How is the universe changing BBC Bitesize?

The expansion of the Universe is not constant. Recent measurements have shown that the rate of the Universe’s expansion is increasing. This is currently explained by dark matter and dark energy . The evidence for this area of physics comes from observations of the rotation of galaxies and planets.

What are the evidence that the universe is changing?

Evidence of expansion Scientists have discovered that red-shift data provides evidence that the Universe, including space itself, is expanding. Astronomers have also discovered a cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). This comes from all directions in space and has a temperature of about –270 °C.

What is redshift GCSE?

Red-shift and speed It is a result of the space between the Earth and the galaxies expanding. This expansion stretches out the light waves during their journey to us, shifting them towards the red end of the spectrum. The more red-shifted the light from a galaxy is, the faster the galaxy is moving away from Earth.

What is the universe GCSE?

The Universe is thought to have originated 13.8 billion years ago from a very small, extremely hot and dense region called a singularity. The Big Bang was a massive expansion that blew space up like a gigantic balloon. Initially the universe expanded rapidly.

How does the red-shift explain the expanding universe?

Evidence from red-shift This means that the further away the galaxies are, the faster they are moving. This is similar to an explosion, where the bits moving fastest travel furthest from the explosion. Red-shift data provides evidence that the Universe, including space itself, is expanding.

What does red shift tell us about the universe?

Bottom line: A redshift reveals how an object in space (star/planet/galaxy) is moving compared to us. It lets astronomers measure a distance for the most distant (and therefore oldest) objects in our universe.

How was the universe formed?

Our universe began with an explosion of space itself – the Big Bang. Starting from extremely high density and temperature, space expanded, the universe cooled, and the simplest elements formed. Gravity gradually drew matter together to form the first stars and the first galaxies.

What is the universe in physics?

The universe (Latin: universus) is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy.

What is redshift in simple terms?

‘Red shift’ is a key concept for astronomers. The term can be understood literally – the wavelength of the light is stretched, so the light is seen as ‘shifted’ towards the red part of the spectrum. Something similar happens to sound waves when a source of sound moves relative to an observer.

What law proved that the universe is expanding?

the Hubble Law
In one of the most famous classic papers in the annals of science, Edwin Hubble’s 1929 PNAS article on the observed relation between distance and recession velocity of galaxies—the Hubble Law—unveiled the expanding universe and forever changed our understanding of the cosmos.

How do we know the universe is expanding simple explanation?

In 1929, Edwin Hubble provided the first observational evidence for the universe having a finite age. Using the largest telescope of the time, he discovered that the more distant a galaxy is from us, the faster it appears to be receding into space. This means that the universe is expanding uniformly in all directions.

What is expanding universe theory?

Scientific definitions for expanding universe theory According to the theory, galaxies are not moving through space but rather with space as it expands. The expansion of the universe implies that all of the matter of the universe was once concentrated in one place, which lends support to the big bang theory.

What would happen if the universe keeps expanding?

If gravity overpowers expansion, the cosmos will collapse in a Big Crunch. If the universe continues to expand indefinitely, as expected, we’ll face a Big Freeze. But if dark energy pushes the expansion rate to near infinity, we’ll have a Big Rip that tears everything, even atoms, apart.