Chapter II: Earth: Its places in the universe

This section will look at the different theories of now the universe developed Stephen Hawking wrote the brilliant essay on the origins of the universe He noted that the creation of the universe from a singularity does not violate any of the laws of physics This reinforces the theory that the universe the earth the star and all planets follow logical, scientific laws.

First, size - The universe is so incredibly vast in size that it is difficult to comprehend - Thanks to the recent development of Hubble telescope; scientists are gaining new insight to the universe and are getting validation for many of their original theories. - Because of the magnitude of the distance involved, scientists use the measure of light year. - Of course a light year is not a time measurement rather it is a measure of distance. - A light year is the distance light travels in a year. - Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km per second - In one year, that is approximately 9.5 trillion km (9.51012 km) - The light that you see from the stars at night was emitted several hundreds of years ago or more. - Some of those lights extinguished themselves long before we walked the earth - Earth is found in the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy - This is the name of our galaxy - Our star is SOL - There are four types of galaxies - Spiral, bar spiral, elliptical and irregular - The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy - Stars are the central parts of all galaxy - There are masses of hot gases that emit light and heat - Stars provide the fuel of all life. - There are 4 known types of star

Our star (Sol) is a normal or average star. We will take a closer look at the make-up of later.

Origins of the universe - The two most popular theories of the origin of the universe are the Big Bang Theory and the Steady State Theory - Since the universe began many billions year ago, we hypothesize on its origin using data collected from meteorites, observation of stellar bodies (astronomy) and the use of the Laws of Uniformatarianism - This allows scientists to make accurate analyses of origin of our universe. - Pages 21 and 22 discuss the two theories further - Our solar system is defined by all of the planets, moons, asteroids and comets that inhabit the gravitational field generated by our sun. - Our solar system is only one of any that inhibit the galaxy known as the Milky Way. The origin and the sun and the earth - The sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion - The incredible energy produced by the sun provides energy the energy needed from the earth. - The breakdown of the sun is as follows. - The surface is the phosphorus - The dark spots are sunspots - The sun acts in many ways like an enormous generator - The energy generates an electromagnetic field. - The surface of the sun is in a state of constant and violent action. - Frequently the sunspots will erupt and send out a solar flare. - These flares have been known to cause many disruptions of telecommunication devices on the earth. - The rise of computer technology and closed circuits has reduced the effect but they can still cause problems. - While the sun began as a reaction of gases and chemicals, the earth's origin was a little more chaotic. - Once the sun began its life, it generated an immense gravitational pull on everything around it.

The billion of particles that were floating in space began to coalesce into larger pieces. The large rocks began to generate its own gravitational pull and pull in other pieces These pieces would smash together and build onto the original rock. The more particles it attracted the larger it grew. Eventually the mass began to form as the spinning of the mass generated a more circular shape. The process is known as accretion It explains how the earth began and took shape. Once the initial mass was established, the chemical reaction created by the smashing of the rocks into each other began to create heat. The pressure and friction caused by accretion Led to the melting of the rock. In a liquid state, the rock began to separate according to its components. The heavier elements like iron (Fe) began to sink to the center The lighter elements like aluminum (Al) floated to the top of the mass This separation of elements is known as differentiation. The spinning of the earth, the pressure of the gravity field created, and the chemical reaction caused by the release and combining of chemicals all combined to create the earth. Differentiation explains how the earth was able to develop into the layers we know today. The early earth had a rudimentary atmosphere. Since however, the process of differentiation was still ongoing, the earths internal engine cannot begin. The first atmosphere, which was created by the release of the gases emitted by the chemical reaction of the collision of rock, was soon swept away by the solar winds Soon the surface of the young earth was a violent dance of chemical reactions. Volcanic reaction sent many gases into the new atmosphere. By this time the earths' crust had become more solid The earths core was spinning and generating a magnetic field that protected the new atmosphere from the solar winds.

The stage was set for life to begin. A wonderfully random set of occurrence happened that allowed life to blossom on the earth. The first was the development of the second atmosphere Since this atmosphere was not swept away by the solar winds it allowed for the next stage, the development of free oxygen The chemical reaction caused by the smashing of the meteorites released H2O into the earth Soon, vast amounts of water collected in what become our oceans They set stage for the growth of algae Algae is a primitive form that uses photosynthesis The by-product of course is the release of free oxygen. The next and most important random act was the location of earth is what is known as the Goldilocks Zone This is known as the CHZ - Continuously Habitable Zone That is, the area not too closes to the sun.... Too hot -> Not to warm from the sun.... Too cold -> It is the perfect distance to support life Mars shares the zone with us Ever wonder why Mars does not support life? The truth is, it quite [possibly can and may] have even had life in the past. Mars is within the Goldilocks zone The engine however stalled Today, Mars is a dead planet.