Space PhysicsKey Facts

Key Facts

Part of Red Shift & Big BangGCSE Physics

This key facts covers Key Facts within Red Shift & Big Bang for GCSE Physics. Revise Red Shift & Big Bang in Space Physics for GCSE Physics with 13 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 8 of 14 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 8 of 14

Practice

13 questions

Recall

12 flashcards

📋 Key Facts

  • Light from distant galaxies is red-shifted — wavelength has increased
  • Red shift shows galaxies are moving away from us
  • The greater the distance, the greater the red shift (and recession speed)
  • The universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old
  • The Big Bang was not an explosion in space — it was the creation of space
  • The CMBR is detected at 2.7 K from all directions
  • CMBR was predicted before it was discovered — very strong scientific evidence
  • Space itself is expanding — galaxies are not moving through space, they are carried with space
  • The Andromeda Galaxy is blue-shifted (moving towards us) — part of our local group
  • Most galaxies beyond the local group are red-shifted — the universe is expanding everywhere

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Red Shift & Big Bang. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Practice Questions for Red Shift & Big Bang

What is the orbital period of a geostationary satellite?

  • A. 90 minutes
  • B. 12 hours
  • C. 24 hours
  • D. 7 days
1 markfoundation

Explain why a geostationary satellite stays above the same point on Earth's surface.

2 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

What is blue shift?
When a light source moves towards you, waves are compressed, shifting towards the blue end of the spectrum
What is red shift?
When a light source moves away from you, light waves are stretched to longer wavelengths, shifting towards the red end of the spectrum

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