INTRODUCCION

The Universe is all of space and time (spacetime) and its

contents,[12] which includes planets, moons, minor planets,

stars, galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space and all

matter and energy.[13][14] The size of the entire Universe is

still unknown.

The universe was born with the Big Bang as an unimaginably

hot, dense point. When the universe was just 10-34 of a

second or so old that is, a hundredth of a billionth of a

trillionth of a trillionth of a second in age it experienced an

incredible burst of expansion known as inflation, in which

space itself expanded faster than the speed of light. During

this period, the universe doubled in size at least 90 times,

going from subatomic-sized to golf-ball-sized almost

instantaneously.
What is the Universe?

The Universe is everything, without exceptions. Matter, energy, space and time,

everything that exists forms part of the Universe.

The Universe contains galaxies, Cumulus of galaxies and larger structures

called superclusters, as well as intergalactic matter. We still do not know exactly

the magnitude of the Universe, despite the advanced technology available

today.

Matter is not uniformly distributed, but is concentrated in specific places:

galaxies, stars, planets.

Our world, the Earth, is tiny compared to the Universe.

We are part of the Solar System, lost in an arm of a galaxy that has 100,000

million stars, but it is only one among the hundreds of billions of galaxies that

make up the Universe.

Aggregate Structures of the Universe

GALAXIES

A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar

systems. A galaxy is held together by gravity. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, also

has a supermassive black hole in the middle.

On a large scale, the universe is made up of galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

For most of our history, humans could only see galaxies as diffuse spots in the

night sky.

However, today we know for sure that they are huge clusters of stars, nebulae,

planets and other materials.

Through the telescope they manifest as luminous spots of different forms.

In fact, our Solar System is part of a galaxy, the only one we have seen from

within: The Milky Way. We have always known it, although, of course, in

antiquity nobody knew what it was. It appears like a whitish strip that crosses

the sky, for that reason we call it milk road.

Within the Milky Way we can find various star formations and interstellar dust.

The most notable are the nebulae and stellar clusters. Presumably they also

exist in other galaxies.

Classes of Galaxies

Some galaxies are spiral-shaped like ours. They have curved arms that make it

look like a pinwheel. Other galaxies are smooth and oval shaped. Theyre called

elliptical galaxies. And there are also galaxies that arent spirals or ovals. They

have irregular shapes and look like blobs. The light that we see from each of

these galaxies comes from the stars inside it.

- Elliptical galaxies

Some galaxies have a complete globular profile with a bright nucleus. These

galaxies, called ellipticals, contain a large population of old stars. They contain

only a very small amount of gas and dust, and the interstellar medium is

practically non-existent. These two facts are linked, since gas is the necessary

ingredient for the formation of stars. If it is absent, no new stars can form, and

all stars present were formed at a time when interstellar gas was still available.

- Spiral galaxies

Spiral galaxies are flat discs that contain not only some old stars but also a

large population of young stars, quite gas and dust, and molecular clouds that

are the birthplace of stars. Generally, a halo of weak old stars surrounds the
disk, and there is usually a smaller nuclear protrusion that emits two streams of

energy matter in opposite directions. This class of galaxies is still subdivided

into two groups: normal spirals, in which arms develop directly from the nucleus,

and barred spirals, which have a large central bar whose extremities are the

starting point of the arms ( Is the case of our Galaxy). For spiral galaxies, it is

not a random internal turmoil that prevents gravitational collapse, but a global

rotation of the galaxy. Each star rotates around the nucleus, and it is this orbital

movement that gives rise to a centrifugal force. The global rotation of the galaxy

is also responsible for the flattening of the whole and the formation of the disk.

Spirals have stars of all ages and all masses, as well as a large amount of gas

and dust. There also the two facts are linked, since a rich interstellar means

means that it still has enough matter to form numerous stars, hence the

presence of young and massive stars. This is true, however, only in the spiral

arms, and for this reason the arms appear brighter and detach from the rest to

give the galaxy its characteristic appearance. Between spirals and ellipticals

there is an intermediate case, that of lenticular galaxies. Like spirals, they have

a bulky nucleus and a disk, but, like the elliptic ones, they lack spiral arms and

possess a relatively poor interstellar medium.

Irregular galaxies

There is finally one last category, that of irregular galaxies, which contains all

the galaxies that do not fall into the three previous groups. These galaxies

present a deformed aspect most of the time, and are very rich in gas and dust.

They can be classified into two groups. First, galaxies that have an irregular

appearance, but whose distribution of matter is actually very regular such as, for
example, the Magellanic Clouds. These are considered today as spirals that did

not manage to finish their formation. The second type is that of truly irregular

galaxies, both visually and from the distribution of matter. This irregularity can

have diverse origins, like a strong activity in the nucleus, or a last collision with

another galaxy.

THE MILKY WAY

Our Sun (a star) and all the planets around it are part of a galaxy known as the

Milky Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound

together by gravity. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The Milky Way

is a large barred spiral galaxy. All the stars we see in the night sky are in our

own Milky Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because it appears

as a milky band of light in the sky when you see it in a really dark area.

The Milky Way Galaxy is most significant to humans because it is home sweet

home. But when it comes down to it, our galaxy is a typical barred spiral, much

like billions of other galaxies in the universe. Let's take a look at the Milky Way.

It is very difficult to count the number of stars in the Milky Way from our position

inside the galaxy. Our best estimates tell us that the Milky Way is made up of

approximately 100 billion stars. These stars form a large disk whose diameter is

about 100,000 light years. Our Solar System is about 25,000 light years away

from the center of our galaxy we live in the suburbs of our galaxy. Just as the

Earth goes around the Sun, the Sun goes around the center of the Milky Way. It

takes 250 million years for our Sun and the solar system to go all the way

around the center of the Milky Way.

The constellations
Ever since people first wandered the Earth, great significance has been given to

the celestial objects seen in the sky. Throughout human history and across

many different cultures, names and mythical stories have been attributed to the

star patterns in the night sky, thus giving birth to what we know as

constellations.

The stars that can be observed in a clear night form certain figures that we call

"constellations", and that serve to locate more easily the position of the stars.

They are groups of stars visible from the Earth, that form imaginary patterns

according to the human perspective. The International Astronomical Union

defines constellations by their boundaries or borders and not by patterns or

shapes, so they can be identified by means of coordinates in the sky and not

simply by having a distinctive shape.

The first men realized that stars could be used to guide them and obtain simple

calculations with which to solve daily problems related mainly to agriculture. In

the caves of Lascaux, located in the south of France, have been found painted

figures that seem to correspond to astronomical marks of more than 17,000

years.

The ancient Greeks have the honor of having delineated and described famous

constellations that set the precedent of the present ones. But also the Romans

and cultures of the Middle East and China identified sets of stars with diverse

forms that they named as the beings of their mythology: animals, gods, objects

and more.

For these ancient cultures, the importance of the constellations could be, as

well as guide, ceremonial or religious. The odd thing is that some are only

visible during a certain time of the year due to Earth's orbit around the Sun and
this probably served to help men remember some issues. Some experts

suggest that mythology related to certain constellations was created by farmers

to remind them of the time of, for example, to start planting or harvesting.

In total, there are 88 groupings of stars that appear in the celestial sphere and

that take their name of religious or mythological figures, animals or objects. This

term also refers to delimited areas of the celestial sphere that comprise the

groups of stars with name.

When were the first constellations recorded?

Archaeological studies have identified possible astronomical markings painted

on the walls in the cave system at Lascaux in southern France. Our ancestors

may have recorded their view of the night sky on the walls of their cave some

17 300 years ago. It is thought that the Pleiades star cluster is represented

alongside the nearby cluster of the Hyades. Was the first ever depiction of a

star pattern made over seventeen millennia ago? (Rappenglck 1996)

The stars

Although most of the space we can see is empty, it is inevitable that we look at

those bright spots.

Because of the gravitational attraction, the matter of stars tends to be

concentrated at its center. But that increases your temperature and pressure.

From certain limits, this increase causes nuclear reactions that release energy

and balance the force of gravity, so that the size of the star remains more or

less stable for a time, emitting large amounts of radiation to space, including ,

Of course, the luminous.

However, depending on the amount of matter collected in a star and the

moment of the cycle in which it is, can occur very different phenomena and
behaviors. Dwarfs, Giants, Doubles, Variables, Quasars, Pulsars, Black Holes

... In this chapter we are going to give you an overview of the stars, their types,

their behavior and their evolution.

The planets

Below is a brief overview of the eight primary planets in our solar system, in
order from the inner solar system outward:

Mercury

The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is only a bit larger than Earth's moon. Its
day side is scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450
Celsius), but on the night side, temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below
freezing. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to absorb meteor impacts, so its
surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Over its four-year
mission, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed views of the planet that
have challenged astronomers' expectations.

Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods

Orbit: 88 Earth days

Day: 58.6 Earth days

Venus

The second planet from the sun, Venus is terribly hot, even hotter than Mercury.
The atmosphere is toxic. The pressure at the surface would crush and kill you.
Scientists describe Venus situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size
and structure are similar to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a
runaway "greenhouse effect." Oddly, Venus spins slowly in the opposite
direction of most planets.
The Greeks believed Venus was two different objects one in the morning sky
and another in the evening. Because it is often brighter than any other object in
the sky except for the sun and moon Venus has generated many UFO
reports.

Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty

Orbit: 225 Earth days

Day: 241 Earth days

Earth

The third planet from the sun, Earth is a waterworld, with two-thirds of the planet
covered by ocean. Its the only world known to harbor life. Earths atmosphere is
rich in life-sustaining nitrogen and oxygen. Earth's surface rotates about its axis
at 1,532 feet per second (467 meters per second) slightly more than 1,000
mph (1,600 kph) at the equator. The planet zips around the sun at more than
18 miles per second (29 km per second).

Orbit: 365.24 days

Day: 23 hours, 56 minutes

Mars

The fourth planet from the sun, is a cold, dusty place. The dust, an iron oxide,
gives the planet its reddish cast. Mars shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky,
has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornado-
like dust devils to planet-engulfing dust storms. It snows on Mars. And Mars
harbors water ice. Scientists think it was once wet and warm, though today its
cold and desert-like.

Mars' atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist on the surface for any
length of time. Scientists think ancient Mars would have had the conditions to
support life, and there is hope that signs of past life possibly even present
biology may exist on the Red Planet.

Named for: Roman god of war

Orbit: 687 Earth days

Day: Just more than one Earth day (24 hours, 37 minutes)

Jupiter

The fifth planet from the sun, Jupiter is huge and is the most massive planet in
our solar system. Its a mostly gaseous world, mostly hydrogen and helium. Its
swirling clouds are colorful due to different types of trace gases. A big feature is
the Great Red Spot, a giant storm which has raged for hundreds of years.
Jupiter has a strong magnetic field, and with dozens of moons, it looks a bit like
a miniature solar system.

Named for: Ruler of the Roman gods

Orbit: 11.9 Earth years

Day: 9.8 Earth hours

Saturn

The sixth planet from the sun is known most for its rings. When Galileo Galilei
first studied Saturn in the early 1600s, he thought it was an object with three
parts. Not knowing he was seeing a planet with rings, the stumped astronomer
entered a small drawing a symbol with one large circle and two smaller ones
in his notebook, as a noun in a sentence describing his discovery. More than
40 years later, Christiaan Huygens proposed that they were rings. The rings are
made of ice and rock. Scientists are not yet sure how they formed. The gaseous
planet is mostly hydrogen and helium. It has numerous moons.

Named for: Roman god of agriculture

Orbit: 29.5 Earth years

Day: About 10.5 Earth hours

Uranus

The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus is an oddball. Its the only giant planet
whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit it basically orbits on its
side. Astronomers think the planet collided with some other planet-size object
long ago, causing the tilt. The tilt causes extreme seasons that last 20-plus
years, and the sun beats down on one pole or the other for 84 Earth-years.
Uranus is about the same size as Neptune. Methane in the atmosphere gives
Uranus its blue-green tint. It has numerous moons and faint rings.

Named for: Personification of heaven in ancient myth

Orbit: 84 Earth years

Day: 18 Earth hours

Neptune

The eighth planet from the sun, Neptune is known for strong winds
sometimes faster than the speed of sound. Neptune is far out and cold. The
planet is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth. It has a rocky core.
Neptune was the first planet to be predicted to exist by using math, before it
was detected. Irregularities in the orbit of Uranus led French astronomer Alexis
Bouvard to suggest some other might be exerting a gravitational tug. German
astronomer Johann Galle used calculations to help find Neptune in a telescope.
Neptune is about 17 times as massive as Earth.

Discovery: 1846

Named for: Roman god of water

Orbit: 165 Earth years

Day: 19 Earth hours

Pluto (Dwarf Planet)

Once the ninth planet from the sun, Pluto is unlike other planets in many
respects. It is smaller than Earth's moon. Its orbit carries it inside the orbit of
Neptune and then way out beyond that orbit. From 1979 until early 1999, Pluto
had actually been the eighth planet from the sun. Then, on Feb. 11, 1999, it
crossed Neptune's path and once again became the solar system's most distant
planet until it was demoted to dwarf planet status. Pluto will stay beyond
Neptune for 228 years. Plutos orbit is tilted to the main plane of the solar
system where the other planets orbit by 17.1 degrees. Its a cold, rocky
world with only a very ephemeral atmosphere. NASA's New Horizons mission
performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015. [Related:
New Horizons' Pluto Flyby: Latest News, Images and Video]

Named for: Roman god of the underworld, Hades

Orbit: 248 Earth years

Day: 6.4 Earth day

Planet Nine

Planet Nine orbits the sun at a distance that is 20 times farther out than the orbit
of Neptune. (The orbit of Neptune is 2.7 billion miles from the sun at its closest
point.) The strange world's orbit is about 600 times farther from the sun than
the Earth's orbit is from the star.

Scientists have not actually seen Planet Nine directly. Its existence was inferred
by its gravitational effects on other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region at the
fringe of the solar system that is home to icy objects left over from the birth of
the sun and planets.