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How does the Universe expand?
June 1, 2012 By Emma Vanstone 7 Comments
Today we have an investigation for little astronomers to demonstrate how the universe is expanding.
Did you know we are part of a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way? Earth is located in an arm of the spiral.
What is the Universe?
When we talk about the universe, we mean everything that exists. Galaxies, planets and everything in between. Scientists think the edge of the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light !
How big is the Universe?
It’s hard to imagine just how big the universe is. Scientists estimate that there are around 100 billion galaxies!! If you think the Milky Way ( our galaxy ) is thought to have between 200 and 300 billion stars like our sun, it’s pretty impossible to comprehend.
Much of the universe is actually empty space ( dark matter and dark energy ) and the things we can see ( ordinary matter ) make up only 4-5% of the universe.
What is dark matter?
Scientists think stars and planets would not move as they do in empty space, but so far we don’t have the ability to see or measure dark matter. Dark matter is thought to make up between 25-28% of the universe.
What is dark energy?
Dark energy is how scientists refer to the force that is thought to be behind the expansion of the universe. Dark energy is though to make up between 67-70% of the universe.
Universe Expansion Theory Demonstration
This is a very simple experiment to demonstrate the Universe expansion theory.
You’ll need:
Black Marker
How to demonstrate the expansion of the universe
- Blow up the balloon so its about the size of an orange.
- Clip it with a balloon clip.
- Draw dots on the balloon with a black marker, these represent the the milky way galaxy.
- Remove the clip and keep blowing up the balloon.
- What happens to the dots?
How does the universe expand – explanation
The balloon is a model of the universe, which is constantly stretching outwards. The universe has been expanding ever since the big bang about 13.8 billion years ago.
More Space Science Experiments for Kids
Discover how craters are formed on planets with this crater investigation .
Even very small children will love our rocket mouse !
Find out when the Earth formed and how we know!
Science concepts
The big bang
Dark matter
Last Updated on October 26, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
Safety Notice
Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.
These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.
Reader Interactions
June 03, 2012 at 10:38 pm
I love this visual representation!
June 04, 2012 at 6:14 am
Love this approach! I bet my boy would really “get it”…thank you for sharing…
June 04, 2012 at 11:50 am
I’m glad you liked it! xx
June 05, 2012 at 4:01 pm
My three year old granddaughter will love this. Finding things to do for preschoolers in science is not that easy. We have just started to study the solar system this will be great.
June 08, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Ahhhh, but is it a cycle of expanding and collapsing or does it expand forever? I always thought that was an interesting debate when I was in school. I’m weird that way though.
Love the visual.
December 04, 2019 at 9:50 pm
loved it for a school progect
January 24, 2023 at 2:15 pm
Loved it!!! This is so helpful for my science projects, thank you so much!!!
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Columnist and Space
How the balloon analogy for an expanding universe is almost perfect.
If space-time is expanding, then why does gravity seem to pull things together? Physics can be weird, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
11 October 2023
Irena Sowinska/Stockimo/Alamy
MOST people have probably heard that the universe is expanding. Certainly New Scientist readers have, because I keep writing about it in this column . It is perhaps easy to accept the statement that the universe is expanding without thinking too deeply about it. It is just some weird physics indicating that, as time goes on, galaxies get further away from each other. Or maybe you have heard the old race car analogy, that galaxies moving apart are like two cars racing away from each other.
I personally detest the race car analogy and prefer the balloon with slightly magical…
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The expanded universe: playing with time activity guide.
Grade Levels
Informal Education
Space Science, Universe, Astronomy
Lesson Plans / Activities
Have you ever wondered how the distance between galaxies changes? With this guide from NASA’s Universe of Learning, a balloon, a marker, some stickers and a balloon pump, you can model the expansion of the universe after the Big Bang. The activity can be performed as either an independent or a facilitated activity with additional resources and background information hyperlinked in the document.
Next Generation Science Standards: HS.ESS1-2
‘The Expanded Universe: Playing With Time’ Activity Guide PDF
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Expanding Balloon Universe
Did you know that the Universe is expanding right now? Right under your feet? 13.8 billion years ago a tiny explosion happened, the Big Bang. The Big Bang , like an explosion, got bigger and bigger, creating our Universe. But even today, our Universe is still getting bigger.
When astronomers, or people who study space, look into the sky, we see that everything is moving away from us, and the further away it is, the faster it is moving away from us. This is called Hubble’s Law. Edwin Hubble , the scientist who created Hubble’s Law , also tells us that there is no center to our Universe because the space between our galaxies is equally expanding. This is hard to understand in words, but using a balloon as our Universe, we can see it in action.
Materials: - 1 Balloon - Paper - Markers - Ruler and/or String
1. Blow up the balloon just a little. Don’t tie it closed! 2. Draw 5-10 galaxies on the balloon, try to spread them out so they’re all about the same distance from each other. 3. Label the galaxies with numbers and pick one of the numbers to be the Milky Way. 4. Measure the distance between the Milky Way and the other galaxies. (It’s easiest to measure with a string.) Then write the distances on your paper. 5. Blow up the balloon and count as you do. Write the number down and don’t tie the balloon yet! 6. Measure the new distances for each galaxy and put it on your paper. 7. Now, what if you picked another galaxy to be the Milky Way? 8. Repeat steps 4-6, but blow up the balloon just as long as you did the first time. You can also tie the balloon closed this time.
9. Compare your distances. Your distances should almost be
the same as your first Milky Way.
What happened when you measured the distance between the balloons? It might look like the Milky Way is the center of the Universe as everything moves away from it, but when you do it a second time, you should see that no matter what other galaxy you pick as your Milky Way, they all look like they’re the center.
If you got someone else to blow up your balloon, you’d see that no galaxy is the center, but they all move away from each other at the same time.
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Classroom Activity
Math of the expanding universe.
- See tips for remote instruction in the Management section.
In this activity, students will learn about the expanding universe and the redshift of lightwaves. They will then calculate the redshift of a supernova, determine its velocity relative to Earth, and find the distance to that object.
Wide elastic bands (1 inch wide and 3-6 inches long) OR wide rubber bands cut into strips (one per group or one for class demo)
Felt-tip pen
Ruler with millimeter markings
Spectral redshift worksheet - Download DOCX | View on Google Docs
(Optional) deflated rubber balloon
- Students should have a general understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum and/or wave properties (i.e., amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed).
Tips for Remote Instruction
- Use an overhead camera to show students the stretching elastic demo. Place a ruler parallel to the elastic so students can see the numeric change in distance between wave crests.
Understanding redshift
Our eyes can only see a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum – the portion we call visible light. Other portions of the spectrum have wavelengths too long or too short for our eyes to perceive.
Visible light, the type of light humans can perceive with their eyes, is just one tiny piece of the electromagnetic spectrum. This chart compares the wavelength and frequency range of each kind of wave on the electromagnetic spectrum. Note: The graphic representations are not to scale. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image | › Download low-ink version for printing
Typically, the human eye can detect wavelengths from 380 to 700 nanometers (nm). For comparison, a human hair is about 80,000 nm wide. As the full spectrum of visible light travels through a prism, the wavelengths separate into the colors of the rainbow because each color is a different wavelength, thus refracting, or bending, a different amount. Violet has the shortest wavelength at around 380 nanometers and red has the longest wavelength at around 700 nanometers.
Every type of atom or molecule gives off energy at specific wavelengths. For example, hydrogen atoms emit visible light at 410.2 nm, 434.0 nm, 486.1 nm, and 656.3 nm. This predictable pattern of emitted light is called an emission spectrum.
This graphic shows the difference between a continuous spectrum and emission and absorption spectra for the element hydrogen. An emission spectrum shows bright lines at the wavelengths where light is emitted from atoms and molecules in a hot gas. An absorption spectrum shows dark lines at the wavelengths where light is absorbed when passing through gaseous elements in a star’s atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
Close examination of the visible-light spectrum from our Sun and other stars reveals spectral lines that act like fingerprints for atoms and molecules. Identifying these patterns tells scientists what elements and molecules make up a star.
Unlike light leaving the Sun, which takes 8.5 minutes to reach Earth, light leaving distant stars and galaxies can take billions of years to reach our planet. As they travel, the waves that make up the light get stretched as the universe expands – something it’s been doing since the Big Bang.
An illustrated timeline of the universe. Credit: WMAP | + Expand image
What this means for light coming from distant galaxies moving away from Earth as the universe expands is that the visible lightwaves you would be able to see with your eyes get stretched into longer wavelengths and shift from visible light toward infrared.
In the case of hydrogen, the four emission lines get shifted toward the redder (longer wavelength) end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as redshift – and the farther away an object is, the more redshift it undergoes.
Notice how the bright lines on the standard emission spectrum for hydrogen (top) have moved toward the red end of the spectrum on the redshifted emission spectrum (bottom). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
Calculating redshift
Redshift is given a value (z) and is calculated with the following equation: z = (Wavelength o - Wavelength r ) / Wavelength r z = redshift Wavelength r = the known wavelength of an element not experiencing redshift Wavelength o = the observed wavelength of that emission line
By determining the redshift of an object, scientists can calculate the speed at which the object is moving away from us (as a result of the universe expanding) and the distance to the object from Earth.
Missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope take advantage of this phenomenon by viewing light in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths – the wavelengths to which light has shifted after traveling from the most distant, and therefore oldest, stars and galaxies. This allows astronomers to peer into the early history of the universe.
- Build or activate students’ background knowledge by discussing the electromagnetic spectrum, different types of radiation, and wave properties.
- Explain to students the concept of the expanding universe. Impress that space-time, the fabric of the universe itself, is expanding – it's not just that objects within the universe are moving apart. Consider using the analogy of a loaf of raisin bread expanding as it bakes, with the dough representing space-time and the raisins representing galaxies or galaxy clusters. Alternatively, draw several dots on a balloon with a felt pen. Explain to students that the balloon represents space-time, and the dots represent galaxies or galaxy clusters. Ask them to predict what will occur when the balloon inflates. (As the balloon expands, the distance between the dots will expand as well.)
- Complete one or both of the modeling and calculating sections with students. If completing some or all of the calculations, students should complete them in order.
Model redshift
Calculate redshift, calculate velocity, calculate distance.
Either as a class demonstration or in groups of 2-3 students, use elastic bands as follows to model the expansion of spacetime and the stretching of visible light into the infrared.
Draw evenly spaced dots on a strip of elastic. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
Optionally, draw wave segments connecting the dots. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
The wavelength drawn on the piece of elastic gets longer as the elastic is stretched. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
- Groups should identify that the distance between the dots or crests increased. If students used the scale measurements and identified the light color in Step 1, they should now convert their elastic measurements to scaled nanometer measurements and identify where on the electromagnetic spectrum their stretched wave is located.
Students will use the redshift equation, emission spectrum of hydrogen, and spectra from supernova iPTF15th to calculate the redshift of the supernova.
- Introduce students to the equation used to calculate redshift : z = (Wavelength o - Wavelength r ) / Wavelength r z = redshift Wavelength r = the known wavelength of an element not experiencing redshift Wavelength o = the observed wavelength of that emission line Explain that by calculating the redshift value students will be able to determine the velocity at which an object is moving away from Earth as a result of the expansion of the galaxy. With that information, they can then determine the distance to that object.
Location of Hydrogen Spectral Lines at Rest (placed over spectrum from supernova iPTF15th). Image credit: WISeREP ( 2012PASP..124..668Y ) | + Expand image
Location of Hydrogen Spectral Lines Observed (in spectrum from supernova iPTF15th). Image credit: WISeREP ( 2012PASP..124..668Y ) | + Expand image
Location of Hydrogen Spectral Lines - At Rest vs. Observed (in spectrum from supernova iPTF15th). Image credit: WISeREP ( 2012PASP..124..668Y ) | + Expand image
- Next, have them find the average redshift value for all four lines. Answer: Average z = 0.1
Students will use the Doppler shift formula to find the velocity of supernova iPTF15th away from Earth.
- Introduce students to the Doppler shift formula : ((wavelength o - wavelength r )/wavelength r ) = v/c v = velocity c = the speed of light in a vacuum (3 x 10 8 m/sec)
- Have students use the Doppler shift formula to find the velocity of supernova iPTF15th away from Earth. If necessary, remind students that half of this equation was solved in the previous step when finding the average z value. Answer: 0.1 * c = v => v = 3 x 10 7 m/sec
Students will use Hubble's Law to find the distance to supernova iPTF15th.
- Introduce students to Hubble’s Law , which is the observation that galaxies are moving away from Earth at speeds proportional to their distance (d) and is expressed as: v = H 0 * d v = velocity H 0 = the Hubble constant of approximately 70 km/sec/Megaparsec d = distance Note: A parsec is a unit of distance equal to approximately 3.26 light years, and a Megaparsec is equal to one million parsecs.
- Have students use Hubble’s Law to find the distance to supernova iPTF15th. Answer: One Megaparsec (Mpc) = 3.26 * 10 6 light year. 3 * 10 7 m/s = 70 km/s/Mpc * d d = 3 * 10 7 m/s / 7 * 10 4 m/s/Mpc d ≈ 429 Mpc 429 Mpc ≈ 1.4 x 10 9 light years
- What implications does redshift have for making observations of the most distant stars and galaxies, where even ultraviolet light may have redshifted beyond the visible spectrum?
- If light has been traveling from a star, supernova or galaxy for one billion years, does that mean the object is currently one billion light years away? Answer: The object would be farther away since the universe is expanding and the object has moved away from Earth during the time the light has been traveling toward Earth.
- Do you think all objects in the universe are redshifted? Answer: As the universe expands galaxy clusters and other distant objects are moving apart from each other, displaying redshift. However, nearby objects, such as planets, and even local galaxies, are gravitationally bound and not displaying redshift as a result of the galaxy expanding. In fact, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies are moving toward each other.
- What would you expect to see if the universe was contracting rather than expanding? Answer: Students would expect to see blue shifted wavelengths, as the light traveling toward the observer on Earth was compressed into shorter wavelengths as the space it was traveling through contracted.
- Students should correctly measure a longer wavelength on the stretched elastic.
- Students should calculate the correct z, v and d values in the problem set.
Powering Through the Solar System with Exponents
Students explore practical applications of exponents and division to investigate how NASA's Juno spacecraft became the most distant solar-powered spacecraft ever.
Subject Math
Time 30-60 mins
Collecting Light: Inverse Square Law Demo
In this activity, students learn how light and energy are spread throughout space. The rate of change can be expressed mathematically, demonstrating why spacecraft like NASA’s Juno need so many solar panels.
Grades 6-12
Time Less than 30 mins
-->
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In partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust You are hereCreate an expanding universe. You have likely heard about the Universe expanding . Or that redshift can tell us about the movements of galaxies. Both are difficult ideas to imagine and understand. In this activity, you will use a balloon to explore the expanding Universe . As part of your exploration, you will investigate the relationship between the distance to galaxies and the speed at which they move. By the end of this activity you will:
To complete this activity you will need:
 Before you start:
Now follow the instructions on the worksheet:
Important InformationAdvisory Board Evaluation Terms & Conditions Statistics Strategy 2023-28 schoolsobs@ljmu.ac.uk Privacy Policy The Liverpool Telescope is owned and operated by LJMU with financial support from STFC The LCO Telescope Network time is kindly provided by the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust. Subscribe to stay updated She Loves Science A Mom Inspiring with Science Expanding Universe ExperimentSeptember 16, 2020 by Tracy 2 Comments  I have to admit, I was not expecting this classic astronomy experiment to spur such amazing conversations about the infinite galaxies that make up the universe! But that is exactly why I love doing classic science with my kids – to ‘expand’ their minds (pun intended😜). At one point my 7 year old asked if you could ever reach the end of outer space and my 10 year old started pondering time travel! It made me think that their generation will be tackling the possibilities of landing a person on another planet and quite possibly figuring out how to travel through time – their dear old mom’s lifelong dream! What you need: a balloon and stars stickers What you do:
 What’s the science? As the balloon is inflated, it appears that the star stickers are moving away from each other while none of them are getting closer together! This is to demonstrate how all of the galaxies in the universe might also be getting farther away from each other. This phenomenon was observed in 1929 by Dr. Edwin Hubble and that the farther a galaxy was from Earth, the faster it was traveling away from us. It was important for us to lay the groundwork that the Milky Way galaxy was made up of our solar system along with comets, cosmic dusts, and stars. But there were countless other galaxies out there that make up the universe. That thought is even difficult for an adult to comprehend the infinite possibilities of space. So we turned to this video to demonstrate what it would be like to zoom out from Earth. And this video got us thinking of how small Earth really is in the grand scheme of things! We hope you check out this classic experiment and get ready for some amazing conversations about space! Reader Interactions December 8, 2020 at 5:26 pm Love this experiment! But… I gotta know…. What was your answer to reaching **the end** of outer space?  December 8, 2020 at 10:25 pm I never answered my 7 year olds question but I’m pretty sure if we could reach the end of outer space, there would be a door. Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed . Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on all our latest product releases, sales, and some free goodies!  The expanding UniverseThis animation, from Hubblecast 79 , illustrates a two-dimensional analogy for the expansion of space. The illustration, akin to using an expanding balloon as an analogy for the expanding Universe, is used in the Hubblecast to highlight when these 2D analogies work, and when they break down. Martin Kornmesser, Luis Calcada, NASA , ESA/Hubble About the Video
About the Object
 For BroadcastersAlso see our.
 Webb & Hubble confirm Universe’s expansion rateWebb measurements shed new light on a decade-long mystery. The rate at which the Universe is expanding, known as the Hubble constant, is one of the fundamental parameters for understanding the evolution and ultimate fate of the cosmos. However, a persistent difference, called the Hubble Tension, is seen between the value of the constant measured with a wide range of independent distance indicators and its value predicted from the afterglow of the Big Bang. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed that the Hubble Space Telescope’s keen eye was right all along, erasing any lingering doubt about Hubble’s measurements.  One of the scientific justifications for building the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was to use its observing power to provide an exact value for the expansion rate of the Universe. Prior to Hubble’s launch in 1990, observations from ground-based telescopes yielded huge uncertainties. Depending on the values deduced for the expansion rate, the Universe could be anywhere between 10 and 20 billion years old. Over the past 34 years Hubble has shrunk this measurement to an accuracy of less than one percent, splitting the difference with an age value of 13.8 billion years. This has been accomplished by refining the so-called ‘cosmic distance ladder’ by measuring important milepost markers known as Cepheid variable stars. However, the Hubble value does not agree with other measurements that imply that the Universe was expanding faster after the Big Bang. These observations were made by the ESA Planck satellite’s mapping of the cosmic microwave background radiation – a blueprint for how the Universe would evolve structure after it cooled down from the Big Bang. The simple solution to the dilemma would be to say that maybe the Hubble observations are wrong, as a result of some inaccuracy creeping into its measurements of the deep-space yardsticks. Then along came the James Webb Space Telescope , enabling astronomers to crosscheck Hubble’s results. Webb’s infrared views of Cepheids agreed with Hubble’s optical-light data. Webb confirmed that the Hubble telescope’s keen eye was right all along, erasing any lingering doubt about Hubble’s measurements. The bottom line is that the so-called Hubble Tension between what happens in the nearby Universe compared to the early Universe’s expansion remains a nagging puzzle for cosmologists. There may be something woven into the fabric of space that we don’t yet understand. Does resolving this discrepancy require new physics? Or is it a result of measurement errors between the two different methods used to determine the rate of expansion of space?  Hubble and Webb have now tag-teamed to produce definitive measurements, furthering the case that something else – not measurement errors – is influencing the expansion rate. “With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility that we have misunderstood the Universe,” said Adam Riess, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Adam holds a Nobel Prize for co-discovering the fact that the Universe’s expansion is accelerating, owing to a mysterious phenomenon now called ‘dark energy’. As a crosscheck, an initial Webb observation in 2023 confirmed that Hubble’s measurements of the expanding Universe were accurate. However, hoping to relieve the Hubble Tension, some scientists speculated that unseen errors in the measurement may grow and become visible as we look deeper into the Universe. In particular, stellar crowding could affect brightness measurements of more distant stars in a systematic way. The SH0ES (Supernova H0 for the Equation of State of Dark Energy) team, led by Adam, obtained additional observations with Webb of objects that are critical cosmic milepost markers, known as Cepheid variable stars, which can now be correlated with the Hubble data. “We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence,” Adam said. The team’s first few Webb observations in 2023 were successful in showing Hubble was on the right track in firmly establishing the fidelity of the first rungs of the so-called cosmic distance ladder. Astronomers use various methods to measure relative distances in the Universe, depending upon the object being observed. Collectively these techniques are known as the cosmic distance ladder – each rung or measurement technique relies upon the previous step for calibration. But some astronomers suggested that, moving outward along the ‘second rung’, the cosmic distance ladder might get shaky if the Cepheid measurements become less accurate with distance. Such inaccuracies could occur because the light of a Cepheid could blend with that of an adjacent star – an effect that could become more pronounced with distance as stars crowd together on the sky and become harder to distinguish from one another. The observational challenge is that past Hubble images of these more distant Cepheid variables look more huddled and overlapping with neighbouring stars at ever greater distances between us and their host galaxies, requiring careful accounting for this effect. Intervening dust further complicates the certainty of the measurements in visible light. Webb slices through the dust and naturally isolates the Cepheids from neighbouring stars because its vision is sharper than Hubble’s at infrared wavelengths. “Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder,” said Adam. The new Webb observations include five host galaxies of eight Type Ia supernovae containing a total of 1000 Cepheids, and reach out to the farthest galaxy where Cepheids have been well measured – NGC 5468, at a distance of 130 million light-years. “This spans the full range where we made measurements with Hubble. So, we’ve gone to the end of the second rung of the cosmic distance ladder,” said co-author Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which operates the Webb and Hubble Telescopes for NASA. Together, Hubble’s and Webb’s confirmation of the Hubble Tension sets up other observatories to possibly settle the mystery, including NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and ESA’s recently launched Euclid mission. At present it’s as though the distance ladder observed by Hubble and Webb has firmly set an anchor point on one shoreline of a river, and the afterglow of the Big Bang observed by Planck from the beginning of the Universe is set firmly on the other side. How the Universe’s expansion was changing in the billions of years between these two endpoints has yet to be directly observed. “We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the Universe and the present day,” said Adam. These findings were published in the 6 February 2024 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters . More information Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Under an international collaboration agreement, ESA provided the telescope’s launch service, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI , which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona. Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Release on esawebb.org Contact: ESA Media relations [email protected] Thank you for liking You have already liked this page, you can only like it once! |
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The universe as we know it began with an event known as the big bang. Ever since, the universe has been expanding. Let's go back in time to the start of the universe and recreate the expansion! 1. With a partner, pick a balloon. The balloon will represent the universe. The surface of the balloon will represent space. 2. Now choose 6-12 circle ...
These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely. Demonstrate how our Universe is expanding with just a balloon and a pen. Fun and easy astronomy experiment for kids.
Tell them the balloon represents the universe. Step 4. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image. Give students five to 10 stickers to place in various spots on the balloon. Students can also mark the spot where the stickers will be placed so they can be returned to the correct spot if they fall off.
The universe as we know it, began with an event known as the big bang. Ever since, the universe has been expanding. Let's go back in time to the start of the universe and recreate the expansion! 1. With a partner, pick a balloon. The balloon will represent the universe. The surface of the balloon will represent space. 2. Now choose 6-12 ...
Certainly New Scientist readers have, because I keep writing about it in this column. It is perhaps easy to accept the statement that the universe is expanding without thinking too deeply about it ...
ExpandinG Balloon UniversE Name: Lab partners: (credit: This lab was inspired by the University of Washington lab. Some text was also copied from the lab given at Physics 1040 class at Weber State) Summary In this exercise, you will use a two-dimensional, the surface of a balloon, to explore the expansion of the Universe. Equipment Needed
This source describes how to turn an expanding balloon into a model of the expanding universe: Schlumberger Limited. (2008). The Expanding Balloon. Retrieved January 23, 2009. For help creating graphs, try this website: National Center for Education Statistics, (n.d.). Create a Graph. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
Next Generation Science Standards: HS.ESS1-2. 'The Expanded Universe: Playing With Time' Activity Guide PDF. In this activity, participants use balloons to model the expansion of the universe and observe how expansion affects wavelengths of light and distance between galaxies.
Edwin Hubble, the scientist who created Hubble's Law, also tells us that there is no center to our Universe because the space between our galaxies is equally expanding. This is hard to understand in words, but using a balloon as our Universe, we can see it in action. Procedure: 1. Blow up the balloon just a little. Don't tie it closed!
Universal Balloon. Expanding balloon universe. Introduction. Inflating a balloon can model the expansion of the universe. Material. A balloon, orange is best. a paper clip; Stick on dots or stars (as small as possible.) measuring tapes; graph paper; To Do and Notice. Blow up a balloon until it is firm yet small. Stick on a half dozen dots at ...
Expanding Universe Experiment To understand how the redshift of galaxies is due to the expansion of the Universe, try the following experiment. You will need the following items: 1. A round balloon (do not use a long, thin one). 2. Some coloured stick-on dots (at least 5 different colours). 3. A piece of string about 50cm long. 4. A ruler. 5.
Take an un-inflated balloon, and blow it up to about the size of your fist. Twist and hold the neck end to keep air from escaping. Do not tie the balloon shut. Using the black marker, make a dot on the round part of the balloon and label it MW (Milky Way). This dot will be your reference point. Draw 10 more dots everywhere on the balloon.
The Expanding Universe. In fact, the universe is getting even bigger. Astronomers believe that the universe is expanding - that all points in the universe are getting farther apart all the time. It's not that stars and galaxies are getting bigger; rather, the space between all objects is expanding with time. You can make a model of the universe ...
Depending on the chosen interval of time, i.e. on the variation of the balloon volumes, different recession speeds (in the last three columns) and the Hubble laws are obtained. In this specific example, the four chosen volumes changed according to ΔV. 1= 1.1, ΔV. 2= 0.7, ΔV.
Big Bang Balloon Lab . Research Question: Can a balloon be used to model the expanding a universe? Purpose (why are we performing this lab?): To create a model that illustrates how the universe expands. Background information: In the 1920s astronomer Edwin Hubble used the red shift of the spectra of stars to determine that the universe was ...
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Consider using the analogy of a loaf of raisin bread expanding as it bakes, with the dough representing space-time and the raisins representing galaxies or galaxy clusters. Alternatively, draw several dots on a balloon with a felt pen. Explain to students that the balloon represents space-time, and the dots represent galaxies or galaxy clusters.
The expansion was discovered in the early 1920s by astronomer Edwin Hubble. Through a telescope, he observed that all other galaxies seemed to be moving away from us. In addition, the farther away from the Milky Way a galaxy was, the faster it moved away from us. You can see this phenomenon, called Hubble's law, on the balloon.
Download the 'Create an Expanding Universe' worksheet. Assemble your equipment. Follow the instructions in the worksheets to fill in your table of results. Now follow the instructions on the worksheet: Select your "Milky Way" colour sticker. Fill the colours of your stickers into the table. Blow the balloon up at little bit, and stick your ...
This phenomenon was observed in 1929 by Dr. Edwin Hubble and that the farther a galaxy was from Earth, the faster it was traveling away from us. It was important for us to lay the groundwork that the Milky Way galaxy was made up of our solar system along with comets, cosmic dusts, and stars. But there were countless other galaxies out there ...
The expansion of the universe is the increase in distance between gravitationally unbound parts of the observable universe with time. [1] It is an intrinsic expansion, so it does not mean that the universe expands "into" anything or that space exists "outside" it. To any observer in the universe, it appears that all but the nearest galaxies (which are bound to each other by gravity) recede at ...
The expanding Universe. This animation, from Hubblecast 79, illustrates a two-dimensional analogy for the expansion of space. The illustration, akin to using an expanding balloon as an analogy for the expanding Universe, is used in the Hubblecast to highlight when these 2D analogies work, and when they break down. Credit:
Depending on the values deduced for the expansion rate, the Universe could be anywhere between 10 and 20 billion years old. Over the past 34 years Hubble has shrunk this measurement to an accuracy of less than one percent, splitting the difference with an age value of 13.8 billion years. This has been accomplished by refining the so-called ...