Life Cycle of Stars

30 April 2009
18:46

All stars start with:

Nebula -> Protostar (Nuclear Fusion Starts) -> Main Sequence

Small Stars:
Main sequence -> Red Giant -> White Dwarf -> Black Dwarf (Stops Shining)

Large Stars (Massive Stars):

Main Sequence -> Red Super Giant -> Collapse inwards to explode into supernova -> Neutron Star

Really Massive Stars:

Main Sequence -> Red Super Giant -> Supernova -> Collapse inward to form black hole

Three types of radiation that stars give off are light waves, microwaves and infrared. Stars get their
energy from fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium.
Scientists believe the universe began about 14 thousand million years ago (14 billion) and that the solar
system was formed about 5 billion years ago.

Evidence for BBT

Red Shift - The elements the stars contain are what create the black lines on the spectrum, as the stars
in other galaxies move away, the black lines move closer to the red end of the spectrum. If the stars and
galaxies were moving closer then there would be blue shift. The stars that are furthest away move faster
than the stars which are closer.
This movement is evidence for the original explosion.

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Bodies in space
30 April 2009
18:46

Comets - Comets are balls of ice and dust that orbit the sun. Their orbits are elliptical and take them very
close and very far away from the sun. They are often visible from earth when they get close to the sun
because the sun's heat vaporises material from their surface, forming a 'tail'.

Asteroids - Asteroids are rocky objects, smaller than planets. Most are found in the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter.

Galaxies - There are thousands of millions of galaxies in the universe. Each contains thousands of
millions of stars.

Telescopes and Satellites

Optical telescopes - These observe visible light radiation from space. There some disadvantages to
optical telescopes on the ground: They can only be used at night, they cannot be used if weather is poor
or cloudy, they cannot be used in areas which have a lot of light pollution.

Radio telescopes - These detect radio waves coming from space. They are very large and expensive but
can be used in bad weather and day or night.

X-ray telescopes - X-ray telescopes must be at a high altitude or flown in balloons because x-rays are
partially blocked by the Earth's atmosphere.

Space telescopes - Objects in the universe emit other electromagnetic radiation such as infrared, x-rays
and gamma rays. These are all blocked by the Earth's atmosphere but can be detected by telescopes
placed in orbit around the Earth. They can observe the whole sky and can operate both night and day,
however they are difficult and expensive to launch and maintain.

A radio telescope at Jodrell Bank

The end of the universe

The end of the universe is difficult to predict and will depend on the amount of mass in the universe.
There are 3 possibilities at the moment and these are that the universe might:
-Expand forever
-Eventually stop expanding ("The big freeze")
-Eventually stop expanding but then contract again in "The big crunch"

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Measuring to the stars
01 May 2009
18:25
Some stars seem to change position very slightly at different times of the year. This is called a parallax,
and happens because the stars are different distances from us.
Astronomers can work out the distances to nearby stars by carefully measuring the angle of the star at
different times of the year compared with the background of more distant stars. The change in the
angles is very small, so measurements have to be very accurate. This way of measuring distances only
works for nearby stars.

From 21st Century Science higher

activebook

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The Earth and Plates
30 April 2009
18:46
The Earth's structure is made up of a solid inner core, a liquid outer core, a solid mantle and a solid
outer crust.

Crust - Relatively thin and rocky

Mantle - Is classed as a solid but convection currents mean it can flow very slowly.
Outer core - Made from liquid Nickel and Iron
Inner core - Made from solid Nickel and Iron

Wegener's Theory
Wegener's theory was that all of the Earth's continents were once joined together but gradually moved
apart. When all the continents were joined together it was called Pangaea. The evidence he had for
continental drift was:
-The same types of fossilised animals and plants were found in South America and Africa.
-The shapes of the east coast of South America and west coast of Africa fit together.
-Matching rock formations and mountain chains are found in South America and Africa.

However, his ideas were rejected because:

-The movements of continents could not be detected because they only move by a few CM each year.
-No-one could provide a good explanation of how whole continents could move apart.
-Wegener was not a geologist, he was an astronomer and meteorologist.
-There were other, simpler explanations for the same evidence.
-It was felt his idea was "too big" for the evidence they had.

It was only in the 1960s, long after Wegener's death in 1930, that the theory of continental drift was
accepted by scientists.

Seafloor spreading and plate tectonics

The Earth is made of plates which move around on the mantle and when they hit each other, they cause
earthquakes and land to be pushed up. These plates make up the crust and top layer of the mantle
(Lithosphere).
Seafloor spreading is when tectonic plates move apart. Molten rock rises between the plates, cools and
solidifies. This creates new seafloor material.

Types of plate boundary:

Constructive - Causes earthquakes and volcanoes. Constructive plate boundaries move apart and create
new sea floor material.
Destructive - Causes earthquakes and volcanoes. Destructive plate boundaries move towards each other
and make mountains.
Conservative/Passive - Cause earthquakes but not volcanoes. The plates pass by each other and do not
make or destroy land.

Tectonic plate boundaries (From 21st Century Science Higher textbook)

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