Chapters 24-25:

Space Physics
IGCSE Physics
In this block, we will learn about…
Chapter
24:
Earth and
the Solar
System
24.1: Earth, Sun, and Moon
Day and night
The Earth is a planet

It rotates on its tilted axis

once every 24 hours (1
day)
• This causes the apparent
movement of the Sun in
the sky

• This causes the cycle of

day and night
The year and
the seasons
The Earth orbits the Sun once every 365 days
(1 year)

The Earth’s axis is tilted compared to its orbit

• So, every year in December:

• southern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
• northern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter

• And every year in June:

• southern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter
• northern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
The year and
the seasons
The Earth orbits the Sun once every 365 days
(1 year)

The Earth’s axis is tilted compared to its orbit

• So, every year in December:

• southern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
• northern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter

• And every year in June:

• southern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter
• northern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
The year and
the seasons
The Earth orbits the Sun once every 365 days
(1 year)

The Earth’s axis is tilted compared to its orbit

• So, every year in December:

• southern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
• northern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter

• And every year in June:

• southern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter Norway: Land of the Midnight Sun
• northern hemisphere gets more direct In summer, places near the poles can have 24 hours of
sunlight and experiences summer daytime
The year and
the seasons
The Earth orbits the Sun once every 365 days
(1 year)

The Earth’s axis is tilted compared to its orbit

• So, every year in December:

• southern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
• northern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter

• And every year in June:

• southern hemisphere gets less direct
sunlight and experiences winter
• northern hemisphere gets more direct
sunlight and experiences summer
The Moon and the
month
The Moon orbits the
Earth once every 28 days
(≈ 1 month)
• This causes the
apparent phases of
the Moon
The Moon and the
month
The Moon orbits the
Earth once every 28 days
(≈ 1 month)
• This causes the
apparent phases of
the Moon
The Moon and the
month
The Moon orbits the
Earth once every 28 days
(≈ 1 month)
• This causes the
apparent phases of
the Moon
24.2: The Solar
System
What’s in the solar system?
• The Sun (our star)

• 8 planets orbiting the Sun

• 4 inner, rocky planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars
• 4 outer, gaseous planets: Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

• Minor planets orbiting the Sun,

e.g.:
• dwarf planets, e.g.: Pluto, Ceres
• asteroids in the asteroid belt

• Moons (natural satellites) orbiting

planets / dwarf planets

• Smaller solar system bodies

orbiting the Sun, e.g.: comets
Why are the inner planets small
and rocky? Why are the outer
planets large and gaseous?
The accretion model of how our solar system Example of a nebula:
formed: The Orion Nebula
(we can see this in the
• Our solar system formed from a cloud of gas and constellation Orion)
dust called a stellar nebula

accretion
= gradually coming
together, forming
layers
Why are the inner planets small
and rocky? Why are the outer
planets large and gaseous?
The accretion model of how our solar system
formed:
• Our solar system formed from a cloud of gas and
dust called a stellar nebula
• It was made of different elements, pulled together
by the force of gravity
• It was spinning as it came together, so it flattened,
forming an accretion disc
• The spinning and the heat from solar winds
separated the different elements by density
Why does spinning flatten the nebula?
How our solar system formed: the
nebular hypothesis (a.k.a. the accretion
model)
Gravity in the solar system
The gravitational field around an object (e.g.: the Sun or a planet):
• gets stronger the more mass the object has
• gets weaker as we move further from the object

The Sun has > 99% of the mass in the solar system
• So, it has the strongest effect on the gravitational field
• So, most things in the solar system orbit the Sun

The force that keeps objects in orbit around the Sun is the Sun’s gravitational
attraction
Orbits in the solar system
Objects in the solar system have
elliptical (oval) orbits
Orbits in the solar system
Objects in the solar system have
elliptical (oval) orbits

• Some orbits are more like circles

(e.g.: the Earth’s); others are more
stretched (e.g.: comets’)

• The stretched-ness of an ellipse is

called its eccentricity

• So, the Sun is not the centre of the

orbit, unless the orbit is
GIF showing how elliptical orbits
approximately circular can be more eccentric (more
stretched) or less eccentric (less
stretched, more circular)
Orbital speed vs distance
:
Forces
• Remember: The gravitational field
around the Sun gets weaker as we go
further away from the Sun

• So, an object would feel a weaker force

of gravity if it is further away than if it is
closer

• This means objects should orbit faster

(stronger force) if they’re closer to the
Sun, and slower if they’re further away

Orbital speed decreases with distance

Orbital speed vs distance
:
Energy
• For objects to stay in orbit for billions of
years, their orbital energy must be conserved
(no air resistance to steal their energy)

• Compare with: A pendulum swinging with no

air resistance or friction (energy conserved)

• At the pendulum’s max. height, it has max.

GPE and min. KE (slowest speed)
Pendulums (with no friction or drag) keep changing
• At its min. height, it has min. GPE and max. their GPE to KE, back to GPE, back to KE…
KE (fastest speed)
Pendulums speed up when falling closer to the
• This is similar to a planet in an elliptical orbit ground (GPE → KE) and slow down when rising
higher (KE → GPE)
Orbital speed vs distance
:
Energy
• As we said, in an elliptical orbit, an object’s
orbital energy is conserved (no air resistance
In elliptical orbits, objects keep changing
their GPE to KE, back to GPE, back to KE…
to steal its energy)

• Like the pendulum, when the object is at its

max. distance from the Sun, it has max. GPE
and min. KE (moves slowest)

• At its min. distance from the Sun, it has min.

GPE and max. KE (moves fastest)

• Again, the conclusion is: Orbital speed

decreases with distance
Objects speed up when moving closer to
the Sun (GPE → KE) and slow down when
moving further away (KE → GPE)
Average orbital speed
The planets (and our Moon) also
have elliptical orbits… but they’re
approximately circular

So, using circle logic, we can

estimate their average orbital orbital distance
orbital speed =
speed, v, from their: orbital time period
• average orbital radius, r, and
2𝜋𝑟
𝑣=
• their orbital period, T 𝑇
Calculating the time taken for light to travel
We know: speed of light in space = 3.0 × 108 m/s and

E.g.:
The Sun is 1.5 × 1011 m away from the Earth. How much time does light take to
travel from the Sun to the Earth?

, so
Data about objects in the solar system
In your IGCSE paper, they could give a table or chart with
some data about objects in the solar system…
…and ask you to answer questions about patterns you see in
the data
For example…
Chapter
25:
Stars and
the
Universe
25.1: The Sun as a
Star
The Sun as a star
• The Sun is a star of
medium size and
medium mass

• It is mostly made of
hydrogen and helium

• Most of the energy it

radiates is in the
infrared, visible, and
ultraviolet parts of the
electromagnetic
spectrum The Sun
The Sun as a star
• Stars are powered
by nuclear fusion
reactions that
release lots of
energy
• Stable stars like the
Sun fuse hydrogen
into helium
The Sun
25.2: Stars
Galaxies
• Most stars are found
in galaxies

• Each galaxy is made

up of billions of stars

• Our Sun is just 1 star

in a galaxy called the
Milky Way

• The Sun is MUCH

closer to us than any
other star in the Milky
Way The Milky Way
Galaxy
The Milky Way Galaxy
seen in the night sky
The Milky Way: Top view vs side
view
Light-
years
• We need a new unit to
measure the HUGE
distances in space

• New unit: The light-year

• 1 light-year is the 100,000 light-years
distance light travels
through space in 1 year

• The Milky Way galaxy has

a diameter ≈ 100,000
light-years

• Remember: light-year is a
unit of DISTANCE, not
time! The Milky Way
Galaxy
Converting light-years to metres
distance
speed=
time

The speed of light, v = 3.0 × 108 m/s

time, Δt = 1 yr = 365 days = 365 × 24 h = 365 × 24 × 60 min = 365 × 24 × 60 × 60 s = 3.1536 × 107 s

distance, Δs = (3.0 × 108 m/s)∙(3.1536 × 107 = 9.4608 × 1015 m = 9.5 × 1015 m (2 sf)
s)
So, 1 light-year = 9.5 × 1015 m (2 sf) (remember this for your
exams)
 The life cycle of a
star:A star is born
1. All stars start out as a cloud of
1. Stellar nebula gas (mostly hydrogen) and dust
called a stellar nebula
2. Due to its internal force of
gravity, it collapses into a
2. Protostar The reaction protostar, increasing in
powering temperature
stable stars:
Nuclear 3. It becomes a stable star when
the inward force of gravity is
fusion of
balanced by the outward force
hydrogen into
of the high temperatures from
3. Stable star helium at the
nuclear fusion
star’s centre
 3. Stable star
Contd. life cycle
4(a). Red giant of a star:
(a) Mid stars
4. Less massive stars* expand to
form red giants when most of
their hydrogen has fused into
5(a). Planetary helium

nebula 5. A red giant eventually forms a

(Nothing to do planetary nebula with…
with planets) 6. …a white dwarf star at its
centre
6(a).
White
dwarf *These are most stars, like our Sun;
star their mass is low to pretty mid
 3. Stable star
Contd. life cycle
of a star:
(b) Chonkers
4(b). Red supergiant 4. More massive stars expand to
form red supergiants when
most of their hydrogen has
fused into helium
5(b). Supernova 5. A red supergiant eventually
explodes as a supernova
7(b)i. 6. It forms a nebula containing
Neutron hydrogen and heavier
star elements, …

7(b)ii. Black hole 7. …leaving a (i) neutron star, or

(from dense heckin’ a (ii) black hole at its centre
chonkybois) 6(b). Nebula
 3. Stable star
Contd. life cycle
of a star:
(b) Chonkers
4(b). Red supergiant
Note:

The nebula in 6(b) could form

5(b). Supernova
new stars with planets
orbiting them
7(b)i.
Neutron
This is one way solar systems
star
can form that contain some of
7(b)ii. Black hole the really heavy elements in
(from dense heckin’ the periodic table
chonkybois) 6(b). Nebula
25.3: The
Universe
Galaxies in
the Universe
• The Universe is made
up of billions of
galaxies
• The Milky Way is just
1 of these galaxies
Far away galaxies seen through
the Hubble Space Telescope
 When stars shine, cooler gases in the star’s
atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths (colours)
Atoms of the starlight emitted from the star’s core

absorbing • Each element absorbs specific wavelengths

(colours) of light different from other elements

starlight • So, the specific wavelengths missing from the

starlight are a “fingerprint” or “barcode” that
tells us which elements are in the star

E.g.: Specific “missing” wavelengths (colours) of light absorbed by hydrogen atoms

Redshift of light from distant galaxies
• In light from distant
galaxies, the λ
(wavelengths) absorbed
by different elements
are shifted towards the
red side of the spectrum

• This is called redshift

• We say the absorbed

wavelengths are
redshifted Top picture: Absorbed wavelengths of light from experiment on Earth
Bottom picture: Absorbed wavelengths of light from distant galaxies
Redshift of light from distant galaxies
Formal definition of redshift (to
use in exams):

• An increase in the observed

wavelength of electromagnetic
radiation emitted from receding
stars and galaxies

(Receding = moving away from us)

Remember: Red light has a longer

wavelength than other colours;
increase in wavelength means the
same as shifted to red side of Top picture: Absorbed wavelengths of light from experiment on Earth
spectrum
Bottom picture: Absorbed wavelengths of light from distant galaxies
Why does redshift mean galaxies are
receding?
Non-moving source Moving source If a source moves
towards us, its waves
look squished to us,
(shorter λ;
blueshifted light)

If the source moves

away from us, its
waves look stretched
to us (longer λ,
redshift blueshift redshifted light)
Why does redshift mean galaxies are
receding?

Waves look squished Waves look stretched

(shorter λ; blueshift) (longer λ; redshift)
Redshift: Evidence supporting the Big Bang Theory
So… why is light from distant galaxies
redshifted (why is its wavelength longer)
compared to light emitted on Earth?
• Because the wavelengths get stretched as
light travels to us from distant galaxies
• This shows that the Universe is expanding

The Big Bang Theory describes how the

Universe expanded from a small size 13.7
billion years ago to what it is now
• So, the redshifted light from distant
galaxies is evidence supporting this theory
What is the Big Bang
Theory?
Okay, seems like the Universe is expanding…
• So, yesterday it was slightly smaller than
today
• And last month it was even smaller, and last
year, it was smaller still

The logical conclusion:

• If we rewind time enough (~13.7 billion
years), everything in the Universe must
have taken up a veeeeery tiiiiiny volume
(maybe human-sized-ish)
• Since then, the observable Universe has
stretched out everywhere to the size it is
now (~93 billion lightyears in diameter)
What is the Big Bang
Theory? Note:
Our IGCSE
syllabus
interprets the
Big Bang as the
start of the
Universe,
because that’s a
common
scientific
interpretation of
the data. But as
the video says,
it’s not the only
interpretation.
Wait, how does redshift show an expanding
Universe?
Any part of the sky we point our telescopes
at, light from galaxies appears redshifted

So, in all directions around us, galaxies are

receding from us
• Everything we see in the Universe is moving
away from us

This suggests the Universe itself is

expanding! This is the basis for the Big Bang

But also, our measurements show that the

In all directions around us, galaxies
further away the galaxies are from us, the are moving away from us
more their light is redshifted
 Redshift gives us v
How to measure a
galaxy’s speed and
distance?
Figuring out v:
• To determine the speed, v (m/s), at
which a galaxy is receding from us,
measure the amount of redshift of
light from that galaxy

Figuring out d:
• To determine the distance, d (m), of a
galaxy away from us, measure the
brightness of a supernova in that
galaxy

Supernova brightness gives us d

How does supernova brightness give us d ?
Lights look less bright the further they are from us
• If we know how much light a lamp emits (its
intrinsic brightness), we can compare that to how
bright it looks to us (its apparent brightness) and
figure out how far away the lamp is

It turns out we can calculate a supernova’s intrinsic

brightness based on how long it takes to fade
• So, comparing the apparent brightness of
supernova explosions to our estimate of their
intrinsic brightness lets us figure out how far
away they are!
Recessional speed vs distance of galaxies
, v (m/s), When we plot the speeds at
which galaxies are moving away
from us vs their distances from
us, we get an equation called
Hubble’s law:
Graph of Gradient of
Galaxies We graph, called
See v = H0 d the Hubble
constant

, d (m) (must remember)

H0 = 2.2 × 10−18
Straight line of best fit
Hubble’s law and the age of the
Universe
From the Hubble constant, H0 (the gradient of the v vs d of galaxies
graph and the proportionality constant between v and d):

v = H0 × d but, v =
;

So: t= But what does this time, t (s), mean?

The age of the Universe
Bla
Stay healthy, and happy Physics-ing!