PCS181 Notes

Radial Velocity Problem: H spectral line is = 656.2850 nm in the

lab. Same line is = 656.2927 nm in the spectrum of Regulus. Is
Regulus approaching or receding? Radial Velocity?
vr = (3 x 108m/s)(656.2927 -656.2850) nm
656.2850 nm
vr = 3519.8123 m/s
vr = 3.52 km/s
When star > lab -> red shifted, moving away from you
When star < lab -> blue shifted, moving towards you
Use Doppler to tell if a star is rotating by measuring each edge

Unit 2: The Universe

Distance Units in Astronomy
Light-year = ly: Distance that light travels in one year
1 ly = 9.5 x 1015m
Parsec = pc: 1 pc = 3.26 ly
Astronomical Unit = AU: Average distance between the Earth and
Sun
o 1 Au = 1.5 x 1011m
The Hubble Law
A galaxy is a large assemblage of stars which orbit a common
center all held together by gravity contains from a few thousand
to trillions of stars
Hubble and Humason determined the distances and radial
velocities of faraway galaxies
All faraway galaxies are redshifted and receding from us

PCS181 Notes

Hubble Law:
o Radial velocity of a galaxy is directly proportional to
distance
o Farther galaxies are receding faster

o vr d
o vr = Hod
o H o = vr
d
o Ho = 75 km/s
Mpc
o d = vr
Ho
o The universe is expandingspace itself is expanding
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation = CMB
1965: Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
o Radio astronomers at Bell Labs in NJ
o Worked with the first communications satellite, TELSTAR
o Detected a persistent radio hiss from all directions in the
sky at a wavelength of = 1.063 x 10-3m
CMB Temperature:
o The Wien Formula
T=0.0029 m*K
dom

T = 2.728 +/- 0.004 K

T=3K
= CMB
= Temperature of empty interstellar space
Some event must have heated the universe
Cosmology
o Penzias and Wilson discovered the remnant (leftover) heat
from the birth of the universe
o The universe is expanding
o There was a heat event at the beginning of space and time
as proven by the CMB
o Thus the universe originated in an explosive event called
the Big Bang
1989: Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) launched
o Provided an above-atmosphere measurement of the CMB
o Confirmed that the CMB is 2.728 +/- 0.004 K
2001: Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) launched
o 30 x greater resolution than COBE

PCS181 Notes
o Confirmed the temperature of CMB
o Still giving info about the universes composition

The Cosmological Principle

Isotropic: it looks the same in all directions
Homogeneous: Matter is approximately evenly and uniformly
distributed.
o Every region is the same as every other region
Universal: The laws of physics are the same everywhere
The age of the Universe = Hubble Time
Hubble Law:
Vr = Ho = 75 km/s
Mpc
t=1
Ho
t = Mpc
75km/s
t = 3.09 x 1019 km
75 km/s
t = 4.12 x 1017 s
t = 13.1 x 109 years
Earth is actually 13.8 Billion years
Types of Universe
Open Universe:
o Density of matter is low -> gravity is weak -> universe
expands forever
Closed Universe:
o Density of matter is high -> gravity will halt the expansion
-> universe will re-contract
o If this happens repeatedly, we have an oscillating universe
Flat Universe:
o Universe contains the so called critical density of matter ->
galaxies barely manage to avoid re-collapse