Big Ideas in Cosmology

by Kim Coble, Kevin McLin, and Lynn Cominsky

Read here Read at LibreTextsPDF

The traditional textbook, bound to the physical limits of the printed page, cannot illustrate the full complexity, movement, and beauty of the cosmos.

Description from LibreTexts.

Publisher
San Francisco State University, Chico State University, and Sonoma State University
Subjects
Physics, Astronomy Cosmology
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as LibreTexts states it. Non-commercial use only.
Who can read
Tweens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

LibreTexts writes equations in TeX, and here they show as TeX; the PDF has them typeset.

  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. About the Book
  6. Licensing
  7. About the Authors
  8. 0: Review of Mathematics
  9. 0.0: Scientific Notation
  10. 0.1: Manipulating Numbers in Scientific Notation
  11. 0.2: The Metric System
  12. 0.3: Special Units Used in Astronomy
  13. 0.4: Comparing Sizes and Converting Units
  14. 0.5: Problem Solving and Thinking About Your Answers
  15. 0.6: Measurement Accuracy and Uncertainty
  16. 0.7: Wrapping It Up
  17. 1: Size and Scope
  18. 1.0: Size and Scope Introduction
  19. 1.1: Your Model of the Universe
  20. 1.2: Our Solar System
  21. 1.3: Our Galaxy - The Milky Way
  22. 1.4: Other Galaxies and Large-scale Structures in the Universe
  23. 1.5: The Smallest Stuff- Particles, Atoms, and Molecules
  24. 1.6: Hierarchy- How the Objects Are Arranged
  25. 1.7: Scale the Universe
  26. 1.8: Wrapping It Up 1 - Size, Scope, and Units
  27. 1.9: Mission Report 1 - Size, Scope, and Units
  28. 2: Light
  29. 2.0: Light Introduction
  30. 2.1: The Wave Nature of Light
  31. 2.2: The Particle Nature of Light
  32. 2.3: The Electromagnetic Spectrum
  33. 2.4: What a Spectrum of Light Can Tell Us About Matter
  34. 2.5: Continuous Spectra - a Planck Spectrum Tells us the Temperature of Objects
  35. 2.6: Lines Spectra- Emission and Absorption Lines
  36. 2.7: Determining the Composition of an Unknown Gas
  37. 2.8: Wrapping It Up 2 - The Properties of Light
  38. 2.9: Mission Report 2 - The Properties of Light
  39. 3: Telescopes
  40. 3.0: Telescope Introduction
  41. 3.1: Designing Telescopes Across the Spectrum
  42. 3.2: Location, Location, Location
  43. 3.3: Imaging Astronomical Objects
  44. 3.4: Determining the Brightness of Astronomical Objects
  45. 3.5: Wrapping It Up 3 - Light, Telescopes, and Astronomical Images
  46. 3.6: Mission Report 3 - Light, Telescopes, and Astronomical Images
  47. 4: Moving Through Space
  48. 4.0: Moving Through Space Introduction
  49. 4.1: Relationship Between Distance, Speed, and Time
  50. 4.2: Measuring Motion - the Doppler Shift
  51. 4.3: Astronomical Objects in Motion
  52. 4.4: Wrapping It Up 4 - The Andromeda Shift
  53. 4.5: Mission Report 4 - The Andromeda Shift
  54. 5: Moving Through Time
  55. 5.0: Moving Through Time Introduction
  56. 5.1: Measuring the Ages of Objects - Radiometric Dating
  57. 5.2: Measuring Ages - Lifetimes of Stars
  58. 5.3: Change Over Time - Evolution of Stars
  59. 5.4: Evolution of Galaxies and the Universe Itself
  60. 5.5: Wrapping It Up 5 - Cosmic Timeline
  61. 5.6: Mission Report 5 - Cosmic Timeline
  62. 6: Measuring Cosmic Distances
  63. 6.0: Measuring Cosmic Distances Introduction
  64. 6.1: Geometrical Methods
  65. 6.2: Standard Ruler
  66. 6.3: Standard Candle
  67. 6.4: The Cosmic Distance Ladder
  68. 6.5: Wrapping It Up 6 - The Supernova of 1885
  69. 6.6: Mission Report 6 - Distance Measurement
  70. 7: Classical Physics- Gravity and Energy
  71. 7.0: Classical Physics - Gravity and Energy Introduction
  72. 7.1: Gravity on Earth
  73. 7.2: Force, Mass, and Weight
  74. 7.3: Gravity Is a Universal Force
  75. 7.4: Gravity and Orbits
  76. 7.5: Forms of Energy
  77. 7.6: Conservation of Energy
  78. 7.7: Wrapping It Up 7 - The Galilean Moons of Jupiter
  79. 7.8: Mission Report 7 - The Galilean Moons of Jupiter
  80. 8: Dark Matter
  81. 8.0: Dark Matter Introduction
  82. 8.1: Making Models for Rotation
  83. 8.2: Velocities, Mass, and Gravity - The Solar System
  84. 8.3: Gravity and Models for Different Mass Distributions
  85. 8.4: Velocity and Mass Distributions in Galaxies
  86. 8.5: Velocity and Mass Distributions in Galaxy Clusters
  87. 8.6: Possible Explanations for the Missing Mass in Galaxies and Clusters
  88. 8.7: Wrapping It Up 8 - What Is the Matter With NGC 3198?
  89. 8.8: Mission Report 8 - What Is the Matter With NGC 3198?
  90. 9: Special Relativity
  91. 9.0: Special Relativity Introduction
  92. 9.1: The Principles of Special Relativity
  93. 9.2: Time Dilation
  94. 9.3: Length Contraction
  95. 9.4: The Geometry of Special Relativity - Spacetime
  96. 9.5: Applications of Spacetime
  97. 9.6: Mass and Energy
  98. 9.7: Faster Than Light?
  99. 9.8: Wrapping It Up 9 - A Trip to Alpha Centauri
  100. 9.9: Mission Report 9 - A Trip to Alpha Centauri
  101. 10: General Relativity
  102. 10.0: General Relativity Introduction
  103. 10.1: Einstein’s Equivalence Principle
  104. 10.2: Gravity and Curvature
  105. 10.3: What is Curvature?
  106. 10.4: Tests of General Relativity
  107. 10.5: The Source of Gravity
  108. 10.6: Wrapping It Up 10 - Curved Spacetime Around Astronomical Objects
  109. 10.7: Mission Report 10: Curved Spacetime Around Astronomical Objects
  110. 10.8: Formulae, Constants, and Conversion Factors for Chapter 10
  111. 11: Black Holes
  112. 11.0: Black Holes Introduction
  113. 11.1: What Are Black Holes?
  114. 11.2: Spacetime Near Black Holes
  115. 11.3: Quantum Effects Near Black Holes
  116. 11.4: Astrophysical Black Holes
  117. 11.5: Wrapping It Up 11 - Black Hole Densities
  118. 11.6: Mission Report 11 - Black Hole Densities
  119. 12: Gravitational Lenses
  120. 12.0: Gravitational Lensing Introduction
  121. 12.1: What Are Gravitational Lenses?
  122. 12.2: Lensing by Point Masses
  123. 12.3: Lensing by Extended Mass Distributions
  124. 12.4: Weak Lensing
  125. 12.5: Wrapping It Up 12 - Measuring Gravitational Lenses
  126. 12.6: Mission Report 12 - Measuring Gravitational Lenses
  127. 13: The Expansion of the Universe
  128. 13.0: The Expansion of the Universe Introduction
  129. 13.1: Some History
  130. 13.2: The Hubble Law
  131. 13.3: The Universe is Expanding
  132. 13.4: The Age of the Universe
  133. 13.5: The Basic Big Bang Model
  134. 13.6: Wrapping It Up 13 - How Well Do We Know the Expansion Rate and Age of the Universe?
  135. 13.7: Mission Report 13 - How Well Do We Know the Expansion Rate and Age of the Universe?
  136. 14: The Growth of Structure
  137. 14.0: The Growth of Structure Introduction
  138. 14.1: Large Scale Structure
  139. 14.2: The Formation of Galaxy Clusters and Groups
  140. 14.3: The Formation and Evolution of Galaxies
  141. 14.4: The First Stars
  142. 14.5: Wrapping It Up 14 - Map the Universe
  143. 14.6: Mission Report 14 - Map the Universe
  144. 15: The Cosmic Microwave Background
  145. 15.0: The Cosmic Microwave Background Introduction
  146. 15.1: Observations of the CMB Spectrum
  147. 15.2: Implications of the CMB Temperature and Spectrum
  148. 15.3: Observations of Variations in the CMB
  149. 15.4: Understanding the Variations in the CMB
  150. 15.5: Comparing Models and Data - The CMB and the Curvature of Space
  151. 15.6: Wrapping It Up 15 - Using CMB Data to Determine Cosmological Parameters
  152. 15.7: Mission Report 15: Using CMB Data to Determine Cosmological Parameters
  153. 16: The Early Universe
  154. 16.0: The Early Universe Introduction
  155. 16.1: The Formation of the Lightest Elements
  156. 16.2: Particle Soup
  157. 16.3: Inflation
  158. 16.4: The Beginning
  159. 16.5: Wrapping It Up 16 - Timeline of the Early Universe
  160. 16.6: Mission Report 16 - Timeline of the Early Universe
  161. 17: Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe
  162. 17.0: Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe Introduction
  163. 17.1: Evidence for Dark Energy
  164. 17.2: Candidates for Dark Energy
  165. 17.3: The Friedmann Equation and the Fate of the Universe
  166. 17.4: Cosmic Concordance and Cosmological Parameters
  167. 17.5: Summary
  168. 17.6: Wrapping It Up 17 - Cosmological Parameter Estimation
  169. 17.7: Mission Report 17 - Cosmological Parameter Estimation
  170. Knowls
  171. 18: Big Ideas JS code
  172. 0.5: Meters To Kilometres
  173. 0.5: Sun Moon Distance
  174. 18.0: 15_4_how_cosmological_parameters_affect_the_cmb_cold_dark_matter
  175. 18.1: 15_4_how_cosmological_parameters_affect_the_cmb_regular_matter
  176. 18.2: 16_2_4_particle_creation_timeline
  177. 18.3: bigIdeasActivityOne
  178. 18.4: ch16_particle_classification
  179. 18.5: ch4pg1lightminute
  180. 18.6: ch4pg1lightyear
  181. 18.7: ch4pg1powersoftentimescales
  182. 18.8: ch4pg2boatwavedemobcmovingsource
  183. 18.9: ch4pg2boatwavedemosourceofwavesstationary
  184. 18.10: ch4pg2dopplershiftofhydrogen
  185. 18.11: ch4pg2quantitativedopplershift
  186. 18.12: ch4pg2twowaysofrepresentingaspectrum
  187. 18.13: ch4pg3relativemotion
  188. 18.14: ch4wiu4theandromedashift
  189. 18.15: ch6pg2standardruler
  190. 18.16: ch6pg3animatedfigure612
  191. 18.17: ch6pg3fluxvsdistance
  192. 18.18: ch6pg3mainsequencematchingforclustersofdifferentdistances
  193. 18.19: ch6pg3standardcandle
  194. 18.20: ch6pg3supernovaetypelaanddistances
  195. 18.21: ch6pg3tullyfisher
  196. 18.22: ch6pg4matchthetechniquetothedistance
  197. 18.23: ch7pg2accelerationandmass
  198. 18.24: ch7pg2netforceofanobject
  199. 18.25: ch7pg3animatedfigure75
  200. 18.26: ch7pg3howdoestheforceofgravitydependondistance
  201. 18.27: ch7pg3howdoestheforceofgravitydependonmass
  202. 18.28: ch7wiu7thegalileanmoonsofjupiter
  203. 18.29: chapter2pg1photonraceroundone
  204. 18.30: chapter2pg5planckspectrum
  205. 18.31: chapter2pg6viewingorientation
  206. 18.32: chapter2pg7determiningthecomposition
  207. 18.33: chapter3pt1lightcollectingarea
  208. 18.34: chapter3pt4afindingthesourceandsubtractingthebackground
  209. 18.35: chapter3pt4bcolorizingccdimages
  210. 18.36: chapter_11_2_falling_into_a_black_hole_tidalforces
  211. 18.37: chapter_11_2_time_dilation_spacetime_dialation
  212. 18.38: chapter_12_2_lensing_by_a_point_mass_gravitationallensing_simple
  213. 18.39: chapter_12_2_macho_light_curve
  214. 18.40: chapter_12_2_the_einstein_radius_einsteinring
  215. 18.41: chapter_12_3_different_types_of_lenses_glbinning
  216. 18.42: chap_2_1_wave_generator_NEW
  217. 18.43: comovingcoords
  218. 18.44: expandinguniverse1
  219. 18.45: explodinguniverse
  220. 18.46: explosionvsexpansiondensity
  221. 18.47: orbitsimulator
  222. 18.48: testjQueryUI
  223. 18.49: var1
  224. 18.50: wiu15_a_curvature
  225. 18.51: wiu15_b_amount_of_baryonic_matter
  226. 18.52: wiu15_c_amount_of_cold_dark_matter
  227. 18.53: wiu6thesupernovaof1885
  228. 18.54: wiu_12_1_determining_masses_of_lenses_grav_len_mass_measurement
  229. 18.55: wiu_12_1_determining_masses_of_lenses_mass_calculator
  230. 18.56: wiu_16_cosmic_timeline
  231. Kilometres To Miles
  232. Pop ups
  233. Math Exploration 13.1
  234. Math Exploration 13.2
  235. Back Matter
  236. Index
  237. Glossary
  238. Detailed Licensing
  239. Resources: Formulae, Constants, and Conversions