Astro Quest

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1 Astro Quest Study Material Class 7th, 8th and 9th Scientific Development and Research Organisation, New Delhi

2 1 Topics Dwarf Planets Gravity The Universe Astronomy Dwarf Planets Up until recently, there were nine planets in our solar system. The ninth, Pluto, was kicked out in August of It didn t actually go anywhere. But, we stopped calling it a planet. From then on, Pluto became a dwarf planet. As we ll see, the difference between the two is simple but important. What s more, there are four other dwarf planets in our solar system! Planets Vs. Dwarf Planets It is surprisingly easy to separate planets from dwarf planets. That s because there is only one difference between them. That is: Dwarf planets are planets which haven t cleared their orbit of debris. What this means is that other things orbit along with them. Planets, on the other hand, usually destroy things orbiting with them (if they re not moons).

3 2 Knowing this, we can separate Pluto from the planets. Pluto is part of the Kuiper Belt. This is a ring of comets and asteroids orbiting the Sun. Remember, if something orbits with other objects, it s not a planet. Notably, we didn t originally know Pluto was part of the Kuiper Belt. That s because we found Pluto in 1930 while the Kuiper Belt was found in the 90 s. As we started to find more objects like Pluto in the belt, scientists knew something would have to change. The discovery of Eris (see below) was what really ruined Pluto s planethood. How Many Dwarf Planets are There? Dwarf planets are very difficult to detect, due to their size. As a result, we can only guess how many there are. Within the Solar System, we ve found five so far. Yet some scientists think there could be up to 200 in the Kuiper Belt! Who knows how many might exist in our Universe? For now, we re still trying to learn more about those we ve already found. We ve known about Pluto for a long time, though only one mission has ever gone there. As a result, dwarf planets are kind of mysterious. Fortunately, they re not a total mystery. Here s what we know about the few we ve observed. Dwarf Planets in Our Solar System Ceres Ceres is a dwarf planet within the Asteroid Belt and the closest one to Earth. It s also the smallest of them! That said, Ceres was discovered way back in The most notable thing about Ceres is its volcanic mountain, Ahuna Mons. Scientists believe that Ahuna Mons is the result of volcanic activity under Ceres s surface. Although, this isn t regular volcanism. Instead, it seems that Ahuna Mons is a sort of ice volcano! And if there s ice on Ceres, humans might be able to use it as a source of water. Maybe, instead of Mars, we ll live on Ceres someday!

4 3 Eris Eris is a large, faraway dwarf planet. It s slightly smaller than Pluto, though also slightly heavier. Notably, Eris is the furthest natural object we ve found in our Solar System. Its wide orbit makes it so that one year there equals 558 Earth years. Humorously, Eris was initially called Xena. This is the name of a character from a TV show which aired in the early 2000 s. Planets and dwarf planets are normally named after Gods. Eventually, though, Eris did get a name from Greek mythology. It s named after the goddess of discord and strife. Haumea Haumea is probably the strangest of the dwarf planets. Rather than being a sphere like the rest, it s stretched out, almost like a potato. This odd shape comes from its extremely fast rotation speed: Haumea spins on its axis once every four hours!. Makemake Makemake is another dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. An interesting fact about Makemake is that its surface appears almost black from outer space. But, it remains bright as its shiny ice melts due to the Sun s heat. Pluto Pluto is, of course, the most familiar of the dwarf planets. It s the largest among them, too. You can read much more about Pluto on our Pluto page. But, here s a fun fact about it. Its only 1/3 of the size of our Moon! No wonder it can t clear its orbit. Gravity

5 4 The universe is unbelievably large. Despite this fact, the vast majority of it is empty space! All of its matter exists in dense spheres and clouds. How could this be? Simply put, our Universe is ordered by gravity. Gravity is a force which pulls things together based on their mass. It builds on its own power, allowing for objects with extreme gravity. Black holes are one example which we ll look at here. Newton s Law of Gravity This force has existed since the Universe formed. That said, we weren t sure how it worked until Isaac Newton came around. Newton produced a formula which allowed us to say how strong it is. It predicts how strongly two objects are pulling on each other. To understand Newton s law of gravity, we first have to look at another one of his laws. Newton s third law tells us that for every force, there s an opposite force of equal strength. For example,

6 5 let s say you pick up a rock. You exert a force on the rock to move it upwards. At the same time, the rock pushes down on your hands. This relationship also applies to gravitational forces. Clearly, the Earth is pulling us down. But, we re also all pulling back on the Earth. Nothing happens, though, because we re so much smaller than the Earth. Distance in The Law of Gravity As we ve seen, the basic idea behind this force is that two objects pull on each other. That said, it s a little more complicated than that. A central thing to understand about gravity is that it relies heavily on distance. As objects get further apart, their attraction weakens greatly. Every time their distance doubles, the force between them gets four times weaker! This tells us that objects which are very far apart should feel no real tug from each other. That is, unless, one of them is VERY massive. Interestingly, it s a black hole s gravitational pull that keeps our galaxy together. Our Sun orbits this black hole despite being over 25,000 light years away from it. That s because it s roughly 4,310,000 times more massive than the Sun. How Does Gravity Work? This force guides all large-scale motion in our Universe. But if it s so central, we have to ask: How and why does it work? The answer and this isn t fun to hear is that we don t really know. There is a lot of complicated physics showing how it behaves. But, we don t exactly know how or why it happens in the first place.

7 6 Here s an example to make this clear. Apples sometimes fall from trees. They do so because the Earth s mass causes it to pull things close to it. This pull is gravity. But why is it that things with mass exert a force at all? The answer to this question isn t clear. This is not a satisfying answer, of course. It s just the best we can offer right now. Maybe one day, scientists will figure out what, exactly, this force is. Gravity in Astronomy and Space Exploration Centers of Gravity When we talk about this force in astronomy, we re usually discussing centers of gravity. This is a point which pulls in equal amounts in all directions. The stronger the center, the more it can pull towards it. Planets and dwarf planets are some of the most basic (in astronomy). They might have one or two moons, but they generally don t pull that much in. Oppositely, stars are extremely strong. Our Sun s gravitational force is what keeps the entire solar system together! Zero Gravity When we talk about this force in space exploration, we re usually referring to its effect on humans. In outer space, there isn t any. This leads to a sensation known as weightlessness. It s difficult to get used to and requires a special living environment. Additionally, other planets have different gravitational force from that of Earth. On each mission, space scientists have to prepare astronauts to deal with this. Astronomy Astronomy is defined as the study of outer space. This includes the study of stars, planets, and their orbits. Astronomy is an interesting science because it studies things that are far away! What is Astronomy?

8 7 If you look up at the sky on a clear night, you will see lots and lots of stars. If you look more closely like through a telescope you will also see planets, comets, moons, and more! For thousands of years, people wondered about these things in the sky. During the Renaissance, scientists began learning more about outer space. For example, Galileo Galilei was a scientist from Italy who used telescopes to learn more about the Sun and the planets in our solar system. Today, astronomy is an important and diverse field of science that helps us learn more about the great big universe around us! Why is Astronomy Important? Astronomy is an interesting field of science because it deals with the past, present, and future!

9 8 One of the biggest things that scientists and everyday people wonder about is the beginning of the Universe. Have you ever thought about any of these questions: How did the stars and planets form? How old is the universe? Is the universe getting bigger? Is it getting smaller? Astronomers help find answers to these important questions about the past. Knowing the answers to these questions can help us understand the world we live in and how it all came to be. Astronomers also explore our solar system to learn more about Earth s sun, the moon, and nearby planets. Did you know that we even have astronauts living in space right now?! They do lots and lots of experiments to learn more about outer space. One day, far in the future, astronomers might even figure out how humans can live on another planet, like Mars! Would you want to live on another planet? Astronomy vs. Astrology One common mistake students make is confusing astronomy with astrology. Astrology is a belief that the positions of planets and stars can affect our lives and predict the future. For example, have you ever read your horoscope? Horoscopes are a part of astrology. Hundreds of years ago, people thought that astrology was a part of the scientific field of astronomy. However, now scientists know that astrology has no real scientific basis.

10 9 The Night Sky Throughout the day, a thick, blue blanket of light covers the Earth. We can hardly see anything outside of our own atmosphere (except for the Sun). Yet every night, when it goes down, something miraculous happens. We get a glimpse of the rest of the Universe! Its sheer beauty and size force us to realize that our world is part of something much bigger. Stargazing In fact, one thing that connects people across history is stargazing. The night sky is so full of stars that we can t help but marvel at it. Among them, we often try to find rare stars or other special objects. Finding a constellation or seeing Venus in the morning is like discovering treasure.

11 10 Indeed, ancient civilizations once valued objects in the night sky immensely. Many of them (like the planets) were even given the names of gods! Additionally, the constellations are mostly shaped like figures from Greek mythology. You might think: Why does that matter? That s ancient history. And you re not wrong. But, that s part of what makes the constellations so interesting. Thousands of years after their creation, people are still looking for them. They re literally just random clusters of stars. Yet, we ve assigned them a deeper meaning. That s because people aren t always stargazing just to see stars. Instead, the stars often help us to connect with things bigger than ourselves. Next time you look up into the Night Sky, ask yourself: Why do I value the stars? There s no right or wrong answer. But, the question forces us to realize something. It s our observation and wonder that makes them something more than giant fireballs. Just as well, we have to realize that we re observing from a relatively small rock in outer space. The astronomer Carl Sagan once said something pretty famous about this. Commenting on the following photo, he said: Look again at that dot. That s here. That's home. That s us [This] Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. What he means is that this world, as huge as it seems, is only a tiny part of the Universe. There s so much more out there to explore. And, Sagan thought, this fact tells us that we should act more humbly. Our world isn t as important as we think it is. How could any of us be that important either? In response, wrote Sagan: To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we ve ever known.

12 11 Looking Back at Us Another humbling idea in astronomy is that there may be life in outer space! The search for extraterrestrial life (SETI) has been going on for quite some time now. We haven t found any aliens yet, but much of astronomy focuses on looking for them. Several notable organizations and people are involved. The Planetary Society has done tests to see whether life could move between planets. What s more, Carl Sagan once showed that some of the chemicals necessary for life could form in space. More recently, NASA s Curiosity Rover did a good deal of research to see if there could be life on Mars. None of these have found extraterrestrial life yet. Will we ever find it? No one can say for sure. But, if we did, it would change the way see both the Universe and ourselves.

13 12 Within This Subject These are just a few of the topics we ll cover in our Introduction to Astronomy. While keeping things interesting, we ll be sure to approach the subject broadly. After going through it, you should have a strong sense of what astronomy is all about. In addition, you ll also be exposed to some more advanced concepts, like space exploration. We won t fully cover those in this series, but you can certainly read more about them throughout our site. Whatever you choose to study, enjoy. We sincerely hope we inspire you to want to learn more about our Universe! The Universe Our Earth is a pretty big place, enough to explore for a lifetime. The solar system is even larger, including eight whole planets. Yet, all of these things pale in comparison to the Universe. The Universe is the sum of everything in existence life,planets, stars, and anything else you can imagine! Everything? When we say the Universe includes everything, we really mean it! But, we might not fully appreciate what that includes.

14 13 Everything is all matter (or material that takes up space). Better yet, it includes space itself. Space was actually created when the Universe was. Incredibly, so was time! Something so basic as time itself is part of the Universe. And if that s the case, what s not? Now, all of this Universal stuff is a lot to keep track of! We have to make sense of it somehow. So, let s briefly put it in order. Structure of the Universe from Earth Zooming in: Welcome back to planet earth. Our earth is a medium-sized planet in a system of planets surrounding a central star. This star is the sun. And, as big as the sun is, it s also orbiting something. It s part of what we call a galaxy, or a large group of stars. All of the stars in this galaxy are orbiting a HUGE black hole. But guess what? Our galaxy is only one of hundreds of billions of galaxies.

15 14 Lots of these galaxies make-up what we call a supercluster. Finally, several superclusters form the largest things in existence: galaxy filaments. These are huge, bright strings of galaxies. They re like Christmas lights, decorating a Universal tree. Finally, we re finished! That s, well, everything Okay, actually there s more. All of the things we just described are only part of the universe. NOT the Universe. Wait, what s the difference? Universe vs. universe Capitalization is key! There s actually a major difference between the U-niverse and the u-niverse. It s a simple one, but still significant. The u-niverse is the smaller of the two. It s the part of the U-niverse that we can actually see. Visible light is a part of the Universe, but it s only in a subsection of it. This luminous zone is the u-niverse. Oppositely, as we ve said before, the U-niverse includes literally everything (even the things we can t see). How Big is the Universe? The answer: scientists aren t sure. They ve only estimated the size of the u-niverse, but even that is astounding. It s 91 billion light-years wide! We can t even imagine how big that is. Still, people want to know the size of the bigger Universe. Unfortunately, we have no clue. The main problem we run into is, again, just not being able to see what s out there. Light just hasn t reached that far into space yet. As it travels, we get a clearer picture of space as a whole.

16 15 Maybe one day, the light will hit an edge and stop. That would tell us the size of the Universe. Conversely, the light could go on forever! Unless something happens to it, we can only really guess. How Old is the Universe? Luckily, we have a better answer to this question. The age of the universe is 13.8 billion years! This is really an amazing fact when we put it into perspective. Human beings rarely live more than 100 years. Doing some math leads us to the following conclusion: Our lives are a smaller part of the age of the universe than a second is within a year. Let s say this another way. If the Universe was a year old, we would live less than a second.

17 16 Other Resources 1. Understanding Gravity (with Interesting Facts): 2. (Video) Defining Gravity Crash Course Kids: 3. Physics for Kids: Gravity Ducksters: 4. Understanding Gravity (with Interesting Facts): 5. (Video) Defining Gravity Crash Course Kids: 6. Physics for Kids: Gravity Ducksters:

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