Visual-wavelength image167This nebula cataloged as
NGC 2438 was produced
by an aging sunlike star
that swelled to become a
giant and then ejected its
outer layers into space.
Here red emission is
produced by nitrogen
atoms, green by
hydrogen, and blue by
oxygen. (NASA, ESA, Hubble
Heritage team, STScI/AURA)Perspective: Origins
Guidepost
As you begin your study of Earth and its solar system, you can look around and get a
perspective on where and what our solar system is, and that means you need to take a
quick tour of the universe of stars and galaxies. That will help you put our solar system
into perspective. Not only will you see how our solar system is located in the universe,
but you will see how our solar system fi ts into the origin and evolution of the universe.
Your tour of the cosmos will answer four essential questions:
How are stars born, and how do they die?
What are galaxies?
How did the universe begin and form galaxies?
How were the atoms in our bodies formed?
Most of all, your tour of the universe will show how the stars, our solar system, and
planet Earth are made of the same stuff that is in your body and that those atoms had
their birthdays long ago and far away.