Origin Of the Universe

When did it all begin?

How did it happen?

 Theories about the Origin of Universe

• Though there are many other theories

explaining the origin of Universe like
• - Steady State Theory
• - Pulsating Theory
But evidence supports in favor of
• Big Bang Theory
• Most accepted theory about the origins of
Universe
 What is Big Bang Theory?
• About 13.8 billion years ago, there was
absolutely nothing , but a
• Singularity
• What do we mean by Singularity ?
• Singularity was a point where all the matter
which comprises the Universe today was
compacted with infinite density, pressure and
temperature.
Imagining Singularity
 Big Bang
• One of the conception is that at some
instant, there was an explosion – The Big Bang
• Other theory (which I find more convincing )
that Universe expanded uniformly in all
directions , like a balloon.
• After the Big Bang, the universe inflated with a speed
much more than speed of light and grew from
subatomic size to the size of golf ball.
• Still the universe was too hot for any atoms to exist.
• Cosmos was filled with huge number of fundamental
particles like protons, neutrons and electrons
• Electrons scattered photons, causing the whole
universe to glow –plasma of particles
 Primordial Soup
• Scientists call this stage as the Primordial Soup.
• According to NASA statement, “The free electrons would
have caused light (photons) to scatter the way sunlight
scatters from water droplets in clouds”.
• With the increase in inflation, the temperatures continued to
drop. After about 300,000 years, the temperatures dropped
to the point that atoms could form.
• As charged particles tend to scatter the photons, neutral
atoms would make them travel in straight lines.
• This is the genesis of Cosmic Microwave Background, the
uniform light radiation that fills the universe.
Evidences Supporting the Big Bang theory

• 1- Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

• 2- Expanding Universe and Red Shift

• 3- Abundance of light Elements.

 Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
(CMB)
• Physicists were of the view, that for theory of big bang to be
correct there should be some of the CMB still remaining in the
universe.
• Astronomers and Physicists used normal telescopes to see
between the stars.
• All they could find was the darkness.
• In 1965, two astronomers Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias were
working on a Bell Lab project. They were designing the microwave
horn antenna in order to develop communication between
satellites and earth stations.
• They observed a constant noise signal in the background.
• Correlated with the findings of

• They started measuring this wavelength.

• Wavelength turned out to be around 1mm and so by Wein’s
law, the temperature of the universe turned out to be
3degreeKelvin.
• Received noble prize in 1978.
• In 1989, COBE satellite was placed in orbit to measure CMB.
 To study CMB
• Although detection of radiation was possible on
earth , a large portion of the radiations was blocked
by the earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere is
opaque to the radiation between 1-10mm.
• Not only COBE could accurately measure wavelength
to be 1.064 mm but also confirmed that wavelength
and frequency of radiation was absolutely same all
around.
• The corresponding current temperature by Wein’s
Law turned out to be 2.74 K.
 Size of wavelength at the
beginning of universe
• As we know nuclear fusion can take place only
if the temperature is at least 10 million K.
• Ratio of the wavelength of radiation then and
now provides a clue of the size of the early
universe.
 Expanding Universe and Red Shift
• If there is an evidence that the universe is
expanding, then travelling back in time
confirms that the universe was a singularity
once.
Electromagnetic
Spectrum
 Doppler Effect
• Doppler effect of light waves is similar to the
Doppler effect of the sound waves.
Doppler Effect
for light waves
Doppler Effect of the Sound Waves
• With an approaching train, there is an
increase in the pitch of the sound.
• With a train going away, the pitch of the sound
decreases
• Sound waves increase or decrease depending
on the movement of the object emitting the
waves relative to the person hearing them.
Doppler Effect of the sound waves
 Red Shift
• We all know that light travels to Earth from
distant galaxies.
• If there is an increase in the wavelength of
light being received, it means that it is moving
away from earth.
• Similar to the Doppler effect of the sound
wave
Red Shift in the Spectrum
 Red Shift
• Red Shift gives scientists information about
the speed and direction the stars are moving.
• In 1929, Scientist named Edwin Hubble
discovered that stars are not only moving
away from us but also away from each other.
Abundance of light elements in the Universe

• How did all the elements originate in the

Universe?
• What are stars made of?
 Abundance of light elements contd..
• Scientists and engineers can analyze the light
emitted from the stars and can determine what
these stars are made of.
• Light from distant objects is broken into its
constituent colors.
• Each element when it glows emits particular
colors of light.
• Looking at all the component colors, it is feasible
to determine what the object is made of
Abundance of light elements contd..
• By analyzing the light from stars, it was
observed that most of the stars are made of
Hydrogen and Helium, like our sun.
 Abundance of light elements contd..

• From where have all the electrons, protons

and neutrons come from?
• Answer is “ they came directly from the big
bang”.
• At the big bang, the universe was very hot, so
hot that it was all filled with high energy
gamma rays, the photons
 Abundance of light elements
contd….
• In the late 1940’s after second world war, two
scientists named Robert Herman and Ralph
Alpher looked at the consistency of the universe
to be made up of 75% Hydrogen and 25% Helium.
• Another fact was stated by studying stars. They
observed that at the core of stars nuclear fusion
reaction was taking place which forms the basis
of enormous energy that the stars produce.
• At the temperature as high as at least
10,000,000 K, the electrons are striped away
from the Hydrogen atoms and single protons
are moving around. The two protons collided
together
• Provides a proof that early universe was so
hot and dense at one point of time to make
fusion reaction possible.
 Age of the Universe
• The discoveries of the Hubble’s Telescope enabled
scientists to calculate the approximate age of the
Universe.
• Scientist named Hubble in early 20th century could
see the nebulas and stars outside our own galaxy.
He realized that galaxies outside our own galaxy are
moving away from us. Not only that they are moving
away from us, he also realized that farther the
galaxies, higher the speed with which it moves away
from us.
 Age of the Universe ….contd.
• With the Hubble’s telescope findings, it was
determined that if a galaxy is 1Mpc away, it
will be moving at a speed of 73 km/sec, and if
it is 2Mpc away, it will be moving at a speed of
146km/sec.
• The above finding is the key to Hubble Law.
The Hubble Law states that the ‘ Speed with
which the galaxies move away is proportional
to the distance away from us’.
 Temperature of the early universe
• Einstein discovered that matter and energy are
basically the same thing in different forms. Both
energy and mass can transform into each other.
• Photon ( a chunk of energy with no mass) can
instantaneously convert into matter , a particle
and anti-particle.
• A particle and anti-particle can collide and
annihilate into energy.
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• During first three minutes, universe was hot
enough that protons and neutrons collided to
form Duetrium.
• Deutrium collided with neutrons to form
tritium
• Tritium collided with more proton to form
Helium
• Helium and protons combined to form Lithium
• This is how elements on the periodic table begin
to appear.
• Starting with Hydrogen, Helium and then
Lithium.
• But Universe was expanding very rapidly,
temperatures were dropping fast.
• So after three minutes, the temperatures were
cold enough to stop further nuclear reactions to
take place
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• So after three minutes of big bang, Universe
was only Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium.
• According to scientists, there was 75%
Hydrogen, 25% Helium and very small amount
of Lithium.
• The same ratio still exists today as confirmed
by the NASA’s WMAP satellite.
 After Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• So where do from rest of the elements come
from?
• After three minutes of big bang, the universe
was rapidly expanding and was filled with
uniform gas, mostly made of Hydrogen and
Helium.
• But then, gravity came into play and started
clumping together the gas.
• So we observe a transition from a very smooth
universe to a very clumpy universe today.
• This fact is verified by the XDF image by
Hubble telescope in 2012. XDF is the deepest
image of the universe ever taken by the
humanity.
• The image exhibits how gas molecules
clumped together to form galaxies
XDF
• Inside the galaxies, the basic building blocks of
the universe are the stars.
• Stars are big balls composed of mainly
Hydrogen ( 74%) and Helium (25%) gas all the
way to the center.
• Down at the center of the stars, like our sun,
because of the weight of the gas, there is push
down to the core of the sun.
• Because of this compression of the gas,
pressure increases temperature at the core
to about 15 million degrees celsius. This high
temperature gives rise to the start of the
nuclear reactions inside the core of the sun.
Nuclear Reactions
• As sun is mostly made of Hydrogen, fusion
reaction powers the sun.
• Deep inside the core and only inside the core ,
the temperatures are so high that it is possible
that protons collide together and build up
heavier elements.
Nuclear Chain Reaction
• Ultimate result is that four protons go in and one
Helium atom comes out
• So Hydrogen is being converted into Helium in
our sun.
• Every second, six hundred million ton of
Hydrogen is being converted into Helium.
• In regular chemical reactions, energy is
conserved, but in nuclear reactions, both energy
and mass are conserved.
• One Helium atom is 0.7% of four Hydrogen atoms, so the
rest of the mass is converted to energy which powers our
sun.
• Inside the center of sun, the gravity is trying to pull gas
together. The power attained by the nuclear reaction
balances the force of gravity
• When sun or star becomes a red giant star, there is not
enough fusion reaction going on, the force of gravity will
take over the counter acting repelling force. The center
will contract and will release so much energy that the
outer surfaces will puff up.
• At this point, the gravity will win over the
repelling force and due to the excessive
pressure, the temperature at the core will rise
so high so as to push helium atoms together
and make a carbon atom and some carbon
into oxygen.
• Our Sun is not big enough to go beyond it
Nuclear Reactions in big giant stars
• Nuclear reactions go on till the formation of
iron atom.
• Gravity is trying to contract on iron core
together and iron atoms counterbalance this
force by pushing backwards.
• Silicon shell fuses more and more iron on the
core and iron core becomes more and more
massive.
• Gravity gets more and more stronger and iron
atoms are unable to push back anymore and
the core collapses.
• The star is blown apart in a gigantic explosion
called ‘supernova`.
• Only very heavy stars undergo supernova.
• All the elements that were made in the life time
of that star is spread out in space.
• When the big ball of iron collapsed, the density
and temperature got so high that in about two
seconds, all the other elements in the periodic
table came into existence
• This is the reason for heavy elements to be so
rare.
 How is Universe like now?

• The Universe is made up of voids, galaxies,

interplanetary dust and interplanetary gas.
• What is a Galaxy?
• A galaxy is a vast collection of stars. According
to an estimate , there are about 2 trillion
galaxies in the universe.
 Our Galaxy – Milky Way

• Milky way is the galaxy of our solar system

• It has about 100-400 billion stars
• Milky way is full of dust and gas and sometimes
under favorable conditions, it is possible to
discern the dusty ring of the milky way in the sky
• Our Sun is one of the billion stars of the milky
way
 Our Solar System
• Study of solar system dates back to the time of
beginning of history.
• Initial observation used to be through visible
light
• Starting from 20th century, people started
using parts of electromagnetic spectrum other
than visible light like received radio waves for
assessment.
 Difference between Star and the Planets

Sun is a star as it has planets orbiting around

1. The sun or a star generates its own energy whereas
planets reflect the light generated by the sun.

2. The stars are bigger than planets.

3. The stars are mostly made of Hydrogen and

Helium, whereas, planets are made of composite
and varied elements.
 Solar System cont..

• Our solar system consists of Sun around which not

only eight planets orbit but many other celestial
bodies like dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids
• What are planets?
• 1- A celestial object that orbits a star
• 2- is large enough that its gravity pulls it into the
shape of sphere
• 3- has cleared other objects in its orbital
neighborhood
 Formation of a planet
• During the formation of a star, gas and dust
collapse in a nebula.
• With the effect of gravity, this mass starts to spin
forming protoplanetary disk
• Gradually the mass will be sticking together
forming a pre-planet called planetesimal
• The planetesimal will accrue material from
outside under the effect of gravity, assuming a
spherical shape – a planet is formed
Protoplanetary Disk
 Planets of our Solar System
• Eight planets orbit our sun . Starting from Sun
and moving outward:
• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune.
• The first four planets are called terrestrial
planets and last four are called jovian planets.
Planets of our Solar System
• Youtube video -8 planets in our Solar
System\Sun and Solar System-Universal
Beauty
• Youtube video clip:
• How does Fusion Power the Sun?
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4jBv3-Y
 Fusion Process in the Sun
• About 4.6 billion years ago, the sun began its life as a huge
cloud of dust comprising mainly of Hydrogen ,Helium and
traces of some other elements like Carbon, Silicon and
Oxygen.
• This cloud of dust began to rotate and compress under its
own gravity. While rotating, it ejected heavier elements which
turned into comets and planets comprising our solar system.
• Due to this compression, the temperature inside the core
began to increase, till it reached as high as 27 million degree
Fahrenheit and the pressure increased to the extent of about
100 billion times the pressure of air on Earth.
• In 1937, astronomer Grote Reber, made the first
parabolic dish radio telescope and became the
pioneer of radio astronomy.
• With the advent of space flight in 1957,
instruments were sent aboard which could make
use of the whole electromagnetic spectrum for
investigation.
• As a result in 21st century, the knowledge about
the universe increased at an unprecedented rate.
 Fusion Process…..contd
• The enormous heat at the core of sun broke
hydrogen atoms into protons. Under
enormous heat, protons fuse and through a
series of steps, turns them into helium.
• Total energy of the helium is less than the
energy of protons which together combined
to form Helium, the difference in the energy is
emitted.
 Fusion process contd..
• In this process, nearly 120 million tons of
Hydrogen is converted into Helium every
minute, with some mass being converted into
energy.
• Sun emits this energy in the form of
electromagnetic radiation.
• Sun has a surface temperature of 3000 kelvin
equivalent to 5727 degree celsius.
• Because of its extreme high temperatures, Sun
emits short wavelength, high energy radiation.
• Most of the solar radiation that reaches
earth’s atmosphere is in the visible range of
the spectrum.
Solar spectral radiation entering lower part
of atmosphere
Sun’s Layers
 Sun’s layers contd..
• Inner layers: Core, radiative zone and
convective layers
• Outer layers: Photosphere, Chromosphere,
Transition Region and Corona
 Sun and its weather
• Like our planet earth, sun also has its weather.
Its turbulence affects life on earth.
Sunspots, solar flares, high speed solar wind
and coronal mass ejection (CME) are the
examples of solar activity.
 Sunspots
• Sunspots are dark areas on the solar surface,
photosphere. They appear dark as they have
temperature little lower than the rest of the
surface. These have temperature of 42000C as
compared to photosphere temperature of 60000C.
• Sunspots are the result of sun’s magnetic activity.
• Solar flares and coronal mass ejections usually
erupt from the region around sunspots.
 Sunspot Cycle
• On the average, sunspot cycle comprises of 11
years.
• Sunspots is a measure of the magnitude of
solar activity. It is greatest during solar
maximum and lowest during solar minimum.
 Solar flare
• Solar flare is an intense burst of energy in
almost all parts of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
• Solar flares last from minutes to hours and can
be seen as bright areas on the sun.
 Coronal Mass Ejection(CME)

. CME emits large amount of matter and

electromagnetic radiation into space
( interplanetary CME) or near corona(Solar
prominence)

. Released matter is protons and neutrons

 CME contd…
• Difference between CME and solar flare is that
solar flare is emitted with a faster speed then
CME.
• CMEs take place during high solar activity.
• CMEs are associated with changes in the
magnetic field of the corona.
 NASA’s Solar Missions

Here is a list of few of the NASA’s solar missions:

1. Solar Dynamics Observatory launched on February
11, 2011 and operational to date.
For animations.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020100/a020192/ind
ex.html
2. Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is a joint mission
of ESA and NASA. Its objective is to study the outer
layers of the Sun and its weather. The mission
became operational in 1996.
3. Genesis: It was a
sample return probe
which collected solar
wind samples for analysis
and brought those back for analysis. It was launched on August 8, 2001 and returned back on September 8, 2004.
 Mercury
• Mercury is the smallest planet - a little bigger
than Earth’s moon. Since it is closest planet, it
rotates faster than any planet around the Sun.
• Mercury is made of heavy metals like iron and
rock.
• Mercury’s surface resembles moon’s surface. It
has holes on its surface called impact craters.
These impact craters are formed by the rocks
hitting the surface of mercury with high speed
 Mercury cont…
• Unlike Earth, Mercury has no atmosphere. For
this reason, it gets very hot at day time at
Mercury and is very cold at night.
• Because of its proximity to the Sun, it has not
been explored much until NASA’s last mission
MESSENGER(Mercury Surface Space
Environment GEochemistry and Ranging) after
30 years of mission, Mariner 10 in 1975.
Final image of Mercury sent from Messenger
 Venus

• Planet Venus has been named after the

goddess of beauty because of its luminosity. It
is second brightest object in the sky after our
moon and sun.
• Venus is nearly of the same size as our Earth
with a diameter of 12,104 km.
• Venus has a central core of iron, rocky mantle
and silicate crust.
 Venus cont…
• Venus is the hottest among the planets
because of its dense atmosphere made of
carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid . The heat
gets trapped in the atmosphere and produces
greenhouse effect.
• As a result temperature at Venus reaches as
high as 740 K(467 deg celsius)
• Venus’s orbit is retrograde
 Venus contd…
• Venus is surrounded by clouds of sulfur
dioxide and drops of sulfuric acid
• Because of these clouds, 75% of the light is
reflected back and does not reach interior of
the planet.
Image of the planet Venus
 Planet Earth
• Our planet Earth is the only known planet to have
life on it, mainly due to its atmosphere and water.
• Its atmosphere is composed of Nitrogen(78%),
Oxygen (21%) and traces of water and other
gases.
• Earth spins on its own axis, completing one spin in
23.459 hours in addition to orbiting around the
sun. It takes 365.25 days to complete one orbit
around the sun.
• Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted 23.5 deg in
relation to the orbital plane. As a result the
northern and southern hemispheres sometimes
point towards the sun and sometimes away
from the sun, the reason for seasons to exist.
• Earth’s layers are studied through seismology.
There are four layers
• From exterior to interior :
1- The crust
2- The mantle
3- The outer core
4- The inner core
Earth’s Layers
 Earth’s Magnetic Field
• Earth has a magnetic field extending thousands of
kilometers from the surface of Earth creating
region called as magnetosphere.
• Earth acts like a big magnet, with its north and
south poles close to the actual geographic poles.
• Presence of magnetosphere is one of the main
factors responsible for the existence of life on
earth as it protects planet Earth from solar wind.
Pluto imaged during flyby 2015
• Meteoride: is a piece of interplanetary matter
usually of millimeter in size. Most of
meteorides are unable to reach the surface of
earth and if they do, they assume the name as
meteorite otherwise it is a meteor
• Comets are like asteroids except for the
composition. These are made of ice, methane
and ammonia. These have a fuzzy cloud like
shape called a coma.
 Earth’s Magnetic field cont..
• Earth’s magnetic field is thought to be created
by the molten outer core of the Earth, where
the conducting fluid (liquid iron) moves with
sufficient speed to create magnetic field.
 Earth’s Atmosphere
• Earth’s Atmosphere is divided into four layers
according to their characteristics, mainly
temperature.
• Earth’s atmosphere is due to its gravitational
pull. For this reason, 99% of Earth’s mass is
below 32 km.
Earth’s layers based on temperature
characteristics
 Earth’s Atmosphere Layers
•  Earth’s atmosphere is divided into four layers:
• The layer closest to the Earth’s surface is
called as troposphere
• Troposphere extends up to 10 km (6.2 miles)
from the ground level.
• This is the layer where all the clouds and
weather exists. About 99% of the
atmosphere’s water vapors are in this region. 
 Troposphere contd..
• Troposphere layer provides greenhouse effect
to the earth.
• In troposphere, temperature and air pressure
decreases with the rise in altitude.
 Stratosphere
• The layer next to the troposphere is stratosphere. Starting
where troposphere ends, stratosphere extends to the height of
about 50 km(31miles).

• Temperatures remain constant in the lower part of

stratosphere

• Commercial jets fly in the lower part of stratosphere. 

• However, in the upper part of stratosphere, temperatures rise

with the increase in altitude.
 Mesosphere
• Above the stratosphere lies the layer called
mesosphere.
• Mesosphere starts at about 50 km (31 miles)
from the earth’s surface and extends up to 85
km (53 miles) high.
• Temperatures decrease with rising altitude in
mesosphere. The lowest temperature of -90
deg Celsius (-130 deg Fahrenheit) is observed at
the top of mesosphere layer.
 Mesosphere contd…
• Least known atmospheric layer.
• Meteors entering the atmosphere get burned
at this layer.
 Thermosphere
• Thermosphere is the layer above mesosphere.
It extends 90km (56 miles) from earth’s
surface to between 500 and 1,000 km, i.e.,
311 to 621 miles.
• Thermosphere’s height is variable as it is
greatly influenced by the solar activity.
• Temperature in thermosphere increases with
increasing altitude.
 Thermosphere contd..
Thermosphere layer is so thin that slight solar
activity has a pronounced effect on the layer’s
temperatures. Temperature at day time is
about 200 deg Celsius or 360 deg Fahrenheit
higher than night time temperature.
 Thermosphere contd…
• High energy solar radiation break oxygen,
nitrogen and helium molecules into their
corresponding atoms.
• Solar UV and X-rays get absorbed by the atoms
present in the layer and cause an increase in
the temperature of the layer
• Satellites orbit in thermosphere and aurora
also occur in thermosphere
Earth Atmosphere Layers
 Ionosphere
• Ionosphere is not just one layer, but a region
characterized by large number of ions.
• It extends from 48km(30 miles) above the
earth’s surface to 965km(600 miles). It
overlaps mesosphere and stratosphere.
• Ionosphere is dynamic, shrinking and
expanding in response to solar activity.
 Ionosphere contd…
• During day time ionosphere region is due to
solar radiations which strip electrons out of
their atoms through photo ionization.
• Night time ionosphere is largely created by
high energy cosmic rays.
• Ionosphere reflects radio waves and makes
radio wave propagation beyond the line of
sight distance
• Ionosphere is divided into D, E, F1 and F2
layers based on their ion population and
characteristic response to radio waves.
 D layer
• At the height of 60 km, the density of free
increases to a point that it starts affecting
radio waves.
• D Layer exists between 50km and 80km above
earth’s surface.
• D layer is present during day time only and
effectively disappears at night time.
 D layer contd..
• D region has the effect of attenuating the
signals, especially in the low frequency and
medium frequency range.
• Attenuation=k/f2
where k is a constant and f is the frequency of
operation in Hz.
 E layer
• E layer lies on top of D region. It exists
between 100 km and 125 km in altitude.
• Relatively less attenuation and higher
reflection of radio signals.
• Reflection of radio waves from the ionosphere
is largely dependent on their frequency and
angle of incidence.
 F layer
• Like rest of the layers, F layer’s thickness
decreases at night time and increases during
day time owing to the solar activity.
• Level of ionization is much greater than the rest
of the layers.
• Due to reduced number of molecules present at
this layer, recombination is slow. Resultantly,
signals do get reflected back even at night time
due to remnant ionization.
 F1 and F2 layers
• During day time, F layer divides into F1 & F2
layer.
• Highly effected by Sun and its activity.
• F1 layer is generally found at 300 km,
whereas, F2 layer is found at 400 km.
• HF world wide radio propagation is made
possible through F layer
• Lowest level of attenuation at F2 layer.
 Exosphere
• Exosphere is the highest layer of earth’s
atmosphere. It lies above the thermosphere.
• At this height, air becomes so thin that it is
almost a void.
 Planet Mars

• Mars, the ‘red planet’, is the second smallest

planet of the solar system. It is 15% of Earth’s
volume and only 10% of the Earth’s mass.
• Its soil is rich in iron, giving it a red color.
• Mars is very cold. It has an average temperature
of minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mars has been explored by robotic rovers as well
as spacecrafts.
 Mars contd..
• It has been found that Mars has rocks, craters
and canyons on it.
• Red dust is in the wind blows most of the
time, sometimes turning into dust storm.
 What are dwarf planets?

• Dwarf planets satisfy the following criteria:

• 1- They directly orbit the Sun.
• 2- are big enough that the gravity has given
them shape of a sphere
• 3- have not cleared their orbit of all the other
celestial bodies
 Planet Jupiter
. Planet Jupiter is first of the four Jovian
Planets.
. Jupiter is about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.
Traces of water, ammonia and methane is also
present. This composition is similar to the solar
nebula from which solar system was formed.
. Jupiter is the largest planet of Solar System.
Jupiter can hold 1,300 earths.
• Four larger moons of Jupiter out of total 67
known moons were discovered by Italian
astronomer Galileo Galilei in January 1610.
• The smaller moons are less than 6.2 miles in
diameter.
• Currently, Jupiter is being explored by NASA’s
mission Juno which reached Jupiter on July 4,
2016 and expected to last till 2018.
Planet Jupiter
 Planet Saturn
• Saturn is the second largest planet of our solar
system. It is big enough to hold 760 Earths and
has 95 times Earth’s mass.
• Saturn has the largest rings around it among
all the gas planets. These rings are made up
of dust, rock and ice. The rotation of the rings
is made possible due to the planet’s
gravitational pull.
 Planet Uranus
• Uranus is made up of gas and ice.
• Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system
with average temperature of -350 deg
Farenheit, though Neptune is more distant from
Sun than Uranus.
• There is no definite explanation, but scientists
speculate that Uranus’s low temperatures are
due to its tilt on one side with an angle of 98
degrees.
 Uranus contd..
• Uranus composition is made of gas, liquid and
ice. Its atmosphere has methane molecules
 Neptune
• Neptune is the only planet which was discovered
mathematically prior to its actual observation 
through telescope on September23, 1846. Neptune is
invisible to the naked eye.
• Neptune’s atmosphere is made of Hydrogen,
Helium , ammonia and  some methane. Because of
methane and some unknown compound Neptune  has
a bright blue color. 
• .Neptune was first studied by NASA’s voyager2 in
1986. Recently NASA/ESA Hubble telescope has
provided images of Neptune.
• Neptune has fastest winds blowing in its
atmosphere up to the speed of 600 meters per
second.
• The Great Dark Spot in Neptune and Jupiter
is due to the anti cyclonic storms.
• However unlike Jupiter where GDS would last
for hundreds of years,  Neptune’s GDS  lasts
only few years.
 Satellite Orbits
• What is the difference between a satellite and a space
probe?
• What is an orbit?
• How does a satellite move in an orbit?
• There are three kind of satellite orbits:
• Low Earth Orbit
• Medium Earth Orbit
• High Earth Orbits and Geostationary Orbits
 Low Earth Orbit (LEO)Satellites
• Altitude: 200km to 1200km
• Higher orbital velocity. On the average, 26,000 to 27,000 km per hour
• Applications of Low Earth Orbit Satellites
1. Orbit velocities are higher so as to counter the force of gravitation. Typical
velocities are approximately around 8 km/s, with orbit times sometimes of
the order of 90 minutes, although these figures vary considerably with the
exact details of the orbit.
2. Low Earth Orbit is used for things that we want to visit often with the Space
Shuttle, like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.
This is convenient for installing new instruments, fixing things that are broken,
and inspecting damage. It is also about the only way we can have people go
up, do experiments, and return in a relatively short time.
3. Many weather and scientific satellites are low earth orbit satellites.
4. Earth Observation Satellites are LEO satellites.
Disadvantage of Low Earth Orbit
satellites is the speed with which it
passes area of interest.

Two solutions:

Elliptical Orbit

Sun-Synchronous orbit
 Low earth orbit satellites contd…

Some Definitions:
• What is inclination?
• A satellite is said to occupy an inclined
orbit around the Earth if the orbit exhibits an
angle other than zero degrees with the
equatorial plane. This angle is called
the orbit's inclination.
Orbital Inclination
 Eccentricity

• Eccentricity describes the elongation of

ellipse.

• Circle has eccentricity of zero

Eccentricity contd…
Elliptical Orbits
 Elliptical Orbit
• An elliptical orbit or eccentric orbit has the shape
of an ellipse.
• Orbital speed of the satellite changes depending
on its location
• Why?
• Maximum at the point closest to the surface of
earth – a point called perigee
• Minimum at the point farthest away from the
surface of earth- called apogee
 Elliptical Orbits contd…
• The satellite moves fastest when it near perigee and slowest near
apogee. Maximum dwell time at apogee
• Kepler’ laws:

• Kepler's first law is rather simple - all planets orbit the sun in a path
that resembles an ellipse, with the sun being located at one of the
foci of that ellipse.
• Kepler's second law - sometimes referred to as the law of equal
areas - describes the speed at which any given planet will move
while orbiting the sun. The speed at which any planet moves
through space is constantly changing. A planet moves fastest when
it is closest to the sun and slowest when it is furthest from the sun. 
 Elliptic Orbit contd..
• Weather Low Earth Orbit satellites also
possess elliptic orbit. Example is Tropical
Rainfall Measuring Mission TRMM. The angle
of inclination of satellite orbit is as low as 350
 Elliptic Orbit cont…
• Molniya orbit is a special elliptic orbit with an
inclination of 63.40 called Highly Elliptical Orbit.
• Named after series of Russian satellites Molniya
• Orbital period is ½ of a day (12 hours).
• Dwell time for apogee is much larger than the
perigee.
• Altitude at apogee is as high as 40,000 km and for
perigee it is about 7,000km.
• Considered to be Medium Earth Orbit satellite.
 Polar Orbit
• If the angle of inclination is as large as 90 0, the orbit is
said to be polar orbit.
• Orbit takes 99 minutes to travel pole to pole.
• During one half of the orbit, daylight portion of the earth
is covered. The satellite crosses the pole and dark side of
the earth is traversed.
• Applications include weather and environmental
research satellites, mapping and surveillance.
• Examples include space shuttles, Hubble space shuttle.
• Usually low earth orbit satellites
Polar Orbit
 Sun Synchronous Orbit
• What is a sun synchronous orbit?
1. Special type of polar orbit with the same orbital
period of 99 minutes
2. If the satellite is placed at an altitude of 100km with
an inclination of 96 degrees, then orbit changes
slowly in time with the planet moving around the
sun and in time with the planet’s rotation.
3. This way satellite is at a constant angle with the sun.
 Application of Sun Synchronous orbit
satellites

• For remote sensing purpose. Solar illumination

angle will always stay constant, making it
possible to perform comparative studies.
• A constellation of sun synchronous satellites is
useful for communication purposes.
 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Satellites

• MEO satellites have an altitude higher than

LEO satellites but lower than geostationary
satellites, i.e., between 1000 km to 36000km
• Most of the polar orbit satellites are MEOs.
• Most common use of MEO satellites is
navigation. All GPS satellites are MEO
satellites having an altitude of 20,200km.
 Geostationary Satellites
• Geostationary satellites are placed at an
altitude of 36,000 km above the surface of
earth.
• At this altitude, satellites have an orbital
period of once per day at the equator.
• Because a geostationary satellite travels with
the speed of earth, it looks stationary to an
observer on earth.
 Geostationary Satellite Applications
• The primary use of Geostationary satellites is for
communication purpose.
• Since the satellite appears fixed to an observer, ground
based antenna direction remains constant and does
not need to track the satellite
• Disadvantages:
1. Inability to provide service at high altitudes. Coverage
area is one-third of the earth.
2. It takes around quarter of a second for the signal to
make a round trip.
 Effect of space weather on satellite’s radio
communication link
• Solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections to a
larger extent produce increased flux of X-rays
and also produce large numbers of electrons
and protons.
• Geostationary satellites are largely affected.
High energy particles can damage the solar
arrays, memory cells and can cause static
discharge. GOES8 and Anik are two examples
of affected satellites
 Effect of Space Weather contd..
• As the solar activity increases, the low density layer
where LEO satellites are positioned once, gets
replaced by the high density layer.
• Hence the satellite experiences stronger atmospheric
drag which has implication on the life of the satellite.
• Medium Earth Orbit satellites employ radiation
hardened components as these might get exposed to
Van Allen radiation belts. Examples include GPS
satellites and Molniya type satellites.
Van Allen Radiation Belt
Satellite Design and Space Weather
• Knowledge of space weather helps design
satellite subsystems capable of enduring harsh
space conditions.
• Satellite subsystems are designed using
radiation models which vary with orbits.
• Components are tolerant to radiation flux,
particle flux and extreme temperature
variations.
 Satellite Subsystems
• There are five major satellite subsystems :
1. Power Subsystem: consists mainly of solar panels in
conjunction with batteries
• Solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy
when panels are illuminated by the sun.
• During eclipse period, batteries are used to supply
power.
• Low Earth Orbit satellites are more battery dependent
for their power supply as opposed to geostationary
satellites
 Communication Subsystem
• The basic purpose of the communication subsystem
is the relay of the information from one point of the
earth to the other.
• Uplink is the signal transmitted from the ground
station. This signal may be voice, data or video which
is modulated to microwave signal and transmitted.
• Transponders receive the signal and retransmits it
back to the ground station after frequency
translation.
 Attitude and Control Subsystem
• The purpose of this subsystem is to assess the
attitude of satellite with respect to the reference
points and correct any deviation from the
expected attitude.
• There are two parts to this subsystem:
1. Attitude Determination is done using sensors
and magnetometers.
2. Attitude Control is achieved through thrusters,
magneto torquers etc.
 Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C)
Subsystem
• TT&C is a subsystem partly present on satellite
and partly on ground.
• Telemetry is sending the data gathered from the
sensors onboard the satellite about its health and
status to the ground station.
• Tracking system tracks the satellite for its orbital
elements.
• Telemetry and tracking information is provided
to the control system for possible maneuvering.
 Thermal Control Subsystem
• The purpose of Thermal Control Subsystem is
to regulate the temperatures of all the
components to within safe and operational
range.
• Subsystems range from solar panels to
internal electronics.
• Thermal Control is of two types: Active
thermal control and Passive Thermal Control.
• An example of active thermal control is the
active heat piping that route excess heat to
radiators.
• Passive thermal control is the use of insulators
and radiative substances
 Remote Sensing

• Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information

about objects or areas from a distance, typically from
aircraft or satellite.(NOAA’s definition)
• Sensors on board the satellite or aircraft collect the
radiation reflected by earth.
• Most of the sensors on board satellite or aircraft are
passive, i.e., collect reflected radiation.
Passive Remote Sensing
 Active Remote Sensing
• Sensors that produce their own energy for
reflection.
• Advantages?
• Examples are laser flourosensor and synthetic
aperture radar.
• Any other example?
Active Remote Sensing
Interaction with the Earth’s Atmosphere

• Atmosphere affects all the radiation that

reach the sensors be it aerial or satellite.
• Atmosphere absorbs, scatters, reflects and
refracts the solar radiations.
Interaction with the Earth’s Atmosphere

• The radiation which is not scattered reaches to

the surface to the earth and is either
absorbed, transmitted or reflected.
Interaction with Earth’s Atmosphere
 Absorption by the Atmosphere
• Absorption is a process by which a particular
wavelength of electromagnetic energy is
attenuated by the atmosphere and no longer
is part of the irradiance at the earth’s
atmosphere.
• Absorption of electromagnetic radiations
takes place by O3, CO2 and water vapor H2O.
 Reflected Radiation
• The incident radiation which gets reflected is
of most importance in remote sensing
applications.
• There are two types of reflections:
1. Specular Reflection
2. Diffuse Reflection
 Specular Reflection
• When a surface is smooth, we get specular
reflection.
• Almost all of the energy is redirected in single
direction
• Mirror like reflection
 Diffuse Reflection
• Diffuse reflection occurs when the surface is rough
and the incident light bounces off or is redirected in
uniformly all directions.
• Most of the reflections in real world are in between
specular and diffuse reflection.
• Whether reflection is specular or diffuse, depends
largely on the wavelength of incident light
• For example, fine grained sand reflection would be
specular reflection for microwaves but diffused
reflection for visible wavelengths.
 Atmospheric Windows
• On the contrary, wavelengths of the
electromagnetic spectrum which do not get
attenuated by the atmosphere appear as
transparent to the atmosphere.
• Detectors on board the remote sensing
equipment are designed to detect in this
band of wavelengths.
 Major Atmospheric Windows
• Ultraviolet and Visible 0.3 – 0.75µm
0.75 – 0.9µm
• Near infrared 1.55 – 1.75µm
2.05 – 2.4 µm
• Thermal infrared 8.0 - 9.2 µm
10.2 - 12.4 µm
• Microwave 7.5 – 11.5 mm
20+ mm
 Scattering

• is the redirection of electromagnetic radiation

by the gas molecules, water droplets and dust
particles.
• Three types of scattering:
1. Rayleigh scattering 2. Mie scattering
3. Non-selective scattering
 Rayleigh Scattering
Rayleigh scattering occurs if the size of the object is
much smaller than the wavelength incident on it.
For example gas molecules. Representing scattering
by σ
 σ α 1/ λ4
Rayleigh scattering is responsible for why sky
looks blue .
• . Why does the sun rise and sun set appear
red?
 Non selective scattering
• Non selective scattering is caused by large
particles, particles that have diameters
several times the diameter of the radiation
being transmitted like water droplets and fog.
• These particles are big enough to scatter all
the wavelengths equally.
• Why clouds appear white?
 Mie scattering
• Mie scattering is caused by the essentially
spherical particles present in the atmosphere
with diameters roughly equal to the
wavelength of radiation.
• Dust, smoke, water vapors are responsible for
Mie scattering
 Modeling the Atmosphere
• If optical path of the light is denoted by τλ , it
can be expressed by its components as,
τλ= τMie+ τRayleigh + τAbsorption
• The component that has been absorbed is the
result of absorption by various components
expressed as,
τAbsorption= τ H2O + τ CO2 + τ O3
Interaction of EMR with the Earth’s Surface

• As the electromagnetic radiation strikes the surface of

earth, some of it is reflected back, some of it is
transmitted into the surface and part of it is absorbed by
the surface

• According to the law of energy conservation, if Φ iλ is the

incident flux, then
Φiλ= Φr λ + Φa λ + Φt λ
where Φr λ is the reflected flux, Φa λ is the absorbed flux
and Φt λ is the transmitted flux.
 Interaction of EMR with earth’s surface
contd…
• Dividing by Φiλ will provide the values of
spectral reflectance, spectral absorption and
spectral transmission.
1=ρ λ +t λ +α λ
 Spectral Reflectance Curves
• From the previous equation, it is clear that
reflection, absorption and transmission are all
functions of wavelength.
• Out of all three characteristics, reflectance is
one providing best information in specifying the
object.
• Every object has a characteristic curve when
plotted for its reflection of lights against a range
of wavelengths.
Spectral Reflectance curves contd…
• The plot between ρ λ and λ for a particular
feature is known as its spectral curve.
• Spectral curve is a function of physical and
chemical composition of the feature.
• Spectral curve is unique to a particular
feature, for this reason, sometimes called as
spectral signature.
 Spectral curve for vegetation
• Reflectance characteristics of vegetation
depend on the properties of leafs such as leaf
pigmentation, leaf thickness and amount of
water in the leaf.
• In the visible part of the spectrum, red and
blue components of incident light is absorbed
by the chlorophyll . Most of the reflection is in
the green parts of the spectrum.
 Spectral curve for vegetation contd..

• Reflectance is highest in the Near Infra-red

region .
• In the mid Infra-red region, reflection is mainly
determined by the amount of water present in
the leaf tissues. More water means less
reflectance.
• What happens when leaves change color or
crops mature?
Reflectance curve of Vegetation
Reflectance curve of Soil
Spectral curve of water
 Image Resolution
• What is resolution?
• Resolution is the ability of an imaging system
to record fine detail in a distinguishable
manner.
• Image resolution in remote sensing system
refers to spatial, spectral and temporal
resolution.
 Spatial resolution
• Spatial resolution refers to the size of the
smallest possible feature that can be detected
from an image
• The detail discernible in an image is
dependent on the spatial resolution. Images
having higher spatial resolution are composed
of greater number of pixels than those of
lower spatial resolution
 Spatial resolution contd..
• A system with a higher spatial resolution can
detect smaller object.
IFOV and spatial resolution
IFOV and Spatial Resolution contd..
•. What is IFOV?
•Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV) determines the
area on the Earth’s surface which is seen from a given
altitude at one particular moment in time.
•IFOV corresponds to two dimensional angular area that
is viewed by the single pixel of a detector.
•This area on the ground is called the resolution cell and
it determines the sensor’s maximum spatial resolution.
 Spatial Resolution contd..
• The Operational Land Imager(OLI), has a
spatial resolution of 30m (multispectral) and
15m panchromatic
• The Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) has a
resolution of 100m.
• SPOT 7 has 1.5 m resolution (panchromatic)
6 m resolution (multispectral)
•A high resolution image is one with a small
resolution size and a low resolution image is
one with a large resolution size.
•GOES-15 has spatial resolution of
8km(multispectral) and 4 km(panchormatic)
•Landsat-8 , Landsat Data Continuity Mission
(LDCM) has two sensors onboard to record
multispectral images
 Temporal Resolution
• Temporal resolution is defined as the amount of
time needed to revisit and acquire data for the
exact same location.
• Temporal resolution is important as spectral
characteristics change over time which are
studied by comparing temporal images.
• Temporal resolution of Landsat 8 is 16 days.
• High temporal resolution of SPOT satellite –less
then 24 hours.
 Radiometric Resolution
• Is the sensitivity of a sensor to the incoming radiance.
• The radiometric resolution of an imaging system
describes its ability to discriminate between very
slight difference in reflected or emitted energy.
• Radiometric resolution is frequently represented by
the levels of quantization.
• For example, Landsat-1 Multispectral Scanner records
in 6 bits. Values range from 0 to 63.
• Levels of quantization are 64
 Multispectral image
• Satellites detect reflected/emitted energy at
many different wavelengths . The image so
formed is called as multispectral image.
• Image obtained in each wavelength is
assigned a specific color. The composite image
formed by combining each of such color image
is called as false color composite.
 Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
• Hyperspectral remote sensing combines the
power of digital imaging and spectroscopy.
• For each pixel in an image, a hyperspectral
camera records radiance or light intensity in
hundreds of spectral bands.
• An ordinary camera records in three colors,
whereas a hyperspectral camera records in
hundred of colors.
• A vast increase in the discerning objects.
 Digital RS image
• Digital image represents information as a
matrix of values each called as a pixel.
• Optical mechanical sensor
1. Thermal scanner
2. Multispectral scanner
3. Hyper spectral scanner
 Geographic Information System
(GIS)
• What is GIS?
• GIS consists of a database, map information and
computerized link between these two.
• GIS is a tool that helps us to store, analyze, process,
manage, integrate and display geo-referenced data on a
computer.
• GIS combines computer based map making with a
database management system
• GIS stores a graphical representation of real world features
and information about the real world features(attributes)
 Capabilities of GIS
• There are three basic capabilities of GIS which
make it superior over similar programs like
map making or autocad:
1. Data is spatially referenced:
Coordinate systems are used to project maps.
2. Spatial data layers can be overlaid,
manipulated, combined to form composite
layers
 GIS Data

GIS data are of two types:

• 1. Spatial Data: refer to the real world geographic
features.
• Spatial data provides respective locations and shapes
of geographic features.
• Spatial data refer to geographic facts, measurements,
or characteristics of an object that permit us to define
its location on the surface of the earth.
 Spatial Data
•  Such data include but are not restricted to the
latitude and longitude coordinates of points of
interest, street addresses, postal codes,
political boundaries, and even the names of
places 
 Spatial Data Model Types
• Spatial data is the data that covers points,
lines, cubes, polygons and other objects. Also
referred to as layers.
• There are three basic types of spatial data.
1. Vector data represent features as points,
lines, polygons .
 Attribute Data
• Attributes describe the spatial feature
• For example, a tower is represented in GIS as
a point. This point is a spatial feature.
• Whereas, information describing tower like
height, purpose, date of installation are
attributes
 GIS contd….
• Attributes are related to the spatial data
• Spatial data combined with attributes are
known as Geographic Information Assets
• GIS software keeps track of both the spatial
and attribute data and permits us to link the
two types of data together to create
information and facilitate analysis
 GIS contd..
• Each GIS asset reveals some different aspect
of a place on our planet earth.
• For example if a user wants to locate a water
body like lakes in a certain region.
• The attributes might be the pH content, the
depth of the lake.
• A temporal analysis can provide spatial
distribution of water.
 GIS contd..
• GIS makes it possible to visualize a composite
map revealing various geographic information
assets
• For this example, GIS can be used to
automatically select areas in close vicinity of
lakes where water is toxic
• Thus GIS allows us to overlay many geographical
information assets in the same spatial domain
GIS data layers
 Layers in GIS

One popular way to describe and to visualize

a GIS is picturing it as a cake with many
layers. Each layer of the cake represents a
different geographic theme, such as water
features, buildings, and roads, and each layer
is stacked one on top of another
 GIS Hardware
• As hardware, a GIS consists of a computer,
memory, storage devices, scanners, printers,
global positioning system (GPS) units, and
other physical components. If the computer is
situated on a network, the network can also
be considered an integral component of the
GIS because it enables us to share data and
information that the GIS uses as inputs and
creates as outputs.
 Applications of GIS
GIS
• supports decision making
• maintains an inventory of geographic data and
information
• make maps
 GIS data models
• Vector Data:
consists of point, line and polygon

• Raster Data:
is obtained by arranging equally sized cells in
columns and rows. Each cell contains attribute
and location information inside.
 GIS and shapefile
• Spatial alignment of data is through spatial
reference coordinate system e.g., cartesian
coordinate system.
• What is shapefile?
• A shapefile stores geometry and attribute
information.
• A shapefile consists mainly of three
components
 Components of shape file
• mydata.shp stores spatial geometry such as
lines, points and polygons

• mydata.dbf stores attributes in database

format file (attribute table)

• mydata.shx provides link between the

geometry and attributes
 Data Sources GIS
GPS
• Global Positioning System is one of the major
sources of GIS data.
• What is GPS?
• Global Positioning System comprises of a
constellation of approximately 30 satellites.
• The purpose of GPS is to locate the position of a
person or vehicle holding a GPS receiver to the
accuracy of 10m to 100m depending on the
accuracy of receiver
 GPS contd…
• Satellites are so placed that 4 satellites are
also always above the horizon from any point
of earth.
• The three satellites determine the latitude and
longitude at the location of receiver through
triangulation. Whereas fourth satellite
determines the altitude .