UNIVERSE

INTRODUCTION
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of existence including
planets, stars, and galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space, and all
matter and energy. Similar terms include the cosmos, the world and
nature.

The observable universe is about 46 billion light years in radius. Scientific

observation of the Universe has led to inferences of its earlier stages.
These observations suggest that the Universe has been governed by the
same physical laws and constants throughout most of its extent and
history.
 THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

There are many competing theories about the ultimate fate of the universe.
Physicists remain unsure about what, if anything, preceded the Big Bang.
Many refuse to speculate, doubting that any information from any such
prior state could ever be accessible. There are various multiverse
hypotheses, in which physicists have suggested that the Universe might
be one among many universes that likewise exist.
The three main theories are:
The Steady Sate theory: It states that the counting of the galaxies in our
Universe is constant and new galaxies which are forming continuously are
filling the empty spaces which are created by those heavenly bodies which
have crossed the boundary lines of observable Universe.
The Pulsating Theory: In this theory it is assumed that there is
continuous expansion and contraction in universe. A word which can
replace the above definition is Pulsating.
The Big Bang Theory: The Big Bang theory is the prevailing
cosmological model that describes the early development of the Universe.
According to the theory, the Big Bang occurred approximately 13.798
0.037 billion years ago, which is thus considered the age of the universe.
THE BIG BANG THEORY
The most popular theory of our universe's origin centers on a cosmic
cataclysm unmatched in all of historythe big bang. This theory was born
of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at
great speed, in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient
explosive force.
Big bang proponents suggest that some 10 billion to 20 billion years ago,
a massive blast allowed all the universe's known matter and energyeven
space and time themselvesto spring from some ancient and unknown
type of energy.
The theory maintains that, in the instanta trillion-trillionth of a
secondafter the big bang, the universe expanded with incomprehensible
speed from its pebble-size origin to astronomical scope. Expansion has
apparently continued, but much more slowly, over the ensuing billions of
years.
It offers a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of observed
phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic
microwave background, large scale structure, and the Hubble diagram.
The core ideas of the Big Bangthe expansion, the early hot state, the
formation of light elements, and the formation of galaxiesare derived
from these and other observations. As the distance between galaxies
increases today, in the past galaxies were closer together. The earliest
instant of the Big Bang expansion is still an area of open investigation.
The Big Bang theory does not provide any explanation for the initial
conditions of the universe; rather, it describes and explains the general
evolution of the universe going forward from that point on.
ORIGINS OF THE THEORY OF BIG BANG

Georges Lematre first proposed what became the Big Bang theory in
what he called his "hypothesis of the primeval atom".

Over time, scientists built on his initial ideas to form the modern synthesis.
In 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that the distances to far away galaxies
were strongly correlated with their redshiftsan idea originally suggested
by Lematre in 1927. Assuming that we are not at the center of a giant
explosion, the only remaining interpretation is that all observable regions
of the universe are receding from each other.
 SOLAR SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
The Solar System comprises the Sun and its planetary system of eight
planets, as well as a number of dwarf planets, satellites (moons), and
other objects that orbit the Sun. It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the
gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud.

The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the
remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner planets,
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, also called the terrestrial planets, are
primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets, called the
gas giants, are substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two
largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium;
the two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are composed largely of
substances with relatively high melting points (compared with hydrogen
and helium), called ices, such as water, ammonia and methane, and are
often referred to separately as "ice giants". All planets have almost
circular orbits that lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic plane.
The four inner planets are:
1. Mercury: Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest
planet in the Solar System (0.055 Earth masses). Mercury has no
natural satellites, and its only known geological features besides
impact craters are lobed ridges or rupes.
2. Venus: Venus is close in size to Earth and, like Earth, has a thick
silicate mantle around an iron core, a substantial atmosphere, and
evidence of internal geological activity. Venus has no natural
satellites. It is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures over 400
C (752F)
3. Earth : Earth (1 AU from the Sun) is the largest and densest of the
inner planets, the only one known to have current geological
activity, and the only place where life is known to exist. Its liquid
hydrosphere is unique among the terrestrial planets, and it is also the
only planet where plate tectonics has been observed. Earth's
atmosphere is radically different from those of the other planets,
having been altered by the presence of life to contain 21% free
oxygen. It has one natural satellite, the Moon, the only large satellite
of a terrestrial planet in the Solar System
4. Mars: Mars is smaller than Earth and Venus). It possesses an
atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide with a surface pressure of 6.1
millibars. Its red colour comes from iron oxide (rust) in its soil. Mars
has two tiny natural satellites (Deimos and Phobos) thought to be
captured asteroids.
Other than this the inner surface includes Asteroid belts, Ceres (largest
asteroid planet, dwarf planet) & asteroid groups.
The outer planets are:
1. Jupiter: Jupiter is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets put
together. It is composed largely of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter has
67 known satellites. The four largest, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and
Europa, show similarities to the terrestrial planets, such as
volcanism and internal heating. Ganymede, the largest satellite in
the Solar System, is larger than Mercury.
2. Saturn: Saturn, distinguished by its extensive ring system, has
several similarities to Jupiter, such as its atmospheric composition
and magnetosphere. Although Saturn has 60% of Jupiter's volume,
it is less than a third as massive making it the least dense planet in
the Solar System. The rings of Saturn are made up of small ice and
rock particles. Saturn has 62 confirmed satellites.

3. Uranus: Uranus is the lightest of the outer planets. Uniquely among

the planets, it orbits the Sun on its side; its axial tilt is over ninety
degrees to the ecliptic. Uranus has 27 known satellites, the largest
ones being Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, and Miranda.

4. Neptune: Neptune though slightly smaller than Uranus, is more

massive and therefore denser. Neptune has 14 known satellites. The
largest, Triton, is geologically active, with geysers of liquid
nitrogen.
The outer surface further contains Centaurs, icy comet-like bodies.

NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS

In cosmogony, the nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted

model explaining the formation and evolution of the Solar System.
There is evidence that it was first proposed in 1734 by Emanuel
Swedenborg. Originally applied only to our own Solar System, this
method of planetary system formation is now thought to be at work
throughout the universe. The widely accepted modern variant of
the nebular hypothesis is Solar Nebular Disk Model (SNDM) or
simply Solar Nebular Model.

According to the nebular hypothesis, stars form in massive and

dense clouds of molecular hydrogengiant molecular clouds
(GMC). They are gravitationally unstable, and matter coalesces to
smaller denser clumps within, which then proceed to collapse and
form stars. Star formation is a complex process, which always
produces a gaseous protoplanetary disk around the young star. This
may give birth to planets in certain circumstances, which are not
well known. Thus the formation of planetary systems is thought to
be a natural result of star formation. A sun-like star usually takes
around 100 million years to form.

The protoplanetary disk is an accretion disk which proceeds to feed

the central star. Initially very hot, the disk later cools in what is
known as the T tauri star stage; here, formation of small dust
grains made of rocks and ices is possible. The grains may
eventually coagulate into kilometer-sized planetesimals. If the disk
is massive enough the runaway accretions begin, resulting in the
rapid100,000 to 300,000 yearsformation of Moon- to Mars-
sized planetary embryos. Near the star, the planetary embryos go
through a stage of violent mergers, producing a few terrestrial
planets. The last stage takes around 100 million to a billion years.

The formation of giant planets is a more complicated process. It is

thought to occur beyond the so-called snow line, where planetary
embryos are mainly made of various ices. As a result they are
several times more massive than in the inner part of the
protoplanetary disk. What follows after the embryo formation is
not completely clear. However, some embryos appear to continue
to grow and eventually reach 510 Earth massesthe threshold
value, which is necessary to begin accretion of the hydrogen
helium gas from the disk. The accumulation of gas by the core is
initially a slow process, which continues for several million years,
but after the forming protoplanet reaches about 30 Earth masses it
accelerates and proceeds in a runaway manner. The Jupiter and
Saturnlike planets are thought to accumulate the bulk of their
mass during only 10,000 years. The accretion stops when the gas is
exhausted. The formed planets can migrate over long distances
during or after their formation. The ice giants like Uranus and
Neptune are thought to be failed cores, which formed too late when
the disk had almost disappeared.

PROBLEMS

The physics of accretion disks encounters some problems. The

most important one is how the material, which is accreted by the
protostar, loses its angular momentum. One possible explanation
suggested by Hannes Alfven was that angular momentum was shed
by the solar wind during its T Tauri phase. The momentum is
probably transported to the outer parts of the disk, but the precise
mechanism of this transport is not well understood. Another
possible process for shedding angular momentum is magnetic
braking, where the spin of the star is transferred into the
surrounding disk via that star's magnetic field.[18]The process or
processes responsible for the disappearance of the disks are also
poorly known.[19][20]
The formation of planetesimals is the biggest unsolved problem in
the Nebular Disk Model. How 1 cm sized particles coalesce into 1
km planetesimals is a mystery. This mechanism appears to be the
key to the question as to why some stars have planets, while others
have nothing around them, even dust belts.
The formation of giant planets is another unsolved problem.
Current theories are unable to explain how their cores can form
fast enough to accumulate significant amounts of gas from the
quickly disappearing protoplanetary disk. The mean lifetime of the
disks, which are less than 107 years, appears to be shorter than the
time necessary for the core formation.
Another problem of giant planet formation is their migration. Some
calculations show that interaction with the disk can cause rapid
inward migration, which, if not stopped, results in the planet
reaching the "central regions still as a sub-Jovian object.