RANDY L. PHELPS
This is the Cosmology Web Assignment
For this assignment, please look through the "lecture" notes
for the "Cosmology".
These notes contain the material, in condensed form, that I will expect you to become
familiar with. I am sure you will have questions about the material, especially
since it is presented in the form of lecture notes. To help you fill in the blanks,
check out the following web site:
Upon completion of this web assignment, you should be comfortable with
the following material:
- What is the Big Bang theory of the Universe? What observational
evidence exists for it?
- Why does the fact that all galaxies are receeding from us not mean that
we are the center of the Universe?
- How can we determine the age of the Universe?
- The expansion of the Universe appears to be accelerating!
Upon completion of this web assignment, you should be able to answer
these, and similar questions:
What is the Hubble law?
If you take a spectrum of a galaxy, what type of spectrum will you observe?
How can you tell if a galaxy is moving toward us, or away from us?
Are most galaxies moving toward us, or moving away from us?
Are more distant galaxies moving faster or more slowly than nearby ones?
Is the Milky Way at the center of the Universe? Why or why not?
What is the Hubble constant, and why is it of interest?
What is the approximate age of the Universe?
What is the 3 degree background radiation?
How well does the observed background radiation agree with theoretical predictions?
Why is this important?
How should gravity affect the expansion rate of the Universe?
What is the recent observational evidence regarding the expansion of the Universe?
Click here to return to the Astronomy 4 page