ASTR 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Astronomical Unit, Virgo Supercluster, Supercluster
17 Sep 2017
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Document Summary
Science is a method used to understand nature and how it behaves. Three basic characteristics of science explanation for observation, testing models of nature, testable predictions. Scientism a mode of thought which considers things from a scientific viewpoint. Astronomy is often considered an observational science and a historical science (what we observe has already happened in the universe) Hypothesis proposed answer to a research question. The distance from the earth to the sun is recorded as 1 astronomical unit. Light takes 8 minutes to travel 1 astronomical unit, so light from the sun travels to earth in 8 minutes. Thus the light we see from the sun right now is 8 years old. The sun is 30 000 light years away from the centre of the milky way. The 50 galaxies closest to the milky way are called the local group which spans over 2 million light years.
