Lesson 5 Page 1
Completion requirements
Observe: How Big is the Universe?
Pixabay
Are you beginning to see how small Earth is compared to the rest of the
universe? It is incomprehensible. This is why scientists have invented
the light-year. One light-year is about one million million kilometers.
Pixabay
Video
Watch these YouTube videos to find out more.
How Big Is the Universe?
Earth Compared to the Rest of the Universe
A beam of light takes 100 000 years to cross from one edge of the Milky Way to the other! Scientists count the observable galaxies in a small section of the sky and multiply it to estimate the number of galaxies. We imagine the universe contains about
100 billion galaxies, each filled with millions or billions of stars, and each surrounded by vast amounts of empty space.
Visit The Scale of the Universe website for an animated comparison showing the scale of our universe. Zoom in to see things that are smaller. Zoom out to see how big our universe really is. Note: you need flash for this activity.
This activity helps you understand the distance and time in the universe in a more manageable way.
Instructions
- Understanding how big the universe is, is easier if we start at a spot on Earth and expand outwards. The Kids Astronomy website has you expand into our universe from a spot on Earth by factors of 100.
- Understanding the size of the universe is easier if we put it into the perspective of measurable distances and time. The NASA website allows you to start in our solar system and move outwards, as far we can see.
- Complete the following activity by dragging and dropping the images into the correct places in the flow chart. Start with Earth and work your way to the distant galaxies.
- Click Here to start.
History Connection
Pixabay
Cosmology is the branch of science that studies how the universe began and how it will be in the future. An American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) made observations that changed people’s view of the universe. Edwin Hubble’s observations
of the galaxies moving away from each other suggested that there must have been a beginning to the universe – if things are moving further apart, they must have been together at some initial starting point.
Much debate has occurred and many theories have been proposed as to how the universe began and what is currently happening in the universe. The Encyclopedia website presents several theories.
The Encyclopedia website presents several theories.
Much debate has occurred and many theories have been proposed as to how the universe began and what is currently happening in the universe. The Encyclopedia website presents several theories.
The Encyclopedia website presents several theories.