1. The Universe The Universe

2. How do we know what happened billions of years ago?
Scientific theories are usually formed when someone makes observations and then forms conclusions about what he/she sees.

3. What’s happening? (observe)
The kitchen is messy with spilled flour and sugar, the oven is warm, candles are scattered around the floor.

4. Form a conclusion
Someone is making a birthday cake

5. Detectives are Scientists
They make observations about:
Evidence at the scene
Prints left behind
Motive or reasons
DNA collected

6. …and form conclusions.
They may not have witnessed the crime, but they can make an educated guess about what happened.

7. Which direction did the blast from Mt. St. Helens, WA come from?

8. Which way does the wind usually blow on Humphrey Head Island, UK?

9. Which direction is the bullet moving?
You weren’t there, but you can make an educated guess based on your observations.
Which direction is the bullet moving?
To the right?
To the left?

10. Astronomers (people who study space) are detectives
They study and observe the universe and then form conclusions about out how it probably formed.

11. So how did our universe form?
Using telescopes, spectroscopes, and other instruments, scientists have made the following observations….

12. What is happening to our universe?
Observations
Present day
Years ago
What is happening to our universe?

13. Galaxies are spreading farther and farther apart
If we work backwards, then 13.7 billion years ago, all matter use to be all together

14. How do we know if stars are moving towards Earth or away?
The Doppler effect
Chime demo
Sound waves move differently when they come towards you or move away from you.
Doppler effect siren
Doppler effect car horn

15. Light waves from stars also show a difference when they move.
Use a spectroscope
Red shift = moving away from you
Blue shift = moving towards you

17. What is the star doing?
Moving away from you.
Moving towards you.

18. Astronomers use these observations to conclude that the whole universe must have been all together at one point about 13.7 billion years ago.

19. Bang!!!
The Big Bang! - A well supported scientific theory which explains the beginnings of our universe

20. 13.7 billion years ago, all matter (stuff you can touch) was together in a very small ball, then it exploded. Parts of atoms floated around the universe.

21. One billion years later, atoms formed and large clouds of hydrogen (H) and helium (He) were pulled together due to gravity and galaxies formed.

22. 3. H and He crashed into each other creating light and heat (through nuclear reactions) and stars formed.

23. 4. Other heavier elements came together to form planets and moons

24. Stars, planets, and moons continue to form now throughout the universe.

25. So what will happen to our universe?

26. 5. Most astronomers think the universe will continue to expand indefinitely.

27. Think about the universe being like a balloon-spots on the balloon get farther and farther apart as it expands

28. OR……
???

29. 5. The universe will stop expanding and gravity will pull it back into a ball and then the big bang will happen again.

30. How big is the Universe? Big Bang Theme Song
5min The beginning of the universe
How big is the Universe?
Big Bang Theme Song
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Origins: Back To The Beginning (from 2004) which has the EM spectrum, Big Bang, cosmic microwave background radiation, origin of the elements, atomic spectra - a lot of Big Picture kind of stuff with details of Chemistry in there.  And is nicely done and has Neil's flair.

31. We are star stuff -Carl Sagan

33. Homework
Create a five panel strip that shows the five steps (1-5 on your notes) of the formation of our universe.
Each panel should be colored in and have a brief sentence about what happened.
You may chose either ending to give to panel five.