Our Place in the Universe
This is the galaxy that contains our Solar System
MWG
This effect describes changes in observed wave frequency or wavelength due to relative motion between a source and an observer.
TDE
This theory describes the Universe developing from an extremely hot, dense early state and expanding and cooling over time.
BBT
The Universe began in this general state according to the Big Bang Theory.
EH=D
In an inflating-balloon model of cosmic expansion, these represent galaxies.
D
These are the four levels of organization from smallest to largest: Earth, the system containing Earth, the galaxy containing that system, and everything that exists.
Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Universe
This phenomenon occurs when light shifts toward longer wavelengths.
Redshift
This is the radiation left over from the early Universe that is detected today
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB)
These two things have happened to the Universe since its early stages.
Expansion and cooling
In the balloon model, this change represents the expansion of the Universe.
This unit measures the distance light travels. Not time.
Light-year
This phenomenon occurs when light shifts toward shorter wavelengths
These two elements make up most of the ordinary matter in the Universe and their abundance supports predictions about the early Universe.
Hydrogen and Helium
This is the reason scientists cannot see the Big Bang as a photograph of an explosion happening in space.
the Big Bang describes the expansion of space itself, not an explosion into preexisting empty space
This is one limitation of the balloon model: unlike the simplified balloon surface, the actual Universe has this spatial property.
A balloon is a physical object that expands within surrounding space.
The balloon surface is two-dimensional, while the Universe is three-dimensional.
The model does not establish that the Universe has a central location.
The model illustrates increasing distances but does not fully explain the physics or geometry of cosmic expansion.
Astronomers use these simplified representations to study objects and processes that are too large, distant, or complex to observe completely
Scientific models
When astronomers observe a general pattern of distant galaxies moving away from one another, this is the process the evidence supports.
Expansion of the universe
As space expanded, this happened to the wavelengths of radiation from the early Universe, helping explain why the CMB is now detected as microwaves.
Wavelengths stretched/became longer
Scientists detect this remnant of the early Universe throughout the sky, providing evidence about its past.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB)
These tiny variations in CMB maps provide information about small differences in conditions in the early Universe
Temperature differences
Explain why a model of the Solar System may not accurately represent the actual sizes and distances of all its objects.
Explain why observing redshift in distant galaxies does not prove that Earth is the center of the Universe.
Name 3 independent lines of evidence that support the Big Bang Theory
Explain why the abundance of hydrogen and helium in the Universe supports the Big Bang Theory.
Their abundance is consistent with scientific predictions about the formation of light elements in the early Universe.
Explain why scientists use observations, data, and models together instead of relying on only one piece of evidence to explain the early Universe