The universe
Samantha Weir
NSET 111
Take Home Essay
February 16, 2014
Our Universe was created billions of years ago. We have no way of knowing exactly how this happened, nor how or if it will end. The creation of the universe is greatly debated religiously and scientifically. The future of our universe is a popular topic, but still remains a mystery. There are many theories as to what will happen to the universe and factors to be accounted for. The fact that we do not have the ability to travel into the unknowns of the universe makes it extremely difficult to study it. If we knew how the universe was created so many unanswered mysteries would be solved. The area around the earth, the observational universe, is really the only part of the universe we have knowledge of. Subsequently, observations and conclusions have to be made from what we can see and already know.
The most well-known and believed theory of the creation of the universe is The Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory suggests that the universe originated about 10 to 20 billion years ago from a huge explosion of a small volume of matter at an extremely high density and temperature. Basically, the universe began at a certain time in the past and has been expanding ever since. Evidence for The Big Bang begins with Edwin Hubble’s observation of universal expansion. The galaxies outside of the Milky Way galaxy are moving away from us, and consequently the ones farthest away are moving the fastest. “However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else” (The Library Of Congress, 2010). The Doppler effect is evidence that the universe is expanding. “In 1912, Slipher found that the light from all galaxies are moving away from Earth, and the amount of red shifting revealed their speeds” (Merali, 2013). Before 1998, everyone thought that the universe was slowing because of
NSET 111
Take Home Essay
February 16, 2014
Our Universe was created billions of years ago. We have no way of knowing exactly how this happened, nor how or if it will end. The creation of the universe is greatly debated religiously and scientifically. The future of our universe is a popular topic, but still remains a mystery. There are many theories as to what will happen to the universe and factors to be accounted for. The fact that we do not have the ability to travel into the unknowns of the universe makes it extremely difficult to study it. If we knew how the universe was created so many unanswered mysteries would be solved. The area around the earth, the observational universe, is really the only part of the universe we have knowledge of. Subsequently, observations and conclusions have to be made from what we can see and already know.
The most well-known and believed theory of the creation of the universe is The Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory suggests that the universe originated about 10 to 20 billion years ago from a huge explosion of a small volume of matter at an extremely high density and temperature. Basically, the universe began at a certain time in the past and has been expanding ever since. Evidence for The Big Bang begins with Edwin Hubble’s observation of universal expansion. The galaxies outside of the Milky Way galaxy are moving away from us, and consequently the ones farthest away are moving the fastest. “However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else” (The Library Of Congress, 2010). The Doppler effect is evidence that the universe is expanding. “In 1912, Slipher found that the light from all galaxies are moving away from Earth, and the amount of red shifting revealed their speeds” (Merali, 2013). Before 1998, everyone thought that the universe was slowing because of
Cited: Merali, Zeeya. "Confronting The Dark." 34.4 (2013): 38. Discover. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Netting, Ruth. "Dark Energy, Dark Matter - NASA Science." Dark Energy, Dark Matter - NASA Science. NASA, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. . The Library of Congress. "What Does It Mean When They Say the Universe Is Expanding?" What Does It Mean When They Say the Universe Is Expanding?(Everyday Mysteries:Fun Science Facts Fromthe Library of Congress). The Library of Congress, 23 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Trefil, James S., and Robert M. Hazen. The Sciences: An Integrated Approach. Seventh ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print.