demonstrate the relative distance of events in Estimated Time: 15-30 minutes time Standards Met: Procedure: 3-5 grade: Lead in to topic by discussing the age of the o Science E.5.C Students earth and how long students think various things understand that features on the of the surrounding area are. Earth's surface are constantly changed by a combination of Ask a chaperone to hold one end of the yarn to slow and rapid processes. mark the beginning of the earth. Explain that the earth is 4.6 billion years old, and that you’ll be 6-8 grade: doing an activity to get a better understanding of o Science E.8.C Students the age of everything around you. understand that landforms result from a combination of Have the students walk with you to when rocks constructive and destructive first appear on earth, 12 feet from the chaperone, processes. and mark it with tape or yarn. Explain that to 9-12 grade: scale this represents 600 million years and how o Science E.12.C Students geology is measured on a much larger scale that understand evidence for we are used to looking at things. processes that take place on a geological time scale. Note: Depending on your class, it may be helpful to have the measurements pre-marked on the Materials Needed: yarn before doing activity with students. Ball of yarn or twine Method for measuring Continue on as a group to the third point, when Brightly colored tape or contrasting life begins on earth, 16 feet from the chaperone.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 2 Our Place in the Universe (Cont'd)
    Astronomy 110 –1 Lecture 2 Our Place in the Universe (Cont’d) 14/01/09 1 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. A few useful mathematical skills 14/01/09 2 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Powers of ten 103 = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000 102 = 10 x 10 = 100 101 = 10 100 = 1 10-1 = 1/10 = 0.1 10-2 = 1/10 x 1/10 = 0.01 10-3 = 1/10 x 1/10 x 1/10 = 0.001 Then: 300 = 3 x 100 = 3 x 102 2,500 = 2.5 x 1000 = 2.5 x 103 14/01/09 3 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Multiplying & dividing 101 x 101 = 100 = 102 101 x 102 = 10 x 100 = 1000 = 103 102 x 102 = 100 x 100 = 10000 = 104 When multiplying two powers of ten, add the exponents 1000 ÷ 100 = 103 ÷ 102 = 10 = 101 10 ÷ 10 = 101 ÷ 101 = 1 = 100 10 ÷ 100 = 101 ÷ 102 = 1/10 = 10-1 When dividing, subtract exponent of divisor from exponent of numerator 14/01/09 4 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Powers and roots (104)3 = 104 x 104 x 104 = 1012 Rule of thumb: when raising to a power, multiply exponents What about √(104)? √(104) = 102 taking roots is the same as raising to a fractional power, in this case 1/2 power: √(104) = (104)1/2 = 102 √ is the same as raising to 1/2 power 3√ is the same as raising to 1/3 power 4√ is the same as raising to 1/4 power 14/01/09 5 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Fine-Tuning, Complexity, and Life in the Multiverse*
    Fine-Tuning, Complexity, and Life in the Multiverse* Mario Livio Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA E-mail: [email protected] and Martin J. Rees Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The physical processes that determine the properties of our everyday world, and of the wider cosmos, are determined by some key numbers: the ‘constants’ of micro-physics and the parameters that describe the expanding universe in which we have emerged. We identify various steps in the emergence of stars, planets and life that are dependent on these fundamental numbers, and explore how these steps might have been changed — or completely prevented — if the numbers were different. We then outline some cosmological models where physical reality is vastly more extensive than the ‘universe’ that astronomers observe (perhaps even involving many ‘big bangs’) — which could perhaps encompass domains governed by different physics. Although the concept of a multiverse is still speculative, we argue that attempts to determine whether it exists constitute a genuinely scientific endeavor. If we indeed inhabit a multiverse, then we may have to accept that there can be no explanation other than anthropic reasoning for some features our world. _______________________ *Chapter for the book Consolidation of Fine Tuning 1 Introduction At their fundamental level, phenomena in our universe can be described by certain laws—the so-called “laws of nature” — and by the values of some three dozen parameters (e.g., [1]). Those parameters specify such physical quantities as the coupling constants of the weak and strong interactions in the Standard Model of particle physics, and the dark energy density, the baryon mass per photon, and the spatial curvature in cosmology.
    [Show full text]
  • Galaxy Redshifts: from Dozens to Millions
    GALAXY REDSHIFTS: FROM DOZENS TO MILLIONS Chris Impey University of Arizona The Expanding Universe • Evolution of the scale factor from GR; metric assumes homogeneity and isotropy (~FLRW). • Cosmological redshift fundamentally differs from a Doppler shift. • Galaxies (and other objects) are used as space-time markers. Expansion History and Contents Science is Seeing The expansion history since the big bang and the formation of large scale structure are driven by dark matter and dark energy. Observing Galaxies Galaxy Observables: • Redshift (z) • Magnitude (color, SED) • Angular size (morphology) All other quantities (size, luminosity, mass) derive from knowing a distance, which relates to redshift via a cosmological model. The observables are poor distance indicators. Other astrophysical luminosity predictors are required. (Cowie) ~90% of the volume or look-back time is probed by deep field • Number of galaxies in observable universe: ~90% of the about 100 billion galaxies in the volume • Number of stars in the are counted observable universe: about 1022 Heading for 100 Million (Baldry/Eisenstein) Multiplex Advantage Cannon (1910) Gemini/GMOS (2010) Sluggish, Spacious, Reliable. Photography CCD Imaging Speedy, Cramped, Finicky. 100 Years of Measuring Galaxy Redshifts Who When # Galaxies Size Time Mag Scheiner 1899 1 (M31) 0.3m 7.5h V = 3.4 Slipher 1914 15 0.6m ~5h V ~ 8 Slipher 1917 25 0.6m ~5h V ~ 8 Hubble/Slipher 1929 46 1.5m ~6h V ~ 10 Hum/May/San 1956 800 5m ~2h V = 11.6 Photographic 1960s 1 ~4m ~2.5h V ~ 15 Image Intensifier 1970s
    [Show full text]
  • New Constraints on Cosmic Reionization
    New Constraints on Cosmic Reionization Brant Robertson UCSC Exploring the Universe with JWST ESA / ESTEC, The Netherlands October 12, 2015 1 Exploring the Universe with JWST, 10/12/2015 B. Robertson, UCSC Brief History of the Observable Universe 1100 Redshift 12 8 6 1 13.8 13.5 Billions of years ago 13.4 12.9 8 Adapted from Robertson et al. Nature, 468, 49 (2010). 2 Exploring the Universe with JWST, 10/12/2015 B. Robertson, UCSC Observational Facilities Over the Next Decade 1100 Redshift 12 8 6 1 Planck Future 21cm Current 21cm LSST Thirty Meter Telescope WFIRST ALMA Hubble Chandra Fermi James Webb Space Telescope 13.8 13.5 Billions of years ago 13.4 12.9 8 Observations with JWST, WFIRST, TMT/E-ELT, LSST, ALMA, and 21- cm will drive astronomical discoveries over the next decade. Adapted from Robertson et al. Nature, 468, 49 (2010). 3 Exploring the Universe with JWST, 10/12/2015 B. Robertson, UCSC 1100 Redshift 12 8 6 1 Planck Future 21cm Current 21cm LSST Thirty Meter Telescope WFIRST ALMA Hubble Chandra Fermi James Webb Space Telescope 13.8 13.5 Billions of years ago 13.4 12.9 8 1. What can we learn about Cosmic Dawn? Was it a dramatic event in a narrow period of time or did the birth of galaxies happen gradually? 2. Can we be sure light from early galaxies caused cosmic reionization? We have some guide on when reionization occurred from studying the thermal glow of the Big Bang (microwave background), but what were the sources of ionizing photons? 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Critical Analysis of Article "21 Reasons to Believe the Earth Is Young" by Jeff Miller
    1 Critical analysis of article "21 Reasons to Believe the Earth is Young" by Jeff Miller Lorence G. Collins [email protected] Ken Woglemuth [email protected] January 7, 2019 Introduction The article by Dr. Jeff Miller can be accessed at the following link: http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=5641 and is an article published by Apologetic Press, v. 39, n.1, 2018. The problems start with the Article In Brief in the boxed paragraph, and with the very first sentence. The Bible does not give an age of the Earth of 6,000 to 10,000 years, or even imply − this is added to Scripture by Dr. Miller and other young-Earth creationists. R. C. Sproul was one of evangelicalism's outstanding theologians, and he stated point blank at the Legionier Conference panel discussion that he does not know how old the Earth is, and the Bible does not inform us. When there has been some apparent conflict, either the theologians or the scientists are wrong, because God is the Author of the Bible and His handiwork is in general revelation. In the days of Copernicus and Galileo, the theologians were wrong. Today we do not know of anyone who believes that the Earth is the center of the universe. 2 The last sentence of this "Article In Brief" is boldly false. There is almost no credible evidence from paleontology, geology, astrophysics, or geophysics that refutes deep time. Dr. Miller states: "The age of the Earth, according to naturalists and old- Earth advocates, is 4.5 billion years.
    [Show full text]
  • The Geologic Time Scale Is the Eon
    Exploring Geologic Time Poster Illustrated Teacher's Guide #35-1145 Paper #35-1146 Laminated Background Geologic Time Scale Basics The history of the Earth covers a vast expanse of time, so scientists divide it into smaller sections that are associ- ated with particular events that have occurred in the past.The approximate time range of each time span is shown on the poster.The largest time span of the geologic time scale is the eon. It is an indefinitely long period of time that contains at least two eras. Geologic time is divided into two eons.The more ancient eon is called the Precambrian, and the more recent is the Phanerozoic. Each eon is subdivided into smaller spans called eras.The Precambrian eon is divided from most ancient into the Hadean era, Archean era, and Proterozoic era. See Figure 1. Precambrian Eon Proterozoic Era 2500 - 550 million years ago Archaean Era 3800 - 2500 million years ago Hadean Era 4600 - 3800 million years ago Figure 1. Eras of the Precambrian Eon Single-celled and simple multicelled organisms first developed during the Precambrian eon. There are many fos- sils from this time because the sea-dwelling creatures were trapped in sediments and preserved. The Phanerozoic eon is subdivided into three eras – the Paleozoic era, Mesozoic era, and Cenozoic era. An era is often divided into several smaller time spans called periods. For example, the Paleozoic era is divided into the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous,and Permian periods. Paleozoic Era Permian Period 300 - 250 million years ago Carboniferous Period 350 - 300 million years ago Devonian Period 400 - 350 million years ago Silurian Period 450 - 400 million years ago Ordovician Period 500 - 450 million years ago Cambrian Period 550 - 500 million years ago Figure 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Timeline
    SCIENCE IN THE PARK: GEOLOGY GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE ANALOGY PURPOSE: To show students the order of events and time periods in geologic time and the order of events and ages of the physiographic provinces in Virginia. BACKGROUND: Exact dates for events change as scientists explore geologic time. Dates vary from resource to resource and may not be the same as the dates that appear in your text book. Analogies for geologic time: a 24 hour clock or a yearly calendar. Have students or groups of students come up with their own original analogy. Before you assign this activity, you may want to try it, depending on the age of the student, level of the class, or time constraints, you may want to leave out the events that have a date of less than 1 million years. ! Review conversions in the metric system before you begin this activity ! References L.S. Fichter, 1991 (1997) http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/vageol/vahist/images/Vahistry.PDF http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html Wicander, Reed. Historical Geology. Fourth Edition. Toronto, Ontario: Brooks/Cole, 2004. Print. VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING ES.10 The student will investigate and understand that many aspects of the history and evolution of the Earth can be inferred by studying rocks and fossils. Key concepts include: relative and absolute dating; rocks and fossils from many different geologic periods and epochs are found in Virginia. Developed by C.P. Anderson Page 1 SCIENCE IN THE PARK: GEOLOGY Building a Geologic Time Scale Time: Materials Meter stick, 5 cm adding machine tape, pencil, colored pencils Procedure 1.
    [Show full text]
  • DECODING the PAST: the Work of Archaeologists
    to TEACHINGRT WITH THE POWER OOOF OBJECTS Smithsonian Institution November/December 1995 DECODING THE PAST: The Work of Archaeologists Inside Subjects Grades Publication of Art to Zoo is made possible Lesson Plan Social Studies 4–9 through the generous support of the Pacific Take-Home Page Science Mutual Foundation. in English/Spanish Language Arts CONTENTS Introduction page 3 Lesson Plan Step 1 page 6 Worksheet 1 page 7 Lesson Plan Step 2 page 8 Worksheet 2 page 9 Lesson Plan Step 3 page 10 Take-Home Page page 11 Take-Home Page in Spanish page 13 Resources page 15 Art to Zoo’s purpose is to help teachers bring into their classrooms the educational power of museums and other community resources. Art to Zoo draws on the Smithsonian’s hundreds of exhibitions and programs—from art, history, and science to aviation and folklife—to create classroom- ready materials for grades four through nine. Each of the four annual issues explores a single topic through an interdisciplinary, multicultural Above photo: The layering of the soil can tell archaeologists much about the past. (Big Bend Reservoir, South Dakota) approach. The Smithsonian invites teachers to duplicate Cover photo: Smithsonian Institution archaeologists take a Art to Zoo materials for educational use. break during the River Basin Survey project, circa 1950. DECODING THE PAST: The Work of Archaeologists Whether you’re ten or one hundred years old, you have a sense of the past—the human perception of the passage of time, as recent as an hour ago or as far back as a decade ago.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philosophy and Physics of Time Travel: the Possibility of Time Travel
    University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well Honors Capstone Projects Student Scholarship 2017 The Philosophy and Physics of Time Travel: The Possibility of Time Travel Ramitha Rupasinghe University of Minnesota, Morris, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/honors Part of the Philosophy Commons, and the Physics Commons Recommended Citation Rupasinghe, Ramitha, "The Philosophy and Physics of Time Travel: The Possibility of Time Travel" (2017). Honors Capstone Projects. 1. https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/honors/1 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Philosophy and Physics of Time Travel: The possibility of time travel Ramitha Rupasinghe IS 4994H - Honors Capstone Project Defense Panel – Pieranna Garavaso, Michael Korth, James Togeas University of Minnesota, Morris Spring 2017 1. Introduction Time is mysterious. Philosophers and scientists have pondered the question of what time might be for centuries and yet till this day, we don’t know what it is. Everyone talks about time, in fact, it’s the most common noun per the Oxford Dictionary. It’s in everything from history to music to culture. Despite time’s mysterious nature there are a lot of things that we can discuss in a logical manner. Time travel on the other hand is even more mysterious.
    [Show full text]