The Universal Context of Life

(Chapter 3)

3.1
 Since Newton …

• The universe is vast and old; a lot of real estate on which

life can develop and time for it to evolve.
• The elements of life are widespread: carbon and long
chain (organic) molecules (raw material) have been
detected throughout the Galaxy.
• Physical laws seem universal: no reasons at this time to
think that the processes that led to the evolution of life on
Earth could not operate elsewhere under similar
circumstances.

3.2
Where are we in the Universe and how did it
all begin?
• Astronomy has identified the relation between Earth and
the other major components of the Universe.
• The Big Bang theory has defined a possible evolutionary
path and time-line for these components

?
What is our Cosmic
address?

3.3
Our “cosmic address” is:

• Planet in our Solar

System

• Solar System in our

Galaxy, the Milky Way

• Our galaxy in the

Local Group

• The Local Group is in

the Local Super-
cluster

• All a part of the

(observable) universe

3.4
 A sense of scale: Planet diameters

Do not be misled: the average separation between planets is

tens of thousands of times larger than their average diameter. 3.5
 A sense of scale: Planetary distances
• Many ways to visualize the size of our Solar System.
• Recall, the Earth is 1 AU (Astronomical Unit) from the
Sun, nearly 150 million km.

• Next slides show the solar system scaled to Canada

(Charlottetown, the Sun) and Toronto (CN Tower, the
Sun).
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
 Venus

Mercury

Earth

Mars

Jupiter
 Beyond the Solar System: to the stars!

• A light year (ly) is the distance light travels in one year.

• The number of seconds in a year:

60 s/m × 60 m/hr × 24 hr/da × 365.25 da/yr = 3.16 × 107 s

• The speed of light, c, is 300,000 km/s

• Thus the distance light would travel in a year is

60 × 60 × 24 × 365.25 × 300, 000 or 9.5 × 1012 km,
or about 1013 km or 10 trillion km !!!
3.11
 Alpha Centauri: our closest star system
• 4.3 light years (ly) to Alpha Centauri (α Cen). A triple star
system visible to the naked eye from the southern
hemisphere.

• Scaling this: if 1 AU corresponds to 1 metre, then α Cen

would be over 270 km away!
• Our fastest spacecraft leaving the Solar System,
Voyager 1 (50,000 km per hour) would take about 100,
000 years to get there!
• Our technology is far too “primitive” to consider trips to
the stars at this time. 3.12
 A trip to a stellar nursery

• The nearest major

star-forming region in
our Galaxy is the Orion
Nebula (M42) which is
1500 ly away. (Thus
we are seeing the
nebula as it was 1500
years ago!)
• The region is
composed mostly of
gas, part of the
interstellar medium
3.13
 Our Galaxy: the Milky Way
About 100,000 ly across and home to ~200 billion stars and
a lot of Dark Matter.

3.14
 The universe contains …
• The universe contains all of the matter and energy in
existence: 100%
• Matter that you would recognize (planets, stars, etc.) is
called baryonic matter (matter made from atoms): 5%
• Dark Matter is matter that cannot be seen but does have a
gravitational influence: 24%
• Dark Energy (an unknown type of energy) that cannot be
seen but manifests itself as a “repulsive force”: 71%

3.15
Cosmic Origins:

• Birth of
Universe

• Formation of
Galaxies

• Life Cycles of
Stars

• Formation
and evolution
of life on
Earth

3.16
 The Big Bang: 13.8 billion years ago
• Observational evidence strongly
supports that the universe emerged
from hot, dense “point” that has
continued to expand ever since.
• Stars and galaxies started forming
within a billion years after the Big
Bang. Because of the universal
expansion, no matter what the
vantage point, all galaxies (by and
large) appear to be expanding away
from any observer.
• The “infinite raisin cake” is a good
three-dimensional analogy to the
four-dimensional expansion of the
actual universe.
3.17
 The Big Bang: 13.8 billion years ago
• Observational evidence strongly supports… (cont.)
– The cosmic microwave background radiation is the left-
over “echo” of the universe’s hot, dense beginnings
– The distribution of the chemical elements has changed
with time, notably H and He initially (from the Big Bang)
and now many more (heavier) elements (from stars).

A full-sky map of
the temperature
differences from a
“perfectly smooth
Big Bang” showing
evidence for the
early formation of
galaxies.
3.18
 Galaxies act as cosmic recycling plants
• Stars are created in galaxies by the collapse of clouds of
hydrogen (H) and helium (He) gas.
• Stars release energy as a result of nuclear fusion in their
cores. Fusion is the combining of two lighter atomic nuclei
to one heavier nucleus; e.g., the formation of 1 helium (He)
nucleus from 4 hydrogen (H) nuclei.
• One He nucleus is lighter than four H nuclei. This
difference in mass, m, is released as energy (E = m × c2).
• As a star progresses throughout its life, heavier elements
(e.g., carbon, oxygen, etc.) can be generated.

3.19
 Galaxies act as cosmic recycling plants
• More massive stars live for
shorter periods of time but
make (fuse) heavier
elements.
• Stars can “die” quietly (as
our own Sun will do some 5
billion years from now) or die
with great fanfare as in
supernovae explosions.
• In both instances, processed
material (heavier elements)
is returned to the interstellar
medium for “re-use” into new
stars and planetary systems. The Crab Nebula remnant
from a supernova in 1054.
3.20
Theoretical
abundance of
elements from
nuclear fusion
matches
observation
very well.
With the
exception of
hydrogen, we
are all made
from “star
stuff”.

3.21
 Recap
• Universe is a big place that started from a single “point” or
“moment” referred to as the Big Bang.
• Strong observational evidence for the existence of this event
13.8 billion years ago.

• Stars within galaxies essentially “recycle” material using the

processes of nuclear fusion and stellar death to continually
alter/increase the concentration of heavy elements.
• Many apps and links exist to help you appreciate the scale of
our universe, from the very large to the very small. 3.22
Further reflection on the age of the universe
• Suppose we scale the cosmic calendar so that ~14
billion years corresponds to a 12 month calendar time-
span.

3.23
Further reflection on the age of the universe
• On this scale, humankind/Homo sapiens has not been
around very long at all!

3.24
 Life Beyond Earth
• In almost all science fiction films, books or TV series,
when two extraterrestrial civilizations meet, they are at
about the same technological level.
• This is highly unlikely given the time-scale of the
universe.
• Imagine any developed nation today compared to one
century ago. Medical and military advances have been
astonishing; a first-world-war army would have
absolutely no chance against a modern army.
• It is much more likely that an extraterrestrial civilization
would be considerably more advanced or have long
since perished! In either case, there should be evidence
of its existence!

3.25
 Andromeda (M31), our galactic neighbour

Our “sister galaxy”,

Andromeda, as it
was 2.5 million years
ago (i.e., at a
distance of 2.5
million light years). It
will collide with the
Milky Way in just
over 4 billion years.

3.26
 The Observable universe
• The further away an object is from us the further back in
time we are looking. (The universe is a time machine!)
• We can only observe as far as light has traveled in the
age of the universe, namely 13.8 billion light years.
• The universe could, however, be infinitely large.

3.27
 The Hubble Space Telescope Deep Field
• Within the observable universe, based upon the HST Deep
Field, lie at least 100 billion galaxies. Every point of light in
the image below is a galaxy (each containing 100’s of
billions of stars on average).

3.28
A more complete view of the Solar System

3.29
 Terrestrial (Earth-like) Planets
• Relatively small diameters

• Relatively high densities; rock and metals composition

• Orbit close to the Sun (warmer surfaces)

• Thin (if any) atmospheres (carbon dioxide, oxygen, water

vapour, etc.)

• Few (if any) satellites (moons)

• No ring systems
3.30
 Jovian or Gas-giant Planets
• Relatively large diameters

• Relatively low densities, mostly gaseous composition

(hydrogen, helium, hydrogen compounds)

• Orbit further from the Sun (colder surfaces)

• Thick, substantial atmospheres

• Many satellites (moons)

• Ring systems
3.31
 Other bits and pieces
Dwarf planets, asteroids (minor planets) and comets are
also very common components in the Solar System. All
“resemble” very small terrestrial planets with comets having
a higher “volatile material” (ices and gases) content that
allow them to develop beautiful tails.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA 3.32
The paths of comets from
both the direction of the
Kuiper Belt (30-55 AU) & the
Oort Cloud (~100,000 AU)

3.33
Size comparison for some TNOs (Trans
Neptunian Objects):
Includes Dwarf Planets

3.34
 Medium and
Large Moons
• Enough self-gravity to be
spherical
• Have substantial amounts of
ice
• Formed in orbit around Jovian
planets
• Circular orbits in same
direction as planet rotation

3.35
Small Moons
• Far more
numerous than
the medium and
large moons

• Not enough
gravity to be
spherical: “potato-
shaped”.

3.36
The formation of
our Solar System
is best described
by the Nebular
Theory: a slowly
rotating gas cloud
collapses under its
own gravity to a
rapidly rotating
disk from which
the proto-Sun and
proto-planets form.

3.37
 Formation of the Solar System
• A (giant) molecular cloud of dust and gas collapses to the
solar nebula, spinning faster and faster (conservation of
angular momentum)
• As material moves “inwards”, a proto-Sun begins to form at
the centre (warm to hot)
• Small planetesimals form, growing larger and larger through
the accretion (“stickling together”) of smaller material
• Small, rocky planets form close to the Sun and larger gas
planets grow in cooler regions further out
• The Sun starts to “shine” (nuclear fusion of hydrogen into
helium starts) & the solar wind clears out remaining dust &
gas.
• The gravity of the giant planets clears out most of the larger
debris over time. 3.38
Observation: Confident that this model is at
least on the right track!

AU Microscopii

3.39
Bottom line from our
perspective:
- Two major types of planets
- Relative abundance of
material

3.40
 The Nebular Theory and Other worlds
• The Nebular Theory, while not necessarily universal among
all stars, does at least “play out” around a majority of stars.
This gives us great confidence that a variety of worlds can
develop and other Earth-like planets do seem likely. How
likely is uncertain. Planetary formation is more
complicated than we had first thought and the Nebular
Theory likely is one of many such mechanisms to generate
planets.
• Other planetary systems do not always look like ours.
Does this mean the Nebular theory is wrong?
• No. Rather it means that the theory must become more
comprehensive to account for observed differences such
as Jovian planets (“hot Jupiters”) close to a star.

3.41
 The Nebular Theory and Other worlds
• The Nebular theory is not the only hypothesis developed
to explain our own Solar System’s formation (e.g.,
Collision or Catastrophic Theories) but it is the theory
that explains most observations.

• The variety of exoplanetary systems found to date have

led scientists to revise and improve the original Nebular
Theory for the formation of stars and planetary
systems… the scientific method in action!
• For example, planets are now known to migrate within a
planetary system that can lead to a variety of changes to
that system. 3.42
 Atoms, the building blocks of matter
• Atoms are comprised of a electrically charged nucleus
containing (positively charged) protons and (neutral) neutrons
surrounded by a (negatively charged) electron cloud.
• Most atoms on Earth are electrically neutral. If they gain or
lose electrons, they become charged and are referred to as
ions.
• The electron cloud is about 10-10 metres in diameter; the
nucleus is 10-15 metres in size, 100,000 times smaller, so an
atom is almost entirely space!
• Why is an atomic nucleus stable;
don’t protons repel one another?
• Yes, they do, but there is another
force, the strong nuclear force,
that is attractive within 10-15 m,
keeping nuclei stable. 3.43
 Terminology of the Atom
• 92 naturally occurring
elements. Each element has a
different number of protons in
the nucleus, the atomic
number for that element.
• Atoms can have a different
number of neutrons in the
nucleus yet still be the same
element. These are called
isotopes of an element.
• The atomic mass number is
the combined number of
protons and neutrons in the
nucleus.
3.44
3.45
 More terminology
• Atoms can combine to form
molecules. If two or more
elements combine, it is called a
compound. H2O is the chemical
formula for water and it is a
compound (the most abundant).
• Molecules stay together because
of the strength of the bonds
between atoms. Further, the
molecules stay close to each
other by bonds as well.
• Temperature can change the
phase state (solid, liquid or gas)
of the molecules. 3.46
3.47
 What makes matter move?: Energy

• Energy comes in different forms

• Kinetic energy is the energy of motion

• Radiation is the energy carried by light.

• Potential energy is stored energy (e.g., a rock falling down a

cliff, or a molecule that rotates or vibrates)

• Energy can transform from one type to another but it can

neither be created nor destroyed (total always conserved).
3.48
Different forms of energy

3.49
 Light: the carrier of information
• Light (radiation) carries energy at a speed of 3×108 m/sec (in
a vacuum), the speed of light.
• It is essentially a combination of oscillating electric and
magnetic fields, hence the term electromagnetic radiation.
• It is characterized by a wavelength and thus a frequency.
Light displays wave-like properties BUT carries energy in
distinct packets called photons, a particle-like property.

3.50
 Properties of light
• The higher the frequency of light, the shorter the
wavelength

• The higher the frequency, the more energy is carried by

the photons.
• In principal, electromagnetic radiation can have any
wavelength. The range is referred to as the spectrum of
electromagnetic radiation.
• Visible light (that which you can see with your eyes) is a
very small portion of the entire electromagnetic spectrum
3.51
The electromagnetic spectrum

3.52
 Our atmosphere
• Earth’s atmosphere is not transparent to all frequencies.
Fortunately, the most energetic frequencies are
absorbed by atoms and molecules in the atmosphere
(e.g., ozone absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation). If x-rays
or UV radiation reached sea level, complex molecules
would be dissociated (broken apart) on Earth’s surface
and complex life would be impossible.

The opposite of
“transparent” is
“opaque”;
Something that is
0% opaque is
100% transparent.

Only a few windows are transparent to EM radiation. 3.53

Why the sky is blue?
• Molecules in our
atmosphere scatter
blue (shorter
wavelength) light much
more effectively than
red (longer wavelength)
light from the Sun,
making it appear to
come from different
directions.
• Sunsets are red
because less of the red
light from the Sun is
scattered than the blue
light that reaches our
eyes. 3.54
 Information from light
• Distant objects reflect (e.g., planets) or emit (e.g., stars) light.
• The intensity of light gives some information but analyzing
the light’s “fundamental characteristics” or its spectrum
reveals a great deal more information about its composition.
• 3 types of spectra exist: continuous, emission and absorption
and all relate to different physical processes.
Examples:

Centre of star

Hot gas near a hot

star

Cooler gas at
surface of star
3.55
https://pages.uoregon.edu/imamura/122/lecture-4/kirchhoff.html
 Spectral information
• A continuous spectrum (how much light at each
wavelength) allows us to determine the gas temperature.
• Absorption or emission lines are like “chemical fingerprints”
revealing the identity of elements and the physical
conditions in the gas generating the “lines”.
• Absorption (dark) lines and emission (coloured) lines
associated with the same element have the same
wavelengths, though appear at different temperatures.

3.56
http://www.thestargarden.co.uk/Spectral-lines.html
 A tale of two temperature scales
• In everyday life, we’re familiar with the Celsius (or
Centigrade) temperature scale (abbr. ‘C’).
• In science, we mostly use the Kelvin (or Absolute)
temperature scale (abbr. ‘K’).
• A difference of 1 degree Celsius is
exactly the same as 1 degree Kelvin
• The only difference is that the zero
of the Kelvin scale is at absolute
zero, 0 K, which is -273 C
• So a temperature of 20 C is 293 K
• For really high temperatures, the
difference in temperatures isn’t
significant (e.g., 50,000 K is equal
to 49,727 C)
https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/K/Kelvin 3.57
 Temperature determination

How much
energy is
being
emitted per
square
metre from
the surface
of an object.

Note that all continuous spectra have a single peak,

and that the hotter the object, the bluer the peak. 3.58
 Doppler Effect
• Suppose a source emits either sound or light with a
particular wavelength (or frequency)
• An observer in relative motion with the source will receive
the sound or light at a different wavelength (or frequency)
depending on the relative speed.

3.59