Name: ____________________________________________________Astro:_____ Date:_________________
COSMIC TIMES
QUESTIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING
Universe Age: _________________ Universe size: ____________
Death of a Genius
1. Albert Einstein’s ideas provide the basis for which science?
2. What force of nature did both Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein study and describe?
‘Yardsticks’ in Neighbor Galaxy Double Universe’s Size
1. Who is Walter Baade, and what did he discover about the size of the Universe?
2. Who discovered the first “yardstick” used to measure distances in the Universe?
3. Name and describe the special type of stars she used to measure distance.
4. Explain how the distance to a star can be calculated based on the period (cycle time) of Cepheids?
5. Who standardized the yardstick by treating all Cepheids the same?
6. Dr. Baade discovered an error in Dr. Shapley’s work. Describe the error.
It’s a Star, It’s a Nova, It’s a Supernova
1. How does the article describe the appearance of novae?
2. The article states Supernovae are rare events in the Milky Way galaxy or any galaxy. What facts are given to
support that statement?
3. In 1941, what did Rudolph Minkowski discover about Supernovae?
4. Astronomers consider all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium to be metals. Based on that idea, why
did Fred Hoyle consider some Supernovae “Stars of Steel?”
Origin of Everything: Hot Bang or Ageless Universe?
1. What topic was recently discussed at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences?
2. Name the two competing theories that explain the nature of the Universe. Name the scientists who support
each theory.
3. What behavior of the Universe do both theories explain?
4. Both theories explain how hydrogen came to exist, but the explanations are very different. Briefly discuss
how each theory explains the formation of hydrogen in the Universe.
5. What other direct evidence of a gigantic blast does George Gamow think must exist?
6. What evidence did Edwin Hubble find that supports the evolutionary Universe theory?
7. What are the two possible ends for the Universe according to the evolutionary theory?
8. What is needed to determine which theory is correct?
Hoyle Scoffs at “Big Bang” Universe Theory
1. What did Fred Hoyle call George Gamow’s evolutionary universe theory?
2. Discuss a reason why Hoyle disagreed with the evolutionary theory.
Radio ‘Ear’ on Universe Being Built
1. What types of space objects are studied with a “steerable radio antenna?”
Universe Age: _________________ Universe size: ____________
Murmur of a Bang
1. What type of radiation was discovered coming from all regions of space?
2. What is the importance of this discovery? What does it provide supporting evidence for?
3. What are the names of the two scientists who discovered this radiation and what were they actually
trying to find when they discovered the radiation?
4. Who helped Penzias and Wilson recognize the importance of their discovery and why was he able to
recognize the importance?
5. Why does this discovery weaken the Steady State Theory of the Universe?
Big Hiss Missed By Others
1. In 1961 Edward Ohm discovered the same microwave radiation that Penzias and Wilson found, using
the same horn antenna. What incorrect assumption did Ohm make that prevented him from
understanding the importance of that radiation?
2. When did LeRoux and Shamaonov discover the microwave radiation? Why did they not realize the
importance of their discovery?
Cosmic X-Ray Sources Found Outside the Galaxy
1. Some objects in space give off powerful X-Rays. WHERE must instruments be placed to
X-Rays? WHY must the instruments be placed there?
detect these
2. What is unusual about the strong X-Ray source coming from the direction of the constellation Scorpius?
Quasars: Express Train to Netherlands
1. What type of astronomers first discovered quasars? What type of radiation must they have been
studying?
2. Quasars are very __________ (close, distant) and very __________ (dim, bright).
3. What do quasars provide the key to?
Galaxies Still Misbehaving
1. How is the amount of starlight coming from a galaxy measured?
2. How is the mass of a galaxy determined?
3. What is a mass-to-light ratio? What object has a mass-to-light ratio of one?
4. What does it mean if an object has a mass-to-light ratio greater than one?
5. According to the article, what are astronomers discovering about galaxies everywhere?
6. How much of the mass in the Coma cluster of galaxies appears to be “missing” (not giving off light)?
Universe Age: _________________ Universe size: ____________
Baby Universe’s First Picture
1. What do the letters CMB stand for?
2. When this CMB radiation was first studied in 1965, was the radiation observed to be the same
everywhere …or were there slight variations?
3. In 1967, what did Rees and Sciama predict must be true about the CMB radiation?
4. What is the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) telescope capable of detecting?
5. How old was the light where “lumps” in the CMB radiation were detected?
6. What theory predicts these “lumps” should exist?
Inflation in the Universe
1. In addition to predicting a fairly uniform CMB radiation, what else does Inflation Theory predict?
2. Which region of space would have stronger gravity … one with a dense distribution of matter, or one
with a lower density of matter?
Dark Matter Hunt Heats Up
1. What type of radiation does the ROSAT satellite study?
2. What did ROSAT detect in the empty space between two galaxies? What is needed to hold the gas
there?
3. To create this strong gravity, how much more matter is needed than what can be seen?
4. What is this “unseen” matter called?
5. If there is enough “dark matter,” what could eventually happen to the Universe?
6. What are two ideas that try to explain what dark matter is?
Fool-Proofing Galactic ‘Candles’
1. What causes a Type Ia supernova?
2. What did astronomers believe should be true for all Type Ia supernovae?
3. Why might Type Ia supernovae be better than Cepheid variable stars for measuring distances to some
galaxies?
4. In 1993, what did astronomer Mark Phillips discover about some Type Ia supernovae?
5. What do you think might be true about some of the distances to galaxies that were determined with Type
Ia supernovae, before Phillips’ discovery?
6. In your own words, explain the meaning of the term “standard-candle.”
Pulsar Gravitational Waves Win Nobel Prize
1. For what did Hulse and Taylor win the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993?
2. What did they observe about the orbits of the pulsar and neutron star over a four-year period?
What caused this?
3. What does Einstein’s theory of general relativity predict will happen if two massive objects move in a
strong gravitational field?
4. Hulse and Taylor did not directly observe gravitational waves. What did they observe that indicated
they must exist?
Universe Age: _________________ Universe size: ____________
Faster Walk on the Dark Side
1. As of now, what two things are known about “dark energy?”
2. In 2006, what were the three teams of scientists studying when they found evidence of
dark energy?
3. In 1998, what did two teams of astronomers discover about the rate of expansion of
the Universe?
4. How does dark energy work to make the Universe expand faster?
Journey to Cosmos Dark Heart
1. What is the goal of the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM)?
2. When the distance to Type 1a supernovae is more accurately measured, what will this provide clues to?
3. What are the names of the three programs that are a part of JDEM and what part(s) of the electromagnetic
radiation spectrum will each program study?
Sorting Out Dark Stuff
1. Based on the most recent evidence collected by astronomers, describe the composition of the Universe.
2. Which statement is true? Dark matter …

only affects other matter by tugging on it with gravity.

is normal matter that is too cool to give off visible light.

is composed of a new type of massive particle that has been isolated and studied in laboratories.

is the same thing as dark energy
3. What evidence do astronomers have for the existence of dark energy?
Seeds of Modern Universe
1. What has the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) provided a clearer view of?
2. What information has WMAP provided about the geometry of the universe and what does this mean?
3. WMAP also discovered polarization of light in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. What
does this help us understand?
4. What are the seeds of the gigantic clusters of galaxies found today?
Biggest Mystery: What is Dark Energy?
1. There are several theories that attempt to explain what dark energy is. Those theories have not yet been
tested. What is needed before those theories can be tested?
2. What does dark energy do?
3. What is the modern theory of quintessence and why might it explain dark energy?
First Light Wins Nobel
1. Name the individuals who received the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics.
2. What was the discovery they received the prize for, and when did they discover it?
3. What did they learn from data from COBE?
4. If they had not found slight variations in the CMB, what would have been difficult to explain?