Transcript Intro to Astronomy

Astronomers observe the sky!
Astronomy is the study of:
• the sky & the stars
• galaxies, cosmology, the solar system
(With thanks to Mark Clayson & Mark Ritter)
Visions of the Heavens
Marcus Aurelius : "He who does
not know what the world is does
not know where he is, and he
who does not know for what
purpose the world exists, does
not know who he is, nor what
the world is."
• a little math…
• the numbers we use
are astronomical ,
so…
• you must understand
scientific
notation!
• you should know it
already; it just makes
enormous and
infinitesimal numbers
easier to deal with
• solar system: the
sun, planet family, all
the other little stuff
• planets: small, nonluminous bodies
• sun: self-luminous
ball of hot gas that
generates its own
energy
• astronomical unit
(AU): average
distance between sun
and earth (93 million
miles)
Solar System Montage by Voyager:
planets & Jupiter’s Galilean moons
• light-year (ly): the distance light
travels in a year; almost 1013 km
• galaxy: great cloud of gas, stars,
dust bound together by gravity
• Milky Way: the galaxy we live in
How Matter is Organized
Organization of the Universe:
– Superclusters of galaxies
• Clusters of galaxies
– Galaxies
• Clusters of stars (globular, open in spiral arms)
• Clouds/Nebulae (stars coming or going)
– Stellar systems
• Stars (single, binary,...)
• Planets (terrestrial, Jovian)
– Moons
• Minor objects (comets, asteroids,...)
Worlds Without Number
Do you know
our universal
address??
Azusa Pacific University,
CA, USA,
North America,
Northern Hemisphere
Earth,
the Solar System,
Milky Way Galaxy,
The Local Group,
The Local Supercluster,
The Universe!
How Little We Know
“For by Him were all things created...
visible and invisible...
in Him all things hold together.”
~ Colossians 1:15, 17
Big Bang & Expanding Universe
“He...stretches out the heavens as a curtain...
as a tent to dwell in,” Isaiah 40: 21, 22
Our Sister Galaxy – Andromeda
(~2 million LY away)
Stars Orbiting Milky Way’s
Supermassive Black Hole
A Face-On Spiral Galaxy
Edge-On Spiral Galaxy
The Eagle Nebula
Pillars of Creation – Eagle Nebula
Orion Nebula Stellar Nursery
& Protoplanetary Disk
Sun in UV
(why we wear sunscreen and
sunglasses)
First Photo of Planet Around
Another Star
First Extra-Solar Rocky Planet
Discovered & Announced Sept.
16, 2009
Habitable (“Goldilocks”)
Zone Around Stars
The Lives & Classes of Stars:
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
The Sun’s Life Story
A Very Brief History of Natural Science
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•
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Natural Philosophy: study of unanswered questions about nature.
The search for understanding through study of the physical world
Scientists look at the world with curiosity
– Curiosity makes us ask questions about the world around us:
• Why does the sun shine?
• What makes the sky blue?
• How old is the earth?
• How were the planets formed?
• Why do things fall?
• What are things made of?
•
Scientists make observations, do experiments, create models/theories to answer
questions, in an iterative process…
–
•
•
GOAL: to obtain a compelling explanation describing observed phenomena, which makes
accurate predictions, and leads to a better understanding of the universe.
Scientists try to understand the multitude of nature’s attributes as resulting from the
action of a relatively small number of elemental (basic) things and forces acting in an
infinite variety of combinations.
Physics (the basis for ASTRONOMY) is the most basic of all sciences; it’s about the
nature of such basic things as motion, forces, energy, heat, sound, light, and atoms.
Science and Theology
• Search for order and meaning takes different forms…
• Science is concerned with discovering and understanding natural
phenomena
– The domain of science is natural order
• Theology is concerned with the source, purpose, and meaning of
everything
– The domain of theology is nature’s purpose
• Science and theology complement, rather than contradict, each other.
• Lack of understanding about either science or theology can make people
feel they must choose one or the other, but a deeper, more complete
understanding of each enables us to embrace them both without
contradiction.
• God is the author of both creation and scripture!
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal
power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” - Romans
1:20
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of
his hands…” - Psalm 19:1
Science and Theology
can enlighten and inform each other as we
seek to know ultimate TRUTH
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“For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then we shall see face to
face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.” I Corinthians 13:12
FAITH INTEGRATION
SCIENCE IS THE TOOL WE USE
TO INVESTIGATE GOD’S
CREATION!
The Scientific Method
I Thessalonians 5:21 – “Test everything…Hold onto the good.”
Psalm 34:8 – “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”