BIOL 3510H Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Radiography, Protogalaxy, Parsec
21 Nov 2017
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Lecture #2: chapter 3: the universal context of life. The hercules galaxy cluster: a cluster of galaxies in a certain part of the universe, simulations are used to estimate what other galaxies look like. Distances in astronomy: 2 new units of distance measurement. The light year (ly: the astronomical unit is defined as the average distance between the earth and the sun. Au = 150 million km (1. 5 x 108 km: au is useful for describing distances within our solar system/ other solar systems. Mars is 1. 52 au from the sun: the light year is used for describing distances beyond our solar system. It is the distance light travels in 1 year. 1 ly = 9. 46 x 1012 km it is 63,000 times larger than 1 au. Distances within our solar system: the moon is 384,000 km away = 0. 0026au or 1. 3 light seconds away, the sun is 150 million km away = 1au or 8 light minutes.
