The Origin of Stars, Planets and Us

UK science teams are working on several missionscondensed into matter. Gas particles were pulled
that search for evidence of our origins in the depths oftogether under gravity to form clouds, called nebulae.
space.Within these nebulae, the dense areas continued to
Space telescopes like Hubble and XMM-Newton lookgrow ever denser under gravity, spin and heat.
out at the furthest reaches of space, collecting lightEventually, the enormous pressure caused nuclear
from the youngest galaxies. They will be joined in thefusion to begin and stars were formed. This is how our
future by the Herschel Space Observatory, the Jamesown Sun began.
Webb Space Telescope and the Planck mission, allThe origin of planets
gathering evidence on the origin of the Universe, starsThe Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of
and planets.planet-like disks around young stars. This leads us to
Spacecraft also look for clues about the origin of life.believe that planets are formed from the debris of star
Hubble can detect molecules of life on planets outsideformation. Left-over particles of gas and dust are
our Solar System, while Cassini Huygens and Rosettabound together under gravity to form rocky and
seek answers by visiting our neighbours in space.gaseous bodies around the star.
The ExoMars mission will visit Mars with theThe origin of life
UK-devised Life Marker Chip (LMC), built to detectIn the very act of living - and dying - stars fuse
evidence of life under the surface of our nearesthydrogen to create all other elements in the Universe
planet. Each new mission and every fresh discoverybefore returning them to space. This includes carbon,
brings us closer to a better understanding of who weoxygen, calcium and all the elements that make up the
are, where we come from, and - ultimately - what themolecules in our bodies. In the words of the late
future might hold.astronomer and former science fiction writer Carl
The Big BangSagan: "We are all made of stardust".
The Big Bang is the only widely accepted model ofTheories about the origin of life on earth are being
how the Universe has developed over time.tested and explored through a number of
Astronomers have observed that the Universe isBNSC-backed missions:
expanding and cooling. The crux of the Big BangRosetta is on its way to study a comet up close. It is
theory is, if you could turn the clock back, then earlier inbelieved that much of the water on Earth was brought
time everything would have been denser and hotter.here by comets, so it is possible that the complex
And the further back you go, the denser and hotterorganic molecules that formed the basis for life also
things get.came from cometary debris.
The theory's name seems to suggest that theCassini Huygens visited Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Universe started with a huge explosion. This is aThis moon has an atmosphere similar to Earth's when
misconception. According to the Big Bang model, theit was a young planet. By studying Titan, scientists
origin of the Universe was not an explosion of matterhope to gain an insight into how life might have first
into already existing space - but the very beginning ofbecome established on Earth.
space and time.The Aurora programme will help establish if life
So why the name Big Bang? It was originally given byoriginated on other planets. UK scientists are
detractors to mock the theory and is a bit ofdeveloping the Life Marker Chip (LMC) instrument for
name-calling that stuck!ExoMars. This will look for signs of life below the
Stars, planets and ussurface of Mars.
Observations and simulations have helpedSelvam is a Copywriter of space galary
astronomers understand how star formation led to theHe had written various articles in different topics on
formation of planets and even life itself.Latest Science and Technology. For more information
The origin of starsvisit: space station
As the early Universe expanded, raw energyContact him at selvam.