The Science of Life in the

Universe (Chapter 2)
Consider the motion in the sky:
diurnal (daily) motion

Star trails around the North Celestial Pole 2.1

 Why so important?

• Ancient peoples of all cultures observed with great

accuracy the motion of the Sun, Moon, planets and the
stars.

• It appeared that everything revolves about Earth/us…

was Earth/were we therefore special? (Moreover, did we
not have to be stationary for otherwise everything would
fall off Earth’s surface?)

• They noted the regularity of motions such as the Sun

rising in the east and setting in the west, the Moon was
associated with tides, first day of spring or summer, etc.
2.2
 Early “science”
• Thales of Greece (624-546 BC) suggested that the
universe was rational and inherently understandable.
• Plato (429-348 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) furthered
this “philosophy”. At this time, more weight was given to
intuition and pure thought than observation or experiment.
• Nonetheless, open debate about theories and conjecture
was encouraged, a fundamental tenet of science.
• Mathematics (geometry) was developed principally by the
Greeks and used to help further their discussions on the
construction of the universe.
• The early Greek philosophers were prepared to discard a
theory if observation proved contrary to the theory
• The scientific method was being established.
2.3
 The appearance of the sky from Earth: The
Celestial Sphere.
To the ancients, it seemed that North Celestial Pole
all celestial objects were
attached to the inside of a very
large sphere – the Celestial
Sphere (CS) – that revolved
about Earth daily. (They weren’t
aware how far away any celestial
object was.) Celestial Equator

Earth’s rotation axis extended

intersects the CS in the North
and South Celestial Poles, while
extending Earth’s equator South Celestial Pole
intersects the CS in a circle
called the Celestial Equator. 2.4
 The appearance of the sky from Earth: The
Celestial Sphere.
The orbit of the Sun appears to
trace out a circle on the CS (see
yellow “dots” in diagram) over one
year. This Earth-Sun plane is
called the ecliptic or ecliptic plane.
The ecliptic is tilted by 23.5
degrees to the equatorial plane or
celestial equator (white line).
Stars do not move relative to one
another and so ancient cultures
identified patterns of stars in the
sky as constellations (often of
animals, royalty or heroes).
2.4
 The Local Sky
An observer at any location on Earth has a horizon (the
intersection of a plane tangent to Earth at that point) and
the CS. The point directly above the observer is called
zenith. The altitude of any point on the CS is the angle
above the horizon to the point, while the direction of the
point is given by the compass (e.g., SE, NW, etc.)

Zenith is
always 90°
from the
horizon.

2.5
The Local Sky
Meridian: Circle
passing through zenith
and connecting N and S
points on the horizon.
We measure points on
the sky (e.g., the
altitude) using angles.

2.6
 Angular Measurements
• Full circle = 360º
• 1º = 60′ (arcminutes)
• 1′ = 60″ (arcseconds)

2.7
 Describing the sky
• It was Anaximander (610-546 BC) who suggested the notion
of the Celestial Sphere, an imaginary construct to help
understand the motion of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars.
• Patterns of stars formed constellations.
• Pythagoras (570-495 BC) suggested the idea of a spherical
Earth (“perfect” shape). Aristotle supported the idea citing the
curved shape of Earth’s shadow on the Moon during a lunar
eclipse.
• Aristotle’s philosophy held that all matter tends to come to rest
at the centre of the universe. Since Earth seems to be at rest
(after all, if you jump up, you come back down where you
started), Earth appears to be at the geographical centre of the
universe. [Aristotle’s point here at least is erroneous!]
2.8
 The Round Earth
• Eratosthenes (276-195 BC ) determined the diameter of
Earth in about 240 BC to a surprisingly good accuracy.
• He noted that at noon on a particular day in Syene
(Aswan), the Sun shone straight down a deep well, while
at the same moment in Alexandria (5,000 stadia N of
Syene), a vertical obelisk cast a shadow of 7 degrees.

Following simple logic:

7°  5,000 stadia
360°  255,000 stadia

2.9
 The Geocentric (Earth-centred) model
• It appears to the average person – i.e., common sense –
that Earth is stationary and at the centre of the universe.

• The 5 known planets (“wanderers”) plus the Sun and Moon

moved across the celestial sphere and became enshrined
in our days of the week.

2.9
 An observation to challenge the
Geocentric model: Retrograde motion
• Normally planets move eastwards (“prograde”) with
respect to the stars as seen from Earth night to night.

2.10
 How could this occur?
• However, for weeks to months, all planets move westwards
or with “retrograde” motion at some time during the year with
respect to the stars as seen from Earth.
• The most sophisticated geocentric model was that of
Claudius Ptolemy (90-168 AD).
• Trajectories were constructed from circles (since a circle had
an infinite number of symmetry axes). Ptolemy refined the
geocentric model to quite accurately reflect the observed
retrograde motion of planets.

2.11
 Circles on circles: epicycles and deferents

• Ptolemy had to introduce

epicycles and deferents
• Sufficiently accurate to
remain in use for 1500 years
• Arabic translation of
Ptolemy’s work named
Almagest (“the greatest
2.12
compilation”)
 Heliocentric (Sun-centred) model
• Aristarchus (310-230 BC ) suggested a heliocentric view of
the universe. Namely, Earth and other planets revolved
around the Sun.
• This model offered a simpler idea requiring less complex
geometry to explain the retrograde motion of the planets.

2.13
 Heliocentric model
• Despite the elegance and simplicity of the model, it was
widely rejected. Earth, after all, seemed to be at the
centre of the universe.
• If Earth moved about the Sun, leading to retrograde
motion for the planets, why then did stars not exhibit this
motion too?
• In science, you cannot “play favourites”. There needed to
be a reason why planets exhibited retrograde motion &
stars did not.
• Logic dictated there remain but 2 options: either the stars
were very far away (and so their retrograde motion was
impossible to detect), or Earth was at the centre of the
universe.
2.14
Annual (stellar) parallax (related to the apparent
angular shift of a star)

If stars were at various distances, then closer (more nearby) stars

should exhibit stellar parallax relative to the distant stars. 2.15
 Early thoughts about life beyond Earth

• Why did the Greeks (and presumably other cultures in

our early history) argue about the possibility of life
beyond Earth? (A surprisingly old debate.)
– the answer to the question was important to them
both philosophically as well as religiously
• During this exciting early period of scientific discovery,
two schools of thought emerged concerning
extraterrestrial life:
1. The Atomists who thought an infinite number of
particles (atoms) of earth, air, fire and water (the 4
fundamental elements) made up the universe

2.16
 Early thoughts about life beyond Earth
2. The Aristotelians held that the 4 elements resided on
Earth alone and the 5th element (the ether) made up
the heavens.
• Democritus (460-370 BC) led the Atomists’ view and in his
writings he clearly believed that many other planets both
“like and unlike” Earth existed in the universe. We were not
unique or special.
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) championed the opposing view,
namely that the characteristics of the 4 elements meant
that Earth had to be unique (and special) in the universe as
the ether comprise the Heavens.
• Arguably, the debate did not end then and continues today!

2.17
Our mathematical and scientific heritage originated with the
civilizations of the Middle East.
2.18
Artist’s reconstruction of the Library of Alexandria. Possibly,
half a million scrolls existed in the Library at its height. (The
library was first burned down by Julius Caesar around 48 BC.)
2.19
 How did Islamic scientists preserve and
extend Greek science?

• The Islamic world preserved and enhanced the knowledge

they received from the Greeks and others while most of
Europe was in its Middle Ages.
• Al-Ma’mun’s House of Wisdom in Baghdad was a great
center of learning from around 800 to nearly 1300 AD.
• With the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Eastern
scholars headed west to Europe, carrying knowledge that
helped ignite the European Renaissance.
• It is also the case that some of this knowledge was
preserved in monasteries throughout northern Europe,
particularly in Ireland.
2.20
 Copernican (Scientific) Revolution
• While examples of “scientific thinking” could be found in
nearly all major cultures in recorded history, it was only
in the west that the Scientific Revolution took place
beginning in the 16th century
• The principles of the scientific method were first
developed by Scholastic theologians in the 13th century

Fr. Roger Bacon

• It was felt that by uncovering the laws of nature through

the practice of science, humankind could, among other
things, get a better understanding of the Creator and
ultimate Lawgiver (i.e., God) 2.21
 Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)
...

A Catholic “priest” who proposed the modern heliocentric model

for the solar system which ultimately gained traction. 2.22
 Copernican (Scientific) Revolution
• How did the Copernican Revolution further the
development of science and alter the ancient debate on
extra-terrestrial life?
– Theory and observations had to agree and with the
demise of the geocentric Solar System, Aristotle’s
“unique Earth,” was called into question (doubt).
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) (re)proposed the Sun-
centered model (published 1543). (Recall Aristarchus
(310-230 BC) had earlier proposed this model.)
• He used the model to determine the arrangement of the
Solar System.
• The model was no more accurate than the Ptolemaic
model in predicting planetary positions, because it still
used perfect circles for planetary orbits. 2.21
Tycho Brahe (1546–1601)
• Brahe, arguably one of the greatest
observational astronomers of all time,
compiled the most accurate (~1 arc-
minute) naked eye measurements
ever made of planetary positions.
• He still could not detect stellar
parallax, and thus still thought Earth
must be at the center of the Solar
System (but recognized that other
planets go around the Sun).
• He hired Kepler, a renowned
mathematician, who would use
Brahe’s observations to discover the
truth about planetary motion. 2.23
 • Kepler first tried to match Brahe’s
Johannes Kepler observations by using circular
(1571–1630) orbits for the planets and use of the
Copernican model.
• But an 8-arcminute discrepancy for
Mars’ position in the sky compared
to the model’s predictions led
Kepler eventually to use ellipses
(not circles) for planetary orbits.
• “If I had believed that we could
ignore these eight minutes [of arc], I
would have patched up my
hypothesis accordingly. But, since it
was not permissible to ignore,
those eight minutes pointed the
road to a complete reformation in
2.24
astronomy.”
 Fall (Autumnal) Equinox
• At 3:50 am on Mon 23 Sep,
the Fall (or Autumnal)
Equinox will take place
• The Sun’s orbit on the sky,
the Ecliptic (yellow) plane
intersects the Equatorial
plane (blue) heading south
• “Equinox” means time of
equal night (and day)
• The Sun rises due E and
sets due W on this day
 Kepler’s Three Laws

1. Planetary orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one

focus.

2. An imaginary line connecting the planet and Sun

sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is equal

to the cube of its semi-major axis*.
* the average distance of a planet to the Sun

Check out this video about Kepler’s Three Laws.

2.24
 Kepler’s 1st law (1609)
(Semi-major axis denoted by the letter “a”)

Perihelion: point in orbit closest to Sun

Aphelion: point in orbit furthest from Sun
A circle is an ellipse with the two foci overlapping. 2.25
Kepler’s 2nd Law (1609)

2.26
 Kepler’s 3rd law (1619): P 2 = a 3

If P is in years, then a is in astronomical units (AUs)

where the average Earth-Sun distance is exactly 1 AU.
2.27
 How did Galileo solidify the Copernican
revolution?
Three key objections rooted in the
Aristotelian view were the following:

1. Earth could not be moving because

objects in air would be left behind.

2. Noncircular orbits are not “perfect”

and objects in the universe should
be “perfect” in every respect.

3. If Earth were really orbiting the Sun,

we should detect stellar parallax.
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
2.28
 Overcoming the objections
1. Galileo’s experiments showed that objects in air would
stay with a moving Earth. Aristotle thought that all
objects naturally come to rest but Galileo showed that
objects will stay in motion unless a force acts to slow
them down.

2. Brahe’s observations of a comet and a supernova

(exploding star) in the late 16th century had already
challenged this idea: things change! The night sky is not
as invariant as was once believed. Galileo also observed
(telescopically) sunspots on the Sun (“imperfections”),
mountains and valleys on the Moon (proving it is not a
perfectly smooth sphere), and satellites revolving
primarily around Jupiter and not Earth.
2.29
 Overcoming the objections (cont.)
3. Brahe thought he had measured stellar distances, so lack
of parallax seemed to rule out an orbiting Earth. Galileo
showed stars must be much farther than Brahe thought —
in part by using his telescope to see that the Milky Way
seemed comprised of countless individual stars.

4. If stars were much farther away, then the lack of detectable

parallax was no longer troubling. Very distant objects may
well produce parallax so small as to be unmeasurable.
2.30
Geo- versus Heliocentric models:
the motion and phases of Venus

2.31
Galileo Galilei • In 1633 the Catholic Church
ordered Galileo to recant his
claim that Earth orbits the
Sun.
• His book on the subject was
removed from the Church’s
index of banned books in
1824.
• Galileo was formally
vindicated by the Church in
1992, though Catholic
scientists and schools used
and taught his laws for
centuries. His censure was
very complicated and involved
a clash of personalities. 2.32
 How did Newton change our view of the
universe?
• He realized the same physical
laws that operate on Earth also
operate in the heavens: one
universe governed by the same
set of physical principles.

• He conceived the laws of motion

and gravity.

• Much more: Experiments with

light; first reflecting telescope,
calculus … one of history’s
Sir Isaac Newton
brightest scientists.
(1642–1727) 2.33
What are Newton’s three laws of motion?
1. Newton’s first law of
motion: An object moves at
constant velocity unless a net
force acts to change its
speed or direction.

2. Newton’s second law of

motion: Force = mass ×
acceleration.

3. Newton’s third law of

motion: For every force,
there is always an equal and
opposite reaction force. 2.34
 What is gravity and what determines its
strength ?
• A force that keeps the Moon in orbit about the Earth, the
planets moving about the Sun and indeed, a force that
keeps you firmly on the ground.

The Universal Law of Gravitation:

1. Every mass attracts every other mass.

2. The attraction is directly proportional to the product of

their masses.

3. The attraction is inversely proportional to the square of

the distance between their centres.
2.35
What determines the strength of gravity?
Gravitational Constant

2.36
 Einstein’s theory of relativity: an
improvement (not replacement) of Newton’s
law of gravity

2.37
 In summary …

• Prior to the mid-16th century in the west, scholars were more

interested in “how to get to heaven” rather than “how the
heavens go”. There was little experimentation.
• From Copernicus’ bold assertion of the heliocentric model to
Newton’s mathematical portrayal of the laws of motion and
the law of gravity, barely 150 years transpired. A “revolution”
of ideas had occurred… the Scientific Revolution.
• In the span of about 150 years, humankind’s perception of
the universe had changed significantly. A telescope was now
able to peer into the sky and reveal sights never before seen
or even imagined. Society was still deeply religious, but
using science to discover God’s laws was seen as an
important (pre)occupation.
2.38
 Practice with Kepler’s Laws
First Law:
• Definition of an ellipse
• Drawing an ellipse
• Two foci (focuses) of which the Sun occupies one
• Earth’s orbit is nearly circular (only slightly
“squashed”). Suppose its orbit had the same semi-
major axis, but was much more squashed. Would its
perihelion be smaller or larger than it is now?

2.39
 Practice with Kepler’s Laws

Second Law:

• Radius vector (line connecting centre of Sun to centre

of planet) sweeps out equal areas in equal times
• Based on the conservation of angular momentum
• How would the speeds of a planet at perihelion in its
orbit about the Sun differ in the two orbits below?

2.39
 Practice with Kepler’s Laws
Third Law:

• P 2 (yr) = a 3 (AU)
• E.g., PEarth = 1 yr, aEarth = 1 AU (so P 2 = a 3)

• Now what about for another planet?

• E.g., Saturn
aSaturn = 9.58 AU

then a3 = a × a × a = 9.58 × 9.58 × 9.58 = 879.2

so P 2 = 879.2 or

P = √879.2 = 29.6 yr [observed: 29.5 yr] 2.39

 Practice with Kepler’s Laws
Third Law (cont’d):

• P 2 (yr) = a 3 (AU)

• E.g., Mercury
PMercury = 0.241 yr (88 da)

then P 2 = P × P = 0.241 × 0.241 = 0.058

so a 3 = 0.058 or

a = 0.058 1/3 = 0.39 AU [observed: 0.39 AU]

2.39
 Practice with Inverse Square Law
Imagine a source of light as in the figure below:

At a distance 1 unit away, the light rays all pass through

a single screen. At a distance 2 units away, the light rays
pass through 2×2 = 4 screens. At a distance 3 units
away, the light rays pass through 3×3 = 9 screens. At a
distance d units, the light rays pass through d×d = d 2
screens. So the intensity of the light per screen falls off
as 1/d 2 … the inverse square law. 2.39
 Practice with Inverse Square Law
Let’s apply this to the Sun and planets.

Earth is 1 AU away from the Sun. Mars is 1.5 AU away

from the Sun. How bright does the Sun appear from
Mars compared with the Sun from Earth?

The Sun’s rays will appear 1/(1.52) = 0.44 times as bright

from the distance of Mars compared with Earth.

2.39
We distinguish science from non-science by the
rigorous application of the scientific method.

2.39
The basis for
modern science, the
scientific method,
became a reality
during the scientific
revolution between
Copernicus and
Newton. However,
its applicability goes
well beyond science
and is a growing
part of our everyday
lives.

2.40
 When applying the scientific method,
remember …
• Simplicity of a model is important, Occam’s razor. (It was
simplicity that won scientists over to the Copernican model.)

• Observations must be verifiable, repeatable

• Observations must be objective, free of bias

• Beware of pseudoscientific claims such as those made by

astrology. Astrologers usually make (very general)
predictions whose accuracy is no better than random chance.
(We’ll take some time next term to look critically at UFOs and
whether they’re evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence.)
2.41
 A note from our author: Seth Shostak

• Be sure to check out this brief presentation, a TED talk,

argues why we search for life and embodies many of the
ideas we have discussed to date. It will give you a
sense of both the author of the text and the life of a
scientist.

2.42