A groundbreaking development in the field of science occurred in the early parts of the 20th century when Albert Einstein introduced the theory of relativity to a world that mostly thought that everything in the universe – space and time – are fixed into place.
In astronomy, the term protoplanetary disk refers to the circumstellar disk of space matter, composing of space dust, different types of gas, specifically the types of nitrogen, hydrogen or other elemental gas. It is said that this type of astronomical marvel is the basis or essential structure for forming planetary systems, and eventually galaxies.
One theory of planetary formation cites small celestial objects known as planetesimals to be the forbearers of planets. They are formed by the combination of dust, rock and other materials moving within the solar nebula. Through a process called ‘accretion’, these small microscopic particles collide and merge to form larger bodies measuring up to a hundred meters across.
What are extragalactic objects, and why study them? Extragalactic objects give us a hint on what the universe really is like. Extragalactic objects are, simply put, all astronomical objects outside of the Milky Way.
All of us may have considered what if we aren’t the only intelligent form of life in the universe. What if, light years away, are living beings who think and act like us? Or maybe beings with way, way advanced technology, and are studying us from afar? Some people doubt the existence of extraterrestrial life, but we also don’t have any evidence that life elsewhere in the universe do not exist.
Extrasolar planets are planets outside our Solar System. Astronomers have confirmed 464 extrasolar planets as of 2010, but it is believed that there are billions of extrasolar planets in our galaxy alone. Majority of these planets are detected through radial velocity observations, usually without actual imaging. Most of these planets are giant planets that resemble Jupiter and Neptune.
Interstellar Medium is matter that makes up the space between stars and star systems in a galaxy. Most people think space is a complete vacuum, making resources or matter completely absent or none at all. This is a common misconception, since space and the star systems really have matter.
The Sun’s astrosphere is composed of several layers that include the heliosphere, heliosheath, heliopause and the termination shock. Heliosphere can be thought of as a bubble in space surrounding the sun. It shields and helps protect the earth from harmful intergalactic radiation. These radiations can destroy DNA and can make climate not suitable for existence. Without the heliosphere life on Earth would be impossible.
It was the Astronomer Edwin Hubble that was able to describe in numerical terms at which the rate of the universe is expanding, this is known as the Hubble’s Law. In 1929, he was able to observe that almost all galaxies seemed to be moving away from the Earth. This is illustrated in mathematical terms as:
Lagrange points are areas in outer space characterized by gravity along the circular motions in outer space. This phenomenon was theorized by a mathematician from France, Louis Lagrange while studying gravity, most specifically the Three body problem. He aimed to investigate why a third small body would rotate a certain body (Earth), which is also rotating another body (the Sun). Thus, this makes up the five Lagrange points in the Earth Moon system as well as the Sun Earth system.