Our Universe Part I

Q. Who propounded the Big Bang Theory and what does it explain?

A. The Big Bang Theory explains that nearly 2x10 ^{10 years} ago, a big explosion took place into smaller pieces and formed galaxies. These galaxies since then are moving apart from one another. This theory was propounded by a Belgian astronomer, Abbe Georges Lamaitre.

Q When was the universe formed?

A. According to astronomers, the Universe was formed after the Big Bang explosion which took place 10-15 billion years ago. Space, time, energy and matter all came into existence. The matter released during the explosion led to the formation of galaxies which were great masses of starts. The Sun is one of the starts in the galaxies that formed during the explosion.

Q. Who was Nicolaus Copernicus?

A. Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who lived between 1473 to 1543 AD. He found that the earth orbited the Sun. But he also believed mistakenly that the Sun was the center of the Universe, and the planet were of the same size and moved in perfect circles.

Q. What is a Light Year?

A. A light year is a unit of distance. It is the distance that a beam of light can travel in one year Light travels at a velocity of about 300,000 kilometers per second. So in one year, it can travel about 10 trillion kms. The faraway are approximately 20 billion light years away.

Q. What is the Universe Made up of?

A. The entire Universe is made up of atoms. After the great explosion called the Big Bang , the Universe cooled down to tiny particles known as protons, neutrons and electrons which joined together and formed atoms. Fro e.g an atom of helium is made up of two electrons, two protons and two neutrons.

Q. What does the Universe consist of?

A. The universe consists of matter, light, and all forms of energy and radiation. It comprises of the Solar System along with eight major planets, three dwarf planets, all their moons, asteroids, comets, and all the starts including the Sun.

Q. What is the size of the Universe?

A. No one really knows the size of the Universe but according to the studies and researches done, there are nearly a 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. Many galaxies observed till date are about 12 billion to 16 billion light years from the Earth. It is believed that by most of the scientists that the Universe was formed in a great explosion known as the Big bang and is still expanding. Numerous researches have been carried out which has helped scientists to know the vastness of the Universe.

Q. Do you think the Universe will continue to expand?

A. According to the astronomers, our galaxies in the Universe will continue to move outwards and will expand until its energy is used up. This expansion will lead to the formation of an open Universe. Another possibility which has been predicted by astronomers is that we might live in closed Universe, as the gravitational force between galaxies will one day slow down, and the gravity will begin to pull the galaxies back towards each other. This might lead to another Big bang which would further create a new Universe.