How the Application of Gravitational Concepts Has Helped Astronomers - Essay Example

Astronomers depend heavily on the gravitation concepts in their research since the gravity determines the movement and the structure of all objects that the universe holds (Topper, 2012). More to this is the discovery of Massive Compact Hallo Objects (MACHOs), primarily recognized as brown dwarf stars while some are regarded as black holes (Kyle, 2010).  These and others are examples of discoveries that astronomers have aided by the application of gravitational concepts.

Through gravitational concepts, astronomers have been able to discover the cosmic microwaves whereby in 2002, a team led by Dr. Kovac discovered the polarization of these microwave radiations (Kyle, 2010).  Gravitational waves that are produced as a result of moving masses like those of stars or black holes normally described as ‘ripples in space-time’ have been discovered by astronomers by the use of interferometers which detects these slight changes in space-time (Topper, 2012).  Understanding the gravitational waves has helped the astronomers in explaining certain events such as the birth of black holes and the death of stars. They can therefore be able to tell how the universe began as well as what the future holds for us. This has been aided by the application of gravitation concepts by astronomers.

Gravitation lensing is another thing that astronomers have discovered as a result of understanding gravitational concepts. This is bending of the light rays by a mass object extending far in the sky, which causes these light rays to be focused somewhere else through its gravitational field (Morison, 2008). According to the research done, the greater the quantity of the body, the sturdier the gravitational field created and thus the greater the bending of these light rays will be. Lensing has been useful in verifying the existence of dark matter which is the determinant of how clusters and galaxies form and develop.

Astronomers have found out that the universe is moving with greater speed than it did a long time ago which is contradicting to the laws of gravity as this was supposed to be the other case since gravity always pulls and slows the motion as it never pushes. However, they discovered the mysterious dark energy which they said is the cause of this scenario. Astronomers have also been able to regulate the mass of the galaxies, by the application of gravitation concepts. One of the ways that they are able to achieve this is by measuring the amount of light that is reaching the earth. This enables them to determine the number of stars in a galaxy and therefore they can calculate the mass of the galaxy (Kyle, 2010).

In conclusion, it is quite clear that the application of the gravitational concepts has helped astronomers in making major discoveries about the universe. The discoveries of the Big Bung theory, the theory of the dark matter, gravitational lensing, the cosmic microwaves, determination of the mass of the galaxies together with the increasing speed of the universe are some of them to mention but a few. This, therefore, is clear the understanding of gravity has contributed highly to the work of astronomers.