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Visit all of Granny's past articles at Science in Africa and travel with us
on the journey to the stars.
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Learning with Granny!
This month Granny would like to share with you a poster she made to try and visualize the size of the ancient universe. Vast though it is, we are a part of it and it is a part of us.
But first, read on...
We are not that easy to find from the outer 'edge;' of the Universe, but we are there - on our planet Earth, within The solar System, which is in a vast neighbourhood within The Milky Way in our Galactic Realm in a Local Group with other galaxies
- all living in a Supercluster.
There are some things that are difficult to visualize in science - like Time and Space. In science the size of much that is studied is so small that it cannot be viewed with the naked eye and can only be studied under a powerful microscope.
While other things are so big that because they are an incredible distance away, they can be observed from Earth by using powerful telescopes..
Scientists have been observing the very small and the very large and distant for centuries and their equipment is improving all the time.
For centuries thinking men have shared what they find in the scientific field and many imaginative writers have elaborated on scientific finds and created stories of what might be. Now we are fortunate to live in an age of scientific enlightenment and are daily informed of universal knowledge. We are able to share in each wonderful new 'find'.
With things happening so fast and being shared by the media and the Internet, we can learn in a week what our ancestors had no notion of in their whole lifetime.
Forty years ago a small boy probably knew more about cars than his father did. He might have some knowledge of the working parts, he'd know what speed it could reach and also be aware of a large number of different makes. Today children understand the computer and pick up how to maneuver their way around the 'web' before some of their parents can. They want answers to questions about what is happening now in our universe - 'How big is the Universe?'
or 'How can we live in The Milky Way?" To begin to understand where we fit into the Universe, we need to first try and grasp the size of it.
Once we understand the vastness, it becomes easier to grasp our position here on Earth and the mysteries of all things that are smaller than us - going down to something minute like bacteria - which, if a number were put together in the tiny dot on
the letter "i", then turned into grains of sand, would spread a thin layer over South Africa..
 This is a picture from Granny's book, where she explains how the Universe started expanding a fraction of an instant after the 'Big Bang'.
Just click on the image to see the full picture.
Scientists tell us that this powerful explosion occurred about 15 Billion years ago (15,000,000,000). We don't know the exact size of the universe now, but inside this enormous space is everything that ever was or is or will ever be - from the finest particle of dust to the very biggest galaxy.
Astronomers say that the universe is still moving outward in all directions - rather like the lipstick dots on the balloon in the picture.
Scientists tell us that just after the 'big bang' the temperature was 100 million trillion trillion degrees. That is very hard to imagine. It cooled down rapidly to one billion degrees in the first three minutes. The Universe carried on growing and cooling and after one billion years, stars and galaxies began to form.
On a tiny little planet that circled a star along with other planets of varying size - which all made up a Solar System in a remote corner of a medium size galaxy, conditions occurred which were just right for life to develop - but that's another fascinating story and one which will need the microscope to tell.
But for now lets journey down from the Infinitely Great to the Infinitely small
 Just
click on the picture to see how Granny has used her poster to understand the universe.
She thinks of it as a big 'file' on a computer.
This Month's poem has a short poem to help explain
it...
This month's poem is more an epic
One not simple to recall
But each stanza tells a story
To inspire you to learn more
To reflect on complex subjects
Question who?...and how? and when?
Learn the answers that are out there
To be shared among all men
So if you can spare the time
Choose to go back and forth in rhyme
Buckle your seat belt and begin the race
Click here for you journey in Time and Space
Jenny Marais
Enter here for Granny's Poem of the Month
Visit us next month to find out more on astronomy and man's ancient history.
Granny looks
forward to letters from teachers and pupils and is happy to answer your
questions. Simply e-mail her at granny@scienceinafrica.co.za
Until Next Month...
Granny Jenny
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