Origins of the Universe 1
Origins of the Universe
Faith Manheimer
English 2100
August 9, 2020
Origins of the Universe 2
Abstract
A brief introduction for students or self-learners who have an interest in the field of
Astrophysics, and serves as a learning outcome about how our universe was created, how the
stars, planets were formed, and what lies beyond the realm of our own universe, as well as a
brief discussion on recent discoveries, and innovations within Astrophysics community. This
report is intended to be broken down into sections that will go into more detail about the
above-mentioned topics. In sum, Astrophysics is a sub-discipline of Astronomy. Astrophysics
branches off into the fundamental principles of physics, math, and chemistry that pertain to the
nature of astronomical objects, or phenomenon; rather than what observational Astronomy
does with measurements of positions and motions of objects in space. Astrophysicists in
general make analysis of astronomical bodies, perform research on planets, stars, galaxies, as
well as other celestial objects. Astrophysicist apply physical, and technical theories in order to
better understand the basis of the universe and implement their research to test those theories
within the field to share knowledge and discoveries.
Keywords: Astrophysics, Phenomenon, Principles, Theories
Origins of the Universe 3
1 Introduction
There is so much ground to cover with Astrophysics if you are not familiar with the
subject or field. This report will be intended to give some insight as to what phenomenon’s
pertain within the field. In some ways the reader can think of this as a crash course for
Astrophysics. The research that was conducted within this report will not be overbearing that it
becomes confusing for some. Astrophysics, and Astronomy most of the time get mixed up
because of their over-lapping similarities, but as it was mentioned before the fields
differentiate. The intent for this report will leave a reader wanting to learn more about the
cosmic wonders of our universe, and some will already have a basic understanding of what is
being conveyed in this report. As a renowned Astrophysicist himself, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and
someone who I look up to, has said in his own words, “The universe is under no obligation to
make sense to you.” [1]
2 Big Bang Theory
While the Big Bang has been often misunderstood in terms of how nothing became
something. The Big Bang was coined the term after a singularity event that occurred some 13.7
billion years ago. It was a Belgian priest named Georges Lemaitre who had theorized this in the
mid 1920’s, and had stated that our observable universe, everything space, and time all started
with an atom that eventually burst or exploded into being. It was only a trillionth of a second
after the initial inflation when all the properties that we know today such as gravity, matter,
temperature, and energy were formed.
Origins of the Universe 4
In contrast, there is a blend of religious matters that tackle science with their version of how
the universe came to be, and where life originated from a sentient being. Regardless of these
arguments, one should always keep an open mind to the universe. Understanding that the
universe did take approximately 200 million years, after the Big Bang, a while for the universe
to expand, and finally begin to cool down from all its high temperature that it was creating.
Resulting in the start of nuclear elements in turn that formed energy for the birth of stars,
planets, and even galaxies.
This quote from a book written by Dan Hooper explains this concept more, “Slowly but
steadily, clumps of matter began to collapse under the influence of gravity, which in turn led to
the formation of stars and galaxies.” [2] It was later in the 1960’s that this idea of the Big Bang
was supported by a man named Edwin Hubble, also one of the most known telescopes named
after, who had made his own observations that the galaxies in our sky were moving away from
each other at a rapid speed. With his discovery and theory of this notion, he later discovered
something that is known as cosmic microwave radiation that was left over from the Big Bang,
thus causing more cosmic inflation, meaning that the universe is still expanding but at a much
lower rate.
3 Solar & Planetary Systems
There has always been a bewilderment as to whether there are more planets like our
home planet, Earth, that are out there in the cosmos. With the help of science, and theoretical
research there has been numerous academic papers that circulate within the community that
explain outer planetary systems, and solar systems that are alike our universe that orbit a star
Origins of the Universe 5
the resembles the sun. Unfortunately, in a human lifetime, there would not be enough years to
give scientific study how long planetary systems live, how they form, and if or when those
planetary systems die. Although, no living being will be able to sustain the lifetime of a
planetary system, there will always be telescopes and the aide of pictures that can help get a
better understand of how they function.
Stars are known to be luminous in the night sky with the naked eye, but get a special
instrumental telescope that blocks the light coming from those other luminous stars, you can
detect heat radiating off planets as well that will have a faint glow. “The nearest exoplanet –
the nearest planet in orbit around a star that is not the Sun – can be found in our neighbor star
system Alpha Centaur, about four light-years away from us… Most of the cataloged exoplanets
lie from dozens up to hundreds of light-years away.” [1] The most known planetary system that
is near our galaxy is the Alpha Centaur, it is a star but has the influence of gravitational pull that
it allows for exoplanets to get taken ahold into its orbit to be considered as close to a planetary
system there is that we can observe. Multiple star systems, including binary stars are abundant
in our Milky Way Galaxy, and several are now known to possess planetary systems. The
discovery of such systems however creates new challenges on theories on planetary system
formation.
Conclusion
It may be concluded that Astrophysics is a very technical and disciplined field that
emphasizes on research, conducting theories, and being able to keep an open mind on ever
changing technology as the years go by. That knowledge and understanding of the universe in
Origins of the Universe 6
Astrophysics will not be biased or hindered by choosing who is right or wrong. Astrophysics
does allow to interchange between science, math, and our own consciousness. The field itself is
misunderstood because people get intimidated when math or research is involved.
Astrophysics is the backbone combination of math, science, and chemistry that work well
together to bring new ideas as well as scientists to understanding our universe. The field itself is
highly competitive and should be pursued with great motivation for striving higher education
and hard work to make a difference not only in the world, but as well as the universe and in
other people’s minds.
Origins of the Universe 7
References:
[1] Tyson, Neil. DeGrasse. First Edition. 2017. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. New York, NY:
W. W Norton & Company. Pg. 180-208.
[2] Hooper, Dan. Illustrated Edition. 2019. Science Essentials. At the Edge of Time: Exploring the
Mysteries of Our Universe’s First Seconds. Princeton University Press. Pg. 5-248
[3] Levy E, Lunine J. Matthews, Weidenschilling S. Cuzzi. J.(1993) in Protostars and Planets III,
(Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson). Pg. 1031–1060
