Space Physics
Earth and the solar system
The Solar System
Figure 1. The Earth is one of eight planets that orbit the Sun. The orbits of the planets are elliptical (an oval shape)
with the Sun close to the centre.
Figure 2 shows a boy swinging a heavy ball around on a wire. To make this ball travel in a circle he needs to spin
around and at the same time pull on the wire. Without this continuous pulling force the ball will not travel in a circle.
Figure 2 a A 'pulling' force has to be applied to the ball to make it travel in a circle. b If the wire breaks or the boy
releases the handle the ball flies away.
Planets and comets travel around the Sun. Moons and satellites travel around the planets. For this to happen there
must be forces being applied to them. There is no string or wire to pull on as in the example above, so where do
these forces come from? In 1687, Isaac Newton suggested his theory of gravity to explain these movements. Newton
suggested that between any two objects there is always a force of attraction. This attraction is due to the masses of
the objects. He called this force gravitational force. He suggested that the size of this force depends on the:
1 masses of the two objects
2 distance between the masses.
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The greater the masses of the two objects the stronger the attractive forces between them. If the distance between
the masses is increased the forces between them decrease.
Figure 3 Gravitational forces obey an inverse square law - that is, if the distance between the masses is doubled, the
forces between them are quartered; if the distance between them is trebled, the forces become one ninth of what
they were.
The gravitational attraction between two objects with small masses is tiny. Only when one or both of the objects has
a very large mass - for example, a moon or a planet - is the force of attraction obvious.
Our Sun is massive. It contains over 99% of the mass of the Solar System. It is the gravitational attraction between
this mass and each of the planets that holds the Solar System together and causes the planets to follow their curved
paths.
Figure 4 Gravitational forces make the planets follow nearly circular paths.
Those planets that are closest to the Sun feel the greatest attraction and so follow the most curved paths. Planets
that are the furthest from the Sun feel the weakest pull and follow the least curved path.
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Table 1 shows the average distance of a planet from the sun with its corresponding time period of its orbit
around the sun.
Satellites and Moons
A satellite is an object that orbits a planet.
There are two types of satellite: natural and artificial (human-made).
Natural Satellites
Natural satellites are called moons. The Earth has just one moon. It is the fifth largest moon in our Solar System,
approximately 340000 km from Earth, and takes just over 27 days to complete one orbit. Although we call our moon
'The Moon' it is not unique. Many planets have moons. Some have more than one, for example, Mars has two
moons while Jupiter and Saturn have more than 60 each. All moons have circular orbits because of the gravitational
forces between them and their planet.
Artificial Satellites
Since the late 1950s humans have been able to launch, and to put into orbit around the Earth, objects like the one
seen in Figure 6. These are known as artificial satellites and are extremely useful. Some satellites are put into a very
high orbit above the Earth and are used to help us communicate over large distances, for example, for international
phone calls or video links, the internet and so on (Starlink). Some satellites are put into a much lower orbit and are
used to monitor in detail the Earth's surface, such as the temperature of the world's oceans or the progress of forest
fires.
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Figure 6. This satellite is held in orbit by the gravitational attraction between it and the Earth.
Figure 7. Every single satellite orbiting the Earth.
Comets
Comets are large rock-like pieces of ice that orbit the Sun. They have very elliptical (elongated) orbits which at
times take them very close to the Sun. At other times they travel close to the very edge of our Solar System.
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Figure 8. The speed of a comet varies enormously. They travel at their fastest when they are very close to the Sun.
Gravitational Field Strength
The strength of gravity on a planet or moon is called its gravitational field strength, and given the symbol g.
Different planets have different masses and different radii - both of these will affect their gravitational field
strengths.
• The larger the mass of a planet the greater its gravitational field strength.
• The larger the radius of a planet the smaller the gravitational field strength at its surface.
The gravitational field strength on the Earth is approximately 10 N/ kg whilst on the Moon it is approximately 1.6
N/kg.
Table 2 shows the gravitational field strength of different planets at their surfaces with their diameters compared to
Earth and their masses compared to Earth.
On the Moon, the gravitational field strength is only one sixth that of the Earth's. This means that on the Moon you
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would weigh six times less. If however you visited Jupiter you would weigh almost 2 times more!
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Figure 9. The difference in one person's weight on the Moon and on Jupiter
L.G.S, LACAS, Froebel’s International, Crescent, Kaizen High, Green Hall, Vision.
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Orbital Speeds of Planets and Satellites
Orbital speed means at what speed any object orbits around the planet.
The orbital speeds of satellites vary greatly depending on the tasks they are performing. For example,
communication satellites are put in high orbits and travel at approximately 3 km/s, while those observing the whole
surface of the Earth are put into low polar orbits with speeds of about 8 km/ s. We can calculate the speed of a
satellite using the equation:
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑, 𝑠
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑, 𝑣 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛, 𝑡
The distance moved is the circumference of the circular orbit, 𝑟 .
distance moved = 2 × 𝜋 × 𝑟 ( 𝑟 is the orbital radius.)
The time period, T, is the time for one complete orbit.
So,
2 × 𝜋 ×𝑟
𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑, 𝑣 =
𝑇
The same equation can be used to calculate the speeds of the planets, where r is the average distance from the Sun.
Example:
Stars and the Universe
The Milky way
Our nearest star is the Sun. It is approximately 150 million kilometres from the Earth. Its surface temperature is
approximately 6000 °C and temperatures within its core are about 15 000 000 °C. Attractive gravitational forces
between stars cause them to group together in enormous groups called galaxies. Galaxies consist of billions of
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stars. Our galaxy is a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way. We are approximately two-thirds of the way out from the
centre of our galaxy along one of the arms of the spiral.
Figure 10 Our galaxy, the Milky Way Figure 11 Our galaxy takes the shape of a spiral, like the
one shown here.
The Birth of a star
Figure 12 Birth of a solar system
Stars like our Sun are formed from large clouds of dust and gas particles we call nebulae or stellar nebulae. These
particles are drawn together over a very long period of time by gravitational forces. The particles are pulled together
so tightly that there is a very large increase in temperature and pressure. As a result of this nuclear fusion reactions
begin. Hydrogen nuclei join together to make larger nuclei and huge amounts of energy in the form of heat and light
are released. This incredibly hot ball of gas is a very young star.
The life of a star
The appearance of a star changes gradually with time. These changes follow a pattern.
Protostar
a protostar is an interstellar cloud collapsing and increasing in temperature as a result of its internal gravitational
attraction
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Hussain Ahmad Madni Uppal +92 – 334 4140594
When a star first forms, gravitational forces are pulling particles together. Then when nuclear reactions begin, the
high temperatures create forces that try to push the particles apart - that is, make the gases expand. When these
two forces are balanced, the star is said to be in its main stable period. A star in this main stable period is referred to
as a main sequence star. This period can last for many millions of years. At the moment our Sun is in this stable
period.
Towards the end of this stable period, there are less hydrogen nuclei and eventually the hydrogen fusion reactions
stop. Gravitational forces are now the largest forces and compress the star. As the star shrinks in size there is a large
increase in temperature. So high that fusion reactions between helium nuclei begin. The energy released by these
reactions causes the star to expand to many times its original size. As it expands it becomes a little cooler and more
of its light energy is emitted in the red part of the spectrum. The star is changing into a red giant.
Sometime later when most of the helium nuclei have fused (joined) together, new nuclear reactions begin, but now
the compressive or squashing forces are larger and the star begins to get smaller or contract. This contraction causes
an increase in temperature so the star again changes colour. It now emits more blue and white light. It has changed
into a white dwarf star. The matter from which white dwarf stars are made is millions of times more dense than any
matter found on the Earth.
Finally as a white dwarf star cools it changes into a cold black dwarf star.
Figure 13 The life-cycle of stars with a mass similar to that of our Sun.
A star that is much larger than our Sun may follow a slightly different path at the end of its life. After the stable
period it will expand into a large red supergiant. At the end of this period, as it contracts it becomes unstable. It
explodes throwing dust and gas into space to form a new stellar nebula. This exploding star is called a supernova.
The nebula from a supernova may form new stars with orbiting planets. Any matter remaining will form a very dense
neutron star. If the neutron star has a mass that is approximately five times greater than that of our Sun or more, it
collapses further to become a black hole.
Figure 14 The final stages for stars with masses much greater than our Sun
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Summary
1. a protostar becomes a stable star when the inward force of gravitational attraction is balanced by an outward
force due to the high temperature in the centre of the star
2. all stars eventually run out of hydrogen as fuel for the nuclear reaction
3. most stars expand to form red giants and more massive stars expand to form red supergiants when most of the
hydrogen in the centre of the star has been converted to helium
4. a red giant from a less massive star forms a planetary nebula with a white dwarf at its centre
5. a red supergiant explodes as a supernova, forming a nebula containing hydrogen and new heavier elements,
leaving behind a neutron star or a black hole at its centre
6. the nebula from a supernova may form new stars with orbiting planets
The Universe
Light year
The Sun is the nearest star to the Earth. The second nearest star is Proxima Centauri, 4.0 × 1016 𝑚 away. Distances
as large as 4.0 × 1016 𝑚 are extremely difficult to visualise–they are way beyond any of our day-to-day points of
reference. So, astronomers tend to use an alternative unit for distance – the light-year (ly).
A light-year is the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in a time of one year.
1 ly = speed of light in vacuum × one year in seconds
1 ly ≈ 3.00 × 108 × 365 × 24 × 3600
1 ly ≈ 9.5 × 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟓 m
• Proxima Centauri is 4.2 ly away. It would take light from Proxima Centauri 4.2 years to reach us.
The Milky Way is one of many billions of galaxies making up the Universe and that the diameter of the Milky Way is
approximately 100000 light-years
The doppler’s Effect and the Red Shift
If we look at the stars and galaxies in our Universe using a simple optical telescope it is impossible to tell if they are
moving, and if they are moving then how fast or in which direction. If, however we look at the spectrum of light
emitted by a star or galaxy we can discover all of the above. We can do this by using an effect called the Doppler
effect, first described by an Austrian scientist named Christian Doppler in 1842.
Before we look at the Doppler effect in space, let us look at some more familiar situations where we can observe it.
If we close our eyes and listen to the engine of a fast moving car it is usually very simple to decide if it is approaching
us or moving away. The loudness of the motor will of course change but so too will the frequency of the sound we
hear. As the car approaches the frequency of the sound produced by its motor appears to be high but when it moves
away it appears to have a lower frequency. This apparent change in frequency is called the Doppler effect. The faster
the car is moving the greater this change in frequency.
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Hussain Ahmad Madni Uppal +92 – 334 4140594
Figure 15 An everyday example of the Doppler effect
The Doppler effect is a property of all waves. It happens not only with sound waves but also with light waves. When
astronomers look at light spectra from distant stars and galaxies they can see the Doppler effect.
Figure 16 shows the spectra from four different objects. The first is the spectrum from our Sun. The dark lines we can
see are called absorption lines. They are the frequencies of light that have been absorbed by hydrogen. The second
spectrum is from a nearby galaxy. Here we can clearly see that the positions of the dark lines have moved towards
the red part of the spectrum. The third is the spectrum from a very distant galaxy - the lines have moved even
further towards the red. The last spectrum shows the greatest shift for the furthest galaxy. We call this displacement
'red-shift'. Like the changes in the frequency of the car engine it indicates a relative motion between the galaxies and
the observer.
Figure 16 Light spectra for four different objects
Red-shift indicates that the source of the light waves is moving away from the observer. Blue-shift would indicate
that the source of light is moving towards the observer. We can see why this is the case in Figure 17.
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Hussain Ahmad Madni Uppal +92 – 334 4140594
Figure 17 Demonstrations of light from a star moving away from Earth and moving towards it
When we compare the light emitted from all the different galaxies a clear pattern emerges. Almost all the galaxies
emit light with red-shift. The further away a galaxy is the greater the red-shift and therefore the faster it is moving
away from us. We see exactly this pattern in situations that involve explosions.
So scientists now believe that the Universe is expanding and that at some time in the past, all the matter in the
Universe was in one place just before an explosion. This theory is called the Big Bang theory.
Another way to imagine the expansion of the Universe is to observe what happens to the dough and currants in a
bun when they are placed in an oven to cook. Over a period of time the dough expands and the currants all move
away from each other. In this model the dough represents the Universe, increasing in size as time passes. The
currants represent galaxies that are seen to be moving away from each other as the Universe expands.
The Doppler red-shift of light observed from distant stars and galaxies gives evidence that the universe is
expanding (moving away from a central point). This allows for Big Bang Theory, because after a “bang” occurs all of
the matter moves away from the point of origin.
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Figure 18 As the bun expands the currants get further apart. Similarly as the Universe expands the galaxies get
further apart.
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