(Pre-lecture slides: may be updated after lecture.

AST101: The Sun and its Neighbours

Lecture 2: Where are we in the Universe? Prof. Adam D. Hincks

With materials developed by Mike Reid, Bryan Gaensler, Jeremy Webb, C . Barth Netterfield and Renée Hložek.
Business

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Business

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Today’s Topics
●
Our ‘cosmic address’.
●
Distances in astronomy: astronomical units (AU), light year (ly)
●
Astronomical distance vs. lookback time
●
Terminology: planet, dwarf planet, moon, star, solar system,
galaxy
●
Approximate sizes of important objects

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

Photo: Georgia Mizuleva

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

Photo: Michael Reid

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

Photo: Michael Reid

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

Photo: G.Hüdepohl ([Link])/ESO (CC BY 3.0)

MR+/I AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

So, where are we then?

●
We are ‘near’ a star: the Sun.
●
We are ‘near’ a moon.
●
There are seven planets ‘nearby’.
●
We are surrounded by other stars.

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

So, where are we then?

●
We are ‘near’ a star: the Sun.
●
We are ‘near’ a moon.
●
There are seven planets ‘nearby’.
●
We are surrounded by other stars.
●
What else is there?

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’
To see beyond the ‘nearby’ stars that surround us, we need
some advanced instruments. Let’s get a telescope!

10 m

vs. ~½ cm

Keck II Telescope, Hawaii

Photo: SiOwl (CC BY 3.0)
MR+/I AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Our ‘Cosmic Address’
Pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope
M81

UGC 12812, Mrk 9006,

KPG 592B
MR+/I NGC2207 & IC2163 AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Our ‘Cosmic Address’

So, where are we then?

●
We are ‘near’ a star: the Sun.
●
We are ‘near’ a moon.
●
There are seven planets ‘nearby’.
●
We are surrounded by other stars.
●
Moreover, we are surrounded by other
groups of stars.
●
They are probably much further away than the other
objects since they only appear in telescopes

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Our ‘Cosmic Address’

planet Earth
star
system The Solar System
galaxy Milky Way Galaxy
galaxy cluster Local Group
everything The Universe

MR+/I AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Today’s Topics
●
Our ‘cosmic address’.
●
Distances in astronomy: astronomical units (AU), light year (ly)
●
Astronomical distance vs. lookback time
●
Terminology: planet, dwarf planet, moon, star, solar system,
galaxy
●
Approximate sizes of important objects

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

However big you imagine space to be … it is not big enough.

It is much,

MUCH
bigger!
MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Distances in Astronomy

You are about 10 billion You are about a billion, billion,

times bigger than a BILLION times smaller than the
single atom observable universe

10-15 m 10-10 m 10-6 m 1m 107 m 1013 m 1021 m 1027 m

proton atom cell person Earth Solar our observable
System galaxy universe

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

You are here

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

The Solar System is

enormous
and is almost completely empty.*

*Not strictly empty. There are tiny, tiny quantities of gas and
dust throughout

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy
‘The Understanding, indeed, opens an infinite Space on every side of
us, but the Imagination, after a few faint Efforts, is immediately at a
stand, and finds her self swallowed up in the Immensity of the Void that
surrounds it: Our Reason can pursue a Particle of Matter through an
infinite Variety of Divisions, but the Fancy soon loses sight of it, and
feels in it self a kind of Chasm … The Object is too big for our Capacity,
when we would comprehend the Circumference of a World, and
dwindles into nothing, when we endeavour after the Idea of an Atome.’
Joseph Addison, ‘Pleasures of Imagination’, The Spectator, No. 420 (2 July 1712).

10-15 m 10-10 m 10-6 m 1m 107 m 1013 m 1021 m 1027 m

proton atom cell person Earth Solar our observable
System galaxy universe

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

~150,000,000,000 m

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

~1.5×1011 m

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy
In astronomy, numbers are huge when we compare to human-
sized things … imagine always having to keep track of all the
zeros in a number like 150,000,000,000 m!

Units like metres and inches and kilometres and miles are
designed for human-sized things.

Astronomers have their own units designed for astronomy-sized

things.

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

1 AU

1 AU = 1 astronomical unit
= average distance between
Earth and Sun
= 149597870691 m
≈ 1.5×1011 m
MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Distances in Astronomy

Sun
nearest star

40,200,000,000,000,000 m
= 269,000 AU
= 1 ‘nearest star unit’ … ?

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

Sun
nearest star

4.25 light years

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy
1 ly = 1 light year
= distance light travels in one year
= 9,460,730,472,580 km
≈ 9.5×1012 km
≈ 63,000 AU

Sometimes it make sense to define a distance based on how long

it takes something to travel somewhere.
●
E.g., a league (3 miles) ≈ the distance the average person
walks in an hour

MR+/+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Distances in Astronomy

1 AU ≈ 8.3 light minutes

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Today’s Topics
●
Our ‘cosmic address’.
●
Distances in astronomy: astronomical units (AU), light year (ly)
●
Astronomical distance vs. lookback time
●
Terminology: planet, dwarf planet, moon, star, solar system,
galaxy
●
Approximate sizes of important objects

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Sun

1 AU ≈ 8.3 light minutes

We always see the sun as it was about eight minutes ago.

If the sun were to suddenly stop shining* right now, it would take
us eight minutes to realise that this had happened.
*Don’t worry, this probably won’t happen.

MR+/+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Sun
nearest star

4.25 light years

How long ago did the light leave the nearest star to us?

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Suppose a star explodes
in a Galaxy one billion
light years away

Flash of light

Our telescopes don’t see it yet!

CBN AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Suppose a star explodes
in a Galaxy one billion
light years away

300 million years later …

Travelling at 300,000 km/s,
or 1 ly/year

Our telescopes don’t see it yet!

CBN AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Suppose a star explodes
in a Galaxy one billion
light years away

600 million years later …

Travelling at 300,000 km/s,
or 1 ly/year

Our telescopes don’t see it yet!

CBN AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
Suppose a star explodes
in a Galaxy one billion
light years away

1 billion years later …

Light enters telescope.

We see the explosion 1 billion years after it happened.

CBN AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Astronomical Distance vs. Lookback Time
The farther away you look, the farther back in
time you are looking. Light takes time to travel!
●
Distance: how far away an object is.
●
Lookback time: how long ago the light from that object left it.

Analogy — Mary walks one league from her home to you tell you
how her house renovations are going.
●
The distance she has walked is one league.
●
The time it took her was one hour. She can only tell you what the
house looked like one hour ago.
AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Today’s Topics
●
Our ‘cosmic address’.
●
Distances in astronomy: astronomical units (AU), light year (ly)
●
Astronomical distance vs. lookback time
●
Terminology: planet, dwarf planet, moon, star, solar system,
galaxy
●
Approximate sizes of important objects

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Terminology

Stars are balls of plasma

(really hot gas) that produce
energy by nuclear fusion.

The Sun is a star.

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Terminology
Planets are rocky, icy or gassy. They don’t produce much energy.

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Terminology
Planets are rocky, icy or gassy. They don’t produce much energy.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) accepted a

new definition of the term ‘planet’, adding one new criterion to the
traditional definition:
1. Planets orbit stars directly (not other planets).
2. Planets must be massive enough for their own gravity to
compress them into spherical shapes.
3. Planets must have cleared their orbits. That is, there can’t be
a lot of other stuff orbiting the parent star in orbits very similar
to the planet.
MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Terminology
Dwarf planets are objects that fail the last criterion for the definition
of a planet.
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) accepted a
new definition of the term ‘planet’, adding one new criterion to the
traditional definition:
1. Dwarf planets orbit stars directly (not other planets).
2. Dwarf planets must be massive enough for their own gravity to
compress them into spherical shapes.
3. Dwarf planets must have cleared their orbits. That is, there
can’t be a lot of other stuff orbiting the parent star in orbits very
similar to the planet.
MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks
Terminology
A moon is any large body that orbits a planet.

MR+ AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Terminology
A solar system* (or star system) consists of a star† orbited by
planets, moons and lots of debris (comets, asteroids, dust)

* ‘Solar System’ or ‘the Solar System’ (in capitals) means our star
system; in lowercase, ‘solar system’ is also used to refer to any
star system.
†
Some star systems have more than one star. (Ours only has
one.)

More on the Solar System next class!

MR+/+
Terminology
A galaxy is a large group of stars that orbits around a common
centre. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.
(To learn more about galaxies: AST201, ‘Stars and Galaxies’!)

MR+
Today’s Topics
●
Our ‘cosmic address’.
●
Distances in astronomy: astronomical units (AU), light year (ly)
●
Astronomical distance vs. lookback time
●
Terminology: planet, dwarf planet, moon, star, solar system,
galaxy
●
Approximate sizes of important objects

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks

Notes
Additional Credits
●
Slides marked ‘MR+’ are from a slide-deck from previous offerings of this course, created by
Michael Reid and with subsequent contributions from Bryan Gaensler, Jeremy Webb and Renée
Hložek.
●
Slides marked ‘CBN’ are from a slide-deck created by C. Barth Netterfield for this course.
●
In both cases, adjustments/additions/wording changes have been made to most slides; slides
marked with ‘/+’ have some additional content; slides marked with ‘/I’ have new or different
images.

AST101, U of T • Lecture 2 • Prof. Hincks