1. AIM: To understand the meaning of astronomy and the universe HW: Origins of the Universe reading and handout
Do Now: /17/17
If you were absent Friday, please come see me to take the test.
On your handout, fill out the KWL chart about astronomy. Leave the Learned column blank until the end of the period.

2. ASTRONOMY

3. What is astronomy?
The study of celestial bodies located in outer space (the area outside our atmosphere)
The study of the universe is a branch of 
astronomy known as called cosmology.
Anyone know who this is?

4. Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking is in a wheel chair because his MOTOR NEURONS are not working properly. What does that mean?
Stephen Hawking discovered the Big Bang Theory during his studies of Cosmology.

5. The Universe
The universe is approximately billion years old (On average, it is said to be 15 billion years old.)
How do we know this?
We studied the oldest stars and the rate of their cooling/their life cycle
Examine the rate of expansion based on the Big Bang by using mathematical calculations and the cosmic background of radiation

6. What is a light year? A light year is a unit used to measure
distance between objects in space.
(1 light year = 6 trillion miles)

7. The Big Bang Theory The universe started as a single point.
That point was extremely dense.
It became unstable and expanded outward.
It is a theory that created the universe.
The universe continues to expand today.

9. The Expanding Universe
Think about a balloon. Imagine I were to draw a few dots on a balloon before blowing it up. Once the air enters the balloon and gets bigger, the points start to spread out and expand. This is what they have discovered to be happening to our universe!

10. The universe is our largest structure
The universe is our largest structure. Inside the universe, we have groupings of stars, dust and gas held together by the force of gravity called GALAXIES.
The Milky Way Galaxy is a Spiral shaped galaxy, with solar system located inside. Our solar system lies on the outer edge of the galaxy, NOT in the center.

11. Largest  Smallest 

12. Types of Galaxies
Irregular Galaxies were once spiral or elliptical, but a disturbance in gravitational pull changed the shape!

13. Nebulae
Clouds of gas and dust illuminated by stars and the birthplace of new stars.

14. Horsehead Nebula
Nebula: Any cloud of gas or dust in space. May be bright or dark.
Discovered in the 1800s, this nebula is found in the constellation Orion.
The red glow is hydrogen gas.
It takes 1500 light years to reach the Horsehead nebula.
Source: Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 13,2003: NASA

15. Crab Nebula
The crab nebula is what is left of a star that exploded in 1054AD.
Chinese and Anasazi Indian Astronomers recorded this explosion.
The Crab Nebula is found in the Constellation of Taurus.
Source: Astronomy Picture of the Day-July 14,2002: NASA

16. Cat’s Eye Nebula
Cat's Eye nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth.
A classic planetary nebula represents a final phase in the life of a star.
Astronomers may be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution in about 5 billion years.
Cat's Eye Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / (AURA)
Explanation: Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. A classic planetary nebula, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. Seen so clearly in this sharp Hubble Space Telescope image, the truly cosmic eye is over half a light-year across. Of course, gazing into the Cat's Eye, astronomers may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in about 5 billion years.
Source: Astronomy Picture of the Day: September 2004

17. The Snail Nebula
Visible in the picture is the end of a huge gas and dust pillar
Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains.
The pink dots are newly formed low-mass stars.
Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: December 2003

18. The Eskimo Nebula
In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered the Eskimo Nebula.
This nebula resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood.
The Eskimo Nebula is clearly a planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago.
Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: December 2003

19. Pencil Nebula Shockwave
The shockwave is traveling through space at 500,000km/hr.
It is a expanding shell of a star that exploded 11,000 years ago.
The shockwave is moving from the left to the right.
Source: Astronomy Picture of the Day June 9, 2003: NASA

20. Black Hole at the Center of the Galaxy
Why do some black hole surroundings appear brighter than others?
In the centers of active galaxies, supermassive black holes at least thousands of times the mass of our Sun dominate.
Black Holes
Source: Astronomy Picture of the Day: September 2004

21. Black Holes Video

22. Closure
Go back to your KWL chart and fill in all the things you have learned!!