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Formation of Ocean
Earth Atmosphere
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Origin of the Universe
The universe began about
14.4 billion years ago
The Big Bang Theory states
that, in the beginning, the
universe was all in one
place
All of its matter and energy
were separated into a
single, infinitely small
point.
Then it exploded
Origin of the Universe
The tremendous amount of
material blown out by the
explosion eventually formed
the stars and galaxies
After about 10 billion years,
our solar system began to
form
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Solar System
Birth of the Solar System
We know how the Earth and Solar System are today
and this allows us to work backwards and determine
how the Earth and Solar System were formed
Moreover, we
can explore
the universe
to gather
hints about
the ongoing
processes of
star and
planet
formation.
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Other Solar Systems
We've identified more than two hundred planets
revolving around stars beyond our solar system. The
processes responsible for shaping our solar system have
also given rise to countless other solar systems.
The Nebular Hypothesis
In cosmogony, the Nebular Hypothesis is the currently
accepted argument about how a Solar System can form
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The Nebular Hypothesis
A large gas cloud (nebula) begins to condense. Most of
the mass is in the center, there is turbulence in the outer
parts
The Nebular Hypothesis
The swirling whirlpools
gather materials that are
meters in size. Tiny
pieces combine and
crash into each other,
eventually forming large
groups of both gas and
solid matter.
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The Nebular Hypothesis
Pictures from the
Hubble Space
Telescope show
newborn stars
emerging from
dense, compact
pockets of
interstellar gas
called evaporating
gaseous globules
The Nebular Hypothesis
Gravitational attraction causes the mass of gas and dust to
slowly contract and it begins to rotate. The dust and matter
slowly falls towards the center
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Protostar
The Sun
After sufficient mass and density was achieved in the Sun, the
temperature rose to one million °C, resulting in thermonuclear
fusion.
H atom + H atom = He atom + energy
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Birth of the Solar System
Protoplanets
Gravitational forces allow the inner planets to accrue and
compact solid matter (including light and heavy atoms)
Solar radiation blew gases (primarily hydrogen, helium) away
from inner planets
These gases were collected and condensed into the gas giants
(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Farther than
Neptune, Pluto,
Sedna, and the
Kuiper Belt Objects
take shape from ice
and frozen gases. The
remaining fragments
come together to
create comets and
asteroids.
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Size of the Planets
The Evolving Ocean
Right after its creation, the Earth is thought to have had
a thin atmosphere composed primarily of helium (He)
and hydrogen (H) gases
The Earths gravity
could not hold these
light gases and they
easily escaped into outer
space
Today, H and He are
very rare in our
atmosphere
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The Evolving Atmosphere
For the next several hundred million years, volcanic out-
gassing began to create a thicker atmosphere composed of a
wide variety of gases
The gases that were released were probably similar to those
created by modern volcanic eruptions
The Evolving Atmosphere
These would include:
Water vapor (H2O)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Ammonia (NH3)
Methane (CH4)
Note that oxygen (O2) gas is not created by
volcanic eruptions
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Creating the Oceans
It is hypothesized that water vapor escaping from the
interior of the Earth via countless volcanic eruptions
created the oceans (this took hundreds of millions of
years)
Creating the Oceans
Astronomers also
hypothesize that comets
impacting the Earth were a
major source of water that
contributed to creation of the
oceans
Remember, that comets are
best described as “dirty ice
balls”
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Creating the Oceans
The earliest evidence of surface water on
Earth dates back about 3.8 billion years
Ocean Today
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Beautiful Earth
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