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The Universe (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)

Revision Note

Ann Howell

Written by: Ann Howell

Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll

Oxford AQA PhysicsOxford AQA Combined Science Double Award: Physics

The Universe

The universe

  • The Universe is a large collection of thousands of millions of galaxies

    • The Universe is also the name given to the entirety of space

  • A galaxy is a large collection of thousands of millions of stars

    • Stars are astronomical objects such as the Sun

  • These stars are part of solar systems

  • Each Solar system has a number of planets

The structure of the universe

Our Solar System is found in the Milky Way galaxy which is one of billions of galaxies in the Universe
Hierarchy of objects in the Universe

The Milky Way

  • The Sun is one of billions of stars in a galaxy called the Milky Way

  • Other stars in the Milky Way galaxy are much further away from Earth than the Sun is

  • Some of these stars also have planets which orbit them

The Milky Way galaxy

The Earth is found in the Milky Way galaxy for IGCSE & GCSE Physics revision notes
Our solar system is just one out of potentially billions in our galactic neighbourhood, the Milky Way. There are estimated to be more than 100 billion galaxies in the entire universe

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    Author
    Reviewer
    Ann Howell

    Author: Ann Howell

    Expertise: Physics Content Creator

    Ann obtained her Maths and Physics degree from the University of Bath before completing her PGCE in Science and Maths teaching. She spent ten years teaching Maths and Physics to wonderful students from all around the world whilst living in China, Ethiopia and Nepal. Now based in beautiful Devon she is thrilled to be creating awesome Physics resources to make Physics more accessible and understandable for all students, no matter their schooling or background.

    Caroline Carroll

    Author: Caroline Carroll

    Expertise: Physics Subject Lead

    Caroline graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Chemistry and Molecular Physics. She spent several years working as an Industrial Chemist in the automotive industry before retraining to teach. Caroline has over 12 years of experience teaching GCSE and A-level chemistry and physics. She is passionate about creating high-quality resources to help students achieve their full potential.