ASTR 5 Lecture Notes - Anaximander, Bioturbation, Heterotroph
Document Summary
Distance scales, using light as a reference earth moon: ~1 light second earth sun: ~8 light years planets of the solar system: ~8 light hours distance to nearest star: 1. 3 light years typical size of star cluster: 10 light years distance to center of milky way: 25,000 light years distance to andromeda galaxy: 2,500,000 light years distance to most distant galaxy known: 20,000,000,000 light years. Take away message: the formation of any particular galaxy or star is not a unique or unusual event the same phenomena, the same physical laws, and the same ingredients are present everywhere in the observable universe what happens (or happened) in our solar system does not stay in our solar system the same things tend to happen everywhere in a similar manner only statistical fluctuations in the local conditions (cosmic weather ) determine the detailed character of the resulting star or star system.
