PHY-2203 (Astronomy and Cosmology)

Chapter- 1 (Introduction)

by

Dr. Mithun Kumar Das

Associate Professor

Department of Physics
Comilla University, Cumilla.

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Galaxy:
A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar
systems. A galaxy is held together by gravity. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, also has
a supermassive black hole in the middle.

Nebulae:
A nebula is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist
of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust.
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Meteoroid:
Meteoroids are lumps of rock or iron that orbit the sun, just as planets, asteroids,
and comets do. Meteoroids, especially the tiny particles called micrometeoroids,
are extremely common throughout the solar system.

Asteroid:
An asteroid is a minor planet-an object that is neither a true planet nor a comet-
that orbits within the inner Solar System. They are rocky, metallic or icy bodies
with no atmosphere.

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Difference between asteroid and meteoroid?
Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than the meteoroids. A
meteor is a small piece of an asteroid burns up upon entering Earth's atmosphere,
creating a streak of light in the sky.

What is meant by celestial objects?

A natural object which is located outside of the Earth's atmosphere, such as the
Moon, the Sun, an asteroid, planet, or star.

Comet:
A comet is a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when
near the sun, a ‘tail’ of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.

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Supernova:
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs
during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is
triggered into runaway nuclear fusion.

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Quasars:
A massive and extremely remote celestial object, emitting exceptionally large amounts of energy,
and typically having a starlike image in a telescope. It has been suggested that quasars contain
massive black holes and may represent a stage in the evolution of some galaxies.

Pulsar:
A pulsar is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic
radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of
emission is pointing toward Earth, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission.

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Astronomy:
Astronomy is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's
atmosphere. That includes objects we can see with our naked eyes, like the Sun,
the Moon, the planets, and the stars. It also includes objects we can only see
with telescopes or other instruments, like faraway galaxies and tiny particles.
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It
uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and
evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies,
meteoroid, asteroid, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova
explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave
background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that
originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. 7
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Professional astronomy is split into observational and theoretical branches.

Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of

astronomical objects. This data is then analyzed using basic principles of physics.

Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or

analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. These two

fields complement each other. Theoretical astronomy seeks to explain

observational results and observations are used to confirm theoretical results.

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Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics"
"Astronomy" and "astrophysics" are synonyms. Based on strict dictionary

definitions, "astronomy" refers to "the study of objects and matter outside the

Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties," while

"astrophysics" refers to the branch of astronomy dealing with "the behavior,

physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena".

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Observational astronomy

The main source of information about celestial bodies and other objects is

visible light, or more generally electromagnetic radiation. Observational

astronomy may be categorized according to the corresponding region of the

electromagnetic spectrum on which the observations are made. Some parts of

the spectrum can be observed from the Earth's surface, while other parts are

only observable from either high altitudes or outside the Earth's atmosphere.

Specific information on these subfields is given below:

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Radio astronomy:

Radio astronomy uses radiation with wavelengths greater than approximately one

millimeter, outside the visible range. Radio astronomy is different from most

other forms of observational astronomy in that the observed radio waves can be

treated as waves rather than as discrete photons. Hence, it is relatively easier to

measure both the amplitude and phase of radio waves, whereas this is not as

easily done at shorter wavelengths.

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Although some radio waves are emitted directly by astronomical objects, a

product of thermal emission, most of the radio emission that is observed is the
result of synchrotron radiation, which is produced when electrons orbit magnetic
fields. Additionally, a number of spectral lines produced by interstellar gas are
observable at radio wavelengths. A wide variety of other objects are observable at
radio wavelengths, including supernovae, interstellar gas, pulsars, and active
galactic nuclei. 12
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Infrared astronomy:
Infrared astronomy is founded on the detection and analysis of infrared radiation,
wavelengths longer than red light and outside the range of our vision. The
infrared spectrum is useful for studying objects that are too cold to radiate visible
light, such as planets, nebulae whose light is blocked by dust. The longer
wavelengths of infrared can penetrate clouds of dust that block visible light,
allowing the observation of young stars embedded in molecular clouds and the
cores of galaxies.

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Optical astronomy:
Historically, optical astronomy, also called visible light astronomy, is the oldest
form of astronomy. Images of observations were originally drawn by hand. In the
late 19th century and most of the 20th century, images were made using
photographic equipment. Modern images are made using digital detectors,
particularly using charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and recorded on modern
medium. Although visible light itself extends from approximately 4000 Å to 7000
Å (400 nm to 700 nm), that same equipment can be used to observe some near-
ultraviolet and near-infrared radiation.

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Ultraviolet astronomy:
Ultraviolet astronomy employs ultraviolet wavelengths between approximately
100 and 3200 Å (10 to 320 nm). Light at those wavelengths is absorbed by the
Earth's atmosphere, requiring observations at these wavelengths to be performed
from the upper atmosphere or from space. Ultraviolet astronomy is best suited to
the study of thermal radiation and spectral emission lines from hot blue stars that
are very bright in this wave band. This includes the blue stars in other galaxies,
which have been the targets of several ultraviolet surveys. Other objects
commonly observed in ultraviolet light include planetary nebulae, supernova, and
active galactic nuclei. However, as ultraviolet light is easily absorbed by
interstellar dust, an adjustment of ultraviolet measurements is necessary.
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X-ray astronomy:
X-ray astronomy uses X-ray wavelengths. Typically, X-ray radiation is produced
by synchrotron emission (the result of electrons orbiting magnetic field lines),
thermal emission from thin gases above 107 (10 million) kelvins, and thermal
emission from thick gases above 107 Kelvin. Since X-rays are absorbed by the
Earth's atmosphere, all X-ray observations must be performed from high-altitude
balloons, rockets, or X-ray astronomy satellites. Notable X-ray sources include
pulsars, supernova remnants, elliptical galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and active
galactic nuclei.

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Gamma-ray astronomy:
Gamma ray astronomy observes astronomical objects at the shortest wavelengths
of the electromagnetic spectrum. Gamma rays may be observed directly by
satellites such as the Compton gamma ray observatory or by specialized
telescopes called atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The Cherenkov telescopes
do not detect the gamma rays directly but instead detect the flashes of visible
light produced when gamma rays are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. Most
gamma-ray emitting sources are actually gamma-ray bursts, objects which only
produce gamma radiation for a few milliseconds to thousands of seconds before
fading away. Only 10% of gamma-ray sources are non-transient sources. These
steady gamma-ray emitters include pulsars, neutron stars, and black hole
candidates such as active galactic nuclei.
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Theoretical astronomy:

Theoretical astronomers use several tools including analytical models and

computational numerical simulations; each has its particular advantages.
Analytical models of a process are better for giving broader insight into the heart
of what is going on. Numerical models reveal the existence of phenomena and
effects otherwise unobserved.

Theorists in astronomy endeavor to create theoretical models that are based on

existing observations and known physics, and to predict observational
consequences of those models. The observation of phenomena predicted by a
model allows astronomers to select between several alternative or conflicting
models. Theorists also modify existing models to take into account new
observations. In some cases, a large amount of observational data that is
inconsistent with a model may lead to abandoning it largely or completely.

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Phenomena modeled by theoretical astronomers include:

 stellar dynamics and evolution

 galaxy formation
 large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe
 the origin of cosmic rays
 general relativity and physical cosmology.

Modern theoretical astronomy reflects dramatic advances in observation since

the 1990s, including studies of the cosmic microwave background, distant
supernovae and galaxy redshifts, which have led to the development of a
standard model of cosmology. This model requires the universe to contain
large amounts of dark matter and dark energy whose nature is currently not
well understood, but the model gives detailed predictions that are in excellent
agreement with many diverse observations. 19
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 An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible
evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first
confirmation of detection occurred in 1992.

 Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. The search for life beyond the Earth requires an
understanding of life, and the nature of the environments that support it, as well as planetary,
planetary system and stellar interactions and processes.
 The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial
state of high density and temperature.

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Cosmology:
Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the
universe, i.e., cosmology is the science in which the whole universe considered
as a particle called cosmos and we discuss the origin, end, evolution of the
universe, age and bigness of the universe.

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What is the astronomical coordinate system?
Astronomical (or celestial) coordinate systems are organized arrangements for
specifying positions of satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, and other celestial
objects relative to physical reference points available to a situated observer.

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What are the different types of astronomical coordinate systems?

There are four basic systems of astronomical coordinates: the equatorial
coordinate system, the altazimuth coordinate system, the celestial or ecliptic
coordinate system, and the galactic coordinate system.

What is the main purpose of an astronomical coordinate system?

To fix the position of astronomical objects in space, we need a frame of
reference, or coordinate system, which assigns a unique set of numbers to each
point in the sky.

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Unit of distance in astronomy:
Astronomers use many of the same units of measurement as other scientists. They
often use meters for length, kilograms for mass, and seconds for time. However,
the distances and sizes in the universe can be so big, that astronomers have
invented more units to describe distance.
1. Astronomical Units:
Distances in the solar system are often measured in astronomical units
(abbreviated AU). An astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth
and the Sun:
1 AU = 1.496 x 108 km = 93 million miles

Jupiter is about 5.2 AU from the Sun and Pluto is about 39.5 AU from the Sun.
The distance from the Sun to the center of the Milky Way is approximately 1.7 x
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109 AU.
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2. Light-Years:
To measure the distances between stars, astronomers often use light-years
(abbreviated ly). A light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one
year:
1 ly = 9.5 x 1012 km = 63,240 AU
Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to Earth (other than the Sun) and is 4.2 light-
years away. This means light from Proxima Centauri takes 4.2 years to travel to
Earth.

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3. Parsecs:
Many astronomers prefer to use parsecs (abbreviated pc) to measure distance to
stars. This is because its definition is closely related to a method of measuring the
distances between stars. A parsec is the distance at which 1 AU subtends an angle
of 1 arcsec.
1 pc = 3.09 x 1013 km = 3.26 ly

1 arc second = 3.09 x 1013 km 29

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 Thank you
for your kind attention

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