How Telescopes Changed our Understanding of the Universe

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Age of the Universe calculated!

WMAP

Hubble

Slide 26

Herschel’s telescope -- used to discover Uranus in 1781

William Herschel

In our own solar system, telescopes found planets our eyes could not see.

Are there

other planets

outside of

our solar

system?

Big Question 7: Are there other planets?

Slide 27

Courtesy of W.M. Keck Observatory

Geoff Marcy

Other worlds discovered!

Artist’s concept of extrasolar planet

Artist: Lynette Cook

1990’s through Today

Slide 28

Telescopes have changed our understanding of the universe …

Slide 29

Is Earth the

center of

the universe?

How far are

the stars?

What are they

made of?

Is there more

than one

galaxy?

Did the

Universe

have a

beginning?

Are there

other planets

outside of

our solar

system?

Is the Sun

at the

center of

the Galaxy?

answering some of the big questions…

Slide 30

The Sun is at

the center

of the

Solar System

The stars are

other Suns,

VERY

far away.

There are

billions of

other

galaxies!

The known

universe

began

13.7 billion

years ago

There are

many other

planets

outside

our solar

system

Solar System

is about

halfway out

from the

center of

our Galaxy.

answering some of the big questions…

Slide 31

… changing our understanding of our place in the universe!

From the center of the universe…

… to a very small planet in an immense expanding universe

Slide 32

And the more we learn, the more questions emerge!

What is

beyond Pluto

in our

Solar System?

How do

stars and

planets form?

How did

galaxies

form?

Why is

space

expanding?

Do other

planets

harbor life ?

Why are there

black holes

in the center

of galaxies?

Slide 33

Telescopes will continue to expand our understanding of our universe.