SPACE PHYSICS

SPACE PHYSICS

The Earth

• The Earth is a planet, and it orbits the Sun.

• The Earth takes just over 365 days to complete one orbit.
• The Earth also spins on its axis and it takes about 24
hours to rotate once.
• The Earth's axis (an imaginary line through the Earth from the North
pole to the South pole) is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees
• The Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun, and the
Moon is about 384 thousand kilometers from the Earth
Day and night

• Because the Earth spins on its axis, sometimes you are

facing the Sun and sometimes you are facing away from
the Sun. The Sun only shines on the half of the Earth
that is facing it.
• When you are facing the Sun, you are experiencing
day- time.

• When you face away from the Sun, you are experiencing
night-time.

• The Earth spins towards the East. That is

why the Sun appears to rise in the East
and set in the West. At mid-day in the
Northern Hemisphere it appears to be in the
South.
❖ It is the earth that is rotating not the sun is moving.

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

The Seasons

• The Earth moves round the Sun once in approximately 365

days , We experience different seasons due to the amount of
direct sunlight we receive

• In December the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun

and in June it is tilted towards the Sun. In June the Northern
Hemisphere receives more direct sunlight and so it is summer. At the
same time, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and
it is winter.

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

• At the equator the seasons do not vary

as much because there is direct sunlight
all year round.
• At the poles during winter there are
days when the Sun never rises, and days
during summer when the Sun never
sets.
• The maximum height of the Sun in the sky varies according to
the seasons. In summer it is high and casts short shadows. In
winter it is low and casts long shadows. The variation is more
pronounced nearer the poles. The diagram below shows how
shadows vary in the Northern Hemisphere.

Phases of moon

• It takes about a month for the Moon to orbit the Earth. It

orbits with the same side of the Moon facing the Earth all the time.
• We can only see the
Moon because it is
illuminated by (reflects
light from the Sun),
which shines on it. It
does not produce its
own light.

• As the Moon orbits the

Earth it reflects different
amounts of light towards Earth. When the Moon is between the
Sun and the Earth it does not reflect any light towards the Earth.
We call this a New Moon. As it continues to orbit
we see more and more of the Moon, and we say it is waxing,
towards a Full Moon, and then it wanes again

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

Orbital speed

This formula to give us the speed around a circular orbit:

2×𝜋×𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 2×𝜋×𝑟
𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑇

▪ If a question gives the radius in kilometers (km) and the time in

hours (h), then the speed will be in units of km/h.
Questions
1. The moon orbits the Earth in approximately 708 hours, with a
radius of orbit of 385 000 km. Using the formula given above,
calculate the orbital velocity of the Moon.
Answer:
2𝜋𝑟 2×3.14×385000
𝑣= 𝑡
= 708
= 3420𝑘𝑚/ℎ
Therefore v = 3 420 km/h (to 3 sig figs) or 0.949 km/s.

2. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) orbits the earth at a speed of 7.6
km/s and has an orbital time period of 5700 seconds.

• a) Using the formula given above, calculate the radius of the HST's
orbit from the center of the Earth.
• b) The Earth has a radius of 6400 km. Calculate the distance
from the HST to the Earth's surface.
Answer
a) Both time period and speed include seconds, so we can substitute the
numbers directly into the formula
𝒗×𝒕 𝟕.𝟔×𝟓𝟕𝟎𝟎
𝒓= = = 𝟔𝟖𝟗𝟖. 𝟎𝟖𝒌𝒎
𝟐𝝅 𝟐×𝟑.𝟏𝟒

Therefore r = 6900 km (to 3 sig figs) .

b) The Earth's radius is 6400 km, so the HST's height above the Earth's
surface is 6900 - 6400;
so the distance = 500 km

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

Space:

1. The solar system: Our solar system

consists of the Sun at the center, with 8
planets in orbit around it. There are also
comets orbiting the Sun, and moons
orbiting the planets. There are similar
solar systems around other stars.

▪ To remember the planets in order “ My

Very Educated Mother Just Served Us
Noodles and fried Potatoes”

2. Galaxies: There are billions of stars in most galaxies. Our Sun is in a

huge galaxy called the Milky Way. It has about 100 billion
stars in it. Many probably have planets. The galaxy nearest
to us is called the Andromeda galaxy both of these
galaxies are spiral galaxies, with the outer stars orbiting
around a very heavy central mass of stars.

3. The universe: The observable universe is believed to consist of

billions of galaxies

Gravity
The motion of galaxies, stars and planets are all ruled by the force of
gravity. This force between any 2 objects depends on the masses of the
objects and also the distance between them. The pull of gravity makes:
▪ moons orbit planets
▪ artificial satellites (like the international space station) orbit the Earth
▪ the Planets orbit the Sun
▪ Comets orbit the Sun.

4. Orbits

Moons generally travel around planets in a circular orbit. This means that
they keep, the same distance from the planet at all times. This is also true

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

of planets as they orbit the Sun. The Earth stays at approximately the
same distance from the Sun all year as it travels around in its orbit.
However, comets are very different. The distance from the Sun and the
speed of a comet varies dramatically, as shown in figure

The correct mathematical name for this orbit shape is an ellipse. All
comets have an elliptical orbit, and as they approach the Sun, the pull of
gravity makes them travel faster and faster. The comet is fastest at its
closest approach to the Sun

▪ as the distance from the sun increase the time to complete an orbit
for a planet increase because the orbital distance increase so, the
speed of a planet in its orbit decrease as gravitational field strength
decrease
▪ in elliptical orbit the distance from the sun change and gravitational
potential energy change because of the conservation of energy
Total energy = Ek + Ep
when the planet is closer to the sun its Ep is smaller and its Ek is greater
and it move faster

Asteroids
▪ Are made up of metal and rock and are much
smaller than planets usually with irregular
shapes

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

▪ most of them are found between the planet mars and Jupiter the
dwarf planet ceres is found there

Comets
▪ comets are lumps of ice and dust which orbit
around the sun, many comets have elliptical orbit

Satellites
A satellite is anything that orbits a celestial body (star,
planet, moon). Both natural and artificial satellites exist.

Natural satellites
The Moon is the Earth’s natural satellite. Scientists believe
that it was formed when a Mars-sized planet collided with the early Earth, throwing
some of the crust into orbit. However the Moon was formed, it is locked into the Earth’s
gravitation field and circles our planet once every 27.5 days. Many other moons are the
natural satellites for other planets in our solar system and beyond.

Artificial satellites
These have been placed into orbit by man. Among other jobs, artificial satellites
orbiting the Earth are used for:
• telecommunications (transmitting information between distant parts of the Earth)
• satellite navigation systems
• spying on other countries
• weather forecasts
▪ Communications satellites occupy a geostationary orbit. They are in orbit above
the equator at just the right distance so that it takes them one day to complete an
orbit. As a result, they always appear in the same position when seen from the
ground. This is why satellite television dishes can be bolted into position and do not
need to move.

Questions

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

3. A rocket launched from the Earth's surface has to escape from the Earth's
gravitational pull.
Explain why it might be easier to launch a rocket from the surface of Mars.
Answer

Mars has a lower mass than the Earth, and therefore lower gravitational field strength
(g). This means it takes less energy to launch the rocket into space.

4. Explain the difference between the orbit of a comet and of a planet.

Answer
Both comets and planets orbit the Sun. However, planets have an approximately
circular orbit, whereas comets have a highly elliptical orbit
Stars

Stars have many different colors,

ranging here from red and orange,
to white and blue. This is because
the stars all have a different
temperature at the surface.

The color of the star indicates the

temperature. Red stars are not as
hot as orange stars. Then comes
yellow/white, white, and finally blue stars that are extremely hot at the surface.

The evolution of stars:

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

Nebula
All stars begin from a humble cloud of gas and dust, called a nebula. If the mass of a
region of the nebula is large enough, gravity begins to pull the nebula together and
compress it form a hot ball of gas known as protostar
Main sequence stars

The gas has been compressed so much that the temperature reaches millions of
degrees Celsius, enough for a fusion reaction to begin. A star is born! The fusion
reaction lasts for a long time - billions of years for a star like the Sun
Red giant

When stars begin to run out of hydrogen, more complicated fusion reactions can start.
The star begins to swell outwards and cool a little at the surface, producing red giant
stars.

White dwarf
When the last of the fusion reactions stops, the star shrinks. As it does this, the
compressed gases heat up making the star white hot at the surface, but very small

Very large stars (Supergiant):

Stars with a mass much higher than the sun will be extremely bright and will convert
hydrogen at a vast rate through fusion reactions when the hydrogen runs out, they
also swell up to make red supergiant stars

Supernova
Once a red supergiant runs out of fuel to sustain the complicated fusion reactions that
occur, the star collapses very rapidly. As it rushes inwards, The star explodes in a flash
releasing so much energy it can out-shine an entire galaxy This explosion is called a
supernova.
Neutron star: The remaining core collapses into a tiny, extremely dense core made of
neutrons, called a neutron star.
KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)
 SPACE PHYSICS

Black hole

If the core remnant has a huge mass, it collapses inwards to a point. Nothing can stop
the collapse. This is where things get very weird, as the star is still there, with a high
mass and strong gravity, but it is effectively a point in space. This is called
a black hole.

Questions

1. The Sun is currently a main sequence star, in the middle of its evolutionary path.
Describe the next two stages in the evolution of stars like the Sun.
Answer
• The sun will eventually increase in size, and cool to become a red giant.
• After that, it will shrink to a much smaller size, and heat up to become a white
dwarf.

2. Very large main sequence stars will eventually run out of hydrogen in the star's core.
Describe the next stages in a life cycle of a star.

Answer

A very large main sequence star will

• Eventually increase in size to become a red supergiant.
• It then explodes. This is called a supernova.
• The star remnant then collapses to form a neutron star, or - if it is a huge remnant -
to form a black hole.

2. Explain what is meant by a nebula.

Answer
A nebula is a large cloud containing gases (like hydrogen and helium) / dust.

The Big Bang theory

This theory states that the Universe started from extremely hot single point and
began expanding and cooling. In an enormous release of energy (the Big Bang) all
matter was created and moved outward from this point. Eventually the matter formed
dust clouds, stars and the galaxies we see today. However, these galaxies are still
moving outwards - the universe is still expanding.

▪ Key pieces of evidence led to this being the main theory that is supported today.
The two pieces of evidence are the red-shift of distant galaxies, and CMB
radiation

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

1- Red-shift
When very distant galaxies were first observed, astrophysicists noticed that
frequencies produced by the hydrogen in stars had been shifted to longer wavelengths.

▪ Wavelength red end of the spectrum. This effect is called red shift.

Remember Doppler Effect A source of waves moving away from us produces a shift in
the wavelength of light towards longer wavelengths. That is what is being observed here
- distant galaxies are moving away from us at very high speeds. In fact, the further the
distance to the galaxy, the faster the recession
velocity (recession means 'moving away'). This higher velocity leads to a higher red
shift.

1- cosmic microwave background radiation

If the big bang happened, releasing a vast quantity of matter and radiation, then the
radiation remaining should now be enormously red-shifted into the microwave region of
the EM spectrum. Penzias and Wilson had discovered what we now call the cosmic
microwave background radiation (CMB radiation), exactly as predicted by the Big
Bang theory.

The CMB radiation, along with the red shift of distant galaxies has provided
astrophysics with enough evidence for them to be reasonably certain that the Big Bang
theory is correct. The universe did have a starting point

3. In 1964, CMB radiation was discovered.

• a) State what is meant by CMB radiation.

• b) Explain why CMB radiation supports the Big Bang theory for the origins of
the universe.

Answer

a) CMB radiation is cosmic (from space) microwave background (all around us)
radiation.

b) This radiation is predicted from the big bang theory: Any radiation produced in the
big bang should now be red-shifted to microwave radiation, but should be observable
in all directions.

Questions

The Hubble constant

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

▪ Hubble's Law states that a galaxy's recessional velocity (its velocity away from
us) is directly proportional to the galaxy's distance from Earth.

▪ A graph of recessional velocity against distance from Earth is a straight line

passing through the origin.

▪ This graph shows that galaxies that are further away from Earth are moving
away even faster than those closer to Earth. The Hubble constant is equal to
the gradient of the graph

✓ the time it has taken for the galaxies to reach their current is given by
𝑠1
𝑡=𝑣=𝐻
1
✓ so you can take as an estimate for the age of the universe
𝐻

This is further evidence that all matter in the universe came from hot dense point

Question:

A galaxy is found to be moving away with a speed of 2.1 × 107 m s-1. The galaxy is
at a distance of 9.5 × 1024 m from Earth Assuming the speed has remained
constant, what is the age of the universe in years?
Answer
v = H0d

Rearrange for the Hubble constant H0, and calculate

Write the equation for the age of the universe T0, and calculate

Convert from seconds into years

Therefore, the age of the universe is estimated to be about 14.3 billion year.

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)

 SPACE PHYSICS

1. a) What causes the redshift in the light arriving from distant galaxies?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………… [2]
b) The table shows data for a parallel universe. Plot a graph of recessional speed (in
km/s) versus distance (million light-years) to each galaxy for this parallel universe.

[3]

c) Use the graph you plotted to find the Hubble constant, making it clear
how you did it. [2]

d) Find the age of this fictional universe?

KHIZAR YOUSAF (IGCSE PHYSICS)