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Stellar and Global Evolution

1. expanding universe: The expanding universe and its particles evolve due to the gravitational influence of matter and energy. Big Bang, inflationary era, radiation-dominated era, matter-dominated era, dark-energy-dominated era. Particles evolve due to nuclear and electromagnetic interactions. Milestones include massive particle decay, antimatter annihilation, proton and neutron reactions, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and energy loss by photons and neutrinos.
2. cosmic web: The cosmic web forms a large scale structure due to gravitational influences. Tiny quantum fluctuations in density and temperature grow. Dark matter dominates, but cannot radiate energy away, whereas ordinary matter radiates energy away. Lower density regions of space expand more rapidly than high density regions, so lower density regions get less dense and higher density regions get denser. Later dark energy drives expansion.
3. Milky Way: Our galaxy has a dark matter halo, interstellar medium where stars are born and their remains go when they die, a stellar halo, thick and a thin stellar disks, a central bulge, and a supermassive black hole. Gravitational, electromagnetic, and strong and weak nuclear forces influence galaxy formation and evolution.
4. stars and stardust: Stars and stardust form and evolve due to gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear processes. Galactic matter facilitates star formation by gravitationally confining gas and dust. Self-gravitating gas clouds radiate energy to form bound self-gravitating stars. Stellar opacity traps heat enabling thermonuclear fusion to synthesize elements and generate photons that stabilize star structure. Core collapse supernovas, neutron star mergers, dying low mass stars, and exploding dwarf stars enrich the interstellar medium with massive elements through nuclear processes like alpha and proton capture, carbon, oxygen, and silicon burning, and rapid and slow neutron capture.
5. Sun and Jupiter: Stars and gas giant planets form and evolve due to gravitational and electromagnetic processes. The interstellar medium in our galaxy that was enriched by supernova explosions enabled our Sun and its planets to form. Before Jupiter could become a gas giant, it slowly accreted a massive core of rock and ice aided by its orbit beyond the Sun’s frost line. Once formed, the core rapidly captured a massive hydrogen and helium gas envelope which has been cooling for billions of years.
6. solid Earth and Moon: The solid Earth and its Moon co-evolved following a giant planet impact that turned Earth into a donut shaped synestia which condensed into the Earth and its exceptional Moon. The Moon receded over time due to tidal interactions, but its tidal influence on Earth may have been critical to the origin of life on Earth.
7. climate of Venus and Earth: The extremely high surface temperature of Venus is the same from its Equator to its poles and throughout its 1400 hour night. Earth’s atmosphere and climate evolved due to sunlight, the influence of oceans, biological and biogeochemical processes, and interior outgassing. The tilt of the Earth’s axis of rotation is critical to providing a stable habitat for life on Earth.
8. molecules of life and metabolism: Molecules and metabolism are the building blocks of life. Organic molecules that form in space are transported to planets by meteorites. Sunlight, thermal energy sources, and water cycles enable building blocks to evolve. Prebiotic building blocks of life form and evolve into proto-cells due to biogeochemical processes. Single celled organisms diversify and evolve due to genetic variations and natural selections. Molecules, metabolisms, and membranes diversify and evolve. Complex cells form and evolve into complex organisms due to endosymbiosis and other relationships.
9. geobiosphere: The geobiosphere evolves due to biological and biogeochemical processes. Earth and life evolve due to extraterrestrial impacts, interior outflows of energy and matter that cause volcanoes and earthquakes, sunlight, weathering by atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biogeochemical processes. Microbial ecosystems co-evolve with Earth’s oceans and atmospheres.
10. biological and artificial intelligence: Biological and artificial intelligence evolve, possibly along with consciousness and free will. Cells respond to chemical stimuli and then to the flow of charged particles leading to neurons and biological neural networks, sensory inputs, big brains, tool use, and artificial intelligence.

This SAGE template outlines a typical webpage based on the principles of thematic interpretation. Each of the first four blocks consisting of four accordions. Each block may be the basis of a ten minute PowerPoint talk by a different speaker on a project team. Additional information may be included in the fifth block of accordions.

universe

solar system

Earth's geobiosphere

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additional information