INTRODUCTION

People are always asking the big questions. How was the universe created? Why does it work
the way it does? Why do we find ourselves on this tiny planet buzzing with life? Looking at
the really big picture prevailed unexpected connections. If you want to know more about
humanity, you have to ask about the whole universe.

THE BIG BANG

Most astronomers believe the Universe began in a Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. At
that time, the entire Universe was inside a bubble that was thousands of times smaller than
a pinhead. It was hotter and denser than anything we can imagine.

Then it suddenly exploded. The Universe that we know was born. Time, space and matter all
began with the Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the Universe grew from smaller than a
single atom to bigger than a galaxy. And it kept on growing at a fantastic rate. It is still
expanding today.

THE UNIVERSE
The Universe is everything we can touch, feel, sense, measure or detect. It includes living
things, planets, stars, galaxies, dust clouds, light, and even time. Before the birth of the
Universe, time, space and matter did not exist.

The Universe contains billions of galaxies, each containing millions or billions of stars. The
space between the stars and galaxies is largely empty. However, even places far from stars
and planets contain scattered particles of dust or a few hydrogen atoms per cubic centimeter.
Space is also filled with radiation (e.g. light and heat), magnetic fields and high energy
particles (e.g. cosmic rays).

No one knows the exact size of the Universe, because we cannot see the edge – if there is one.
All we do know is that the visible Universe is at least 93 billion light years across.

GALAXIES
It is believed that there are 200 million or more galaxies in the known universe. Galaxies are
collections of stars, dust and gas rotating around super massive black holes. Small galaxies,
such as dwarf galaxies can contain as little as tens of millions of stars, while on the other
end of the scale, there are massive galaxies with hundreds of trillions of stars. The diameter
of an average galaxy can reach 326,000 light years, meaning that it would take light 326,000
years to cross the average galaxy.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble began to organize and classify the different types of galaxies that were
being observed by astronomers. The result was the Hubble Classification System, which
categorizes galaxies into three main categories; spiral, elliptical, and irregular.

Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxies are broken down into two main types, normal and barred. Our galaxy, The
Milky Way is thought to be a barred spiral galaxy with a black hole at its center. Spiral
galaxies make comprise up to half of all the galaxies in the known universe.

Elliptical Galaxies
Elliptical galaxies range in shape between being spherical to flat and elongated. Primarily
composed of older stars, elliptical galaxies are usually smaller in number, but can reach one
trillion stars in number.
Irregular galaxies have no regular or symmetrical structure.

STARS
A star is a celestial sphere of gas held together by its own gravity. Stars can vary greatly in
age, size, luminosity, and color. It is estimated that there are 100 billion galaxies in the
universe, each possibly containing 100 billion stars. As you can imagine, all of those stars
are not identical. Stars range in age from those nearly as old as the universe to those being
born every day. As they age, they pass through many known changes in size and color. Small
stars are called dwarfs, and large stars are called giants. The color of a star is dependent
directly on its temperature. Hotter stars are white and blue, and cooler stars are orange and
red. Yellow stars, like our sun, have an average temperature. Some examples includes altair,
Betelgeuse, Procyon, Proxima centauri, Sirius, Alpha Centauri.

CONSTELLATIONS
When we look up into the sky on a clear night, we can see thousands of stars. Sometimes we
might even use our imaginations to see pictures in the stars. These pictures have a scientific
name- constellations. It might be helpful to imagine a constellation as a connect-the-dot
picture where the stars are the dots.

Finding pictures in the sky can be fun, but did you know that star pictures can also serve a
purpose? Constellations have been used by people for thousands of years to give directions
and tell time.

Astronomers are scientists who study outer space. These space experts have named 88
constellations that can be seen from planet earth. Constellations give us outlines of people,
objects, and animals that can help us learn about the earth and stars. Some examples of
constellations are orion, ursa major, ursa minor, draco and Pegasus.