“The Ever-Expanding Universe”
Make sure you adhere to the following instructions when you post your replies to Part 1 (Q1-3).
Answer each question in Part 1 in a separate paragraph and always identify the question number you are answering. You can’t answer ALL questions in one paragraph in the form of an essay.
Part 1 – Questions
Q1. Telescopes have exploded our understanding of the universe. Bigger than ever and working in giant networks, across the globe and in space, they are unlocking secrets that astonish and amaze us. While at the dawn of the 20th century, the Milky Way galaxy was the entire known universe, today we live in the golden age of cosmic discovery. We have discovered billions of galaxies containing hundreds of billions of stars and planets in each, we now know the universe is expanding, etc.
The question you will answer is this: Do you think scientists will be able to discover other living things outside of our planet? Do you personally believe there may be life outside of our planet? Explain why or why not? Your explanation should be based on scientific evidence. In addition to information you get from the documentary and other resources of your own, you may as well want to refer to this site: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/search-for-life/big-questions/ (Links to an external site.) [8 points]
Q2. What direct evidence was discovered that was presented in the video that proves a hot beginning for the universe (big bang)? Give examples/evidence from the video.
Q3. Extra credit question (Optional)
The quoted statement below is taken from the video.
“When we see, using a powerful telescope, a 13.7 billion light years away star or galaxy, we’re not only looking out into space, but we too are looking 13.7 billion years back in time.” Explain what the underlined statement means. In other words, when we see those distant stars or galaxies today, we are actually looking at what they looked like 13.7 billion years ago. Does this make sense? You need to explain this. Hint: this has to do with speed of light!
