3.6.5

Beyond The Milky Way

Test yourself

Beyond The Milky Way

There are at least 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. Each galaxy is thought to contain 100 billion stars. On a clear night, you could view up to 5,000 stars in the night sky.

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Other galaxies

  • Galaxies are held together by gravitational forces.
  • Our nearest galaxy after The Milky Way is called Andromeda.
  • We are unable to see most galaxies because they are too far away.
  • The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.
    • Other galaxy types include elliptical and irregular.
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Life and death of stars

  • Stars are formed in nebulae, which are clouds of dust and gas.
  • Stars use hydrogen gas as a fuel, which they convert into helium.
    • When stars run out of hydrogen, they will die.
  • Large stars will explode in a large explosion called a supernova.
    • After a star explodes as a supernova, it can form a black hole.
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The Big Bang

  • All of space is contained within the Universe.
  • The Big Bang theory says that all matter was created in a large explosion over 13.7 billion years ago.
    • Before the Big Bang, everything that we see in our Universe today was focused in a tiny single point.
    • After the Big Bang, the tiny single point expanded and is still expanding today.
  • As the Universe expands, it slowly cools.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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