1. Write about introduction of universe.

2
(1) Man's curiosity to know the mysteries of the
universe is as old as human civilization, and seems
to be of undiminishing interest. (2) The movement
and the behavior of the heavenly bodies have
always
fasenated
us.
(3)
Scientific
and
technological developments try to resolve many
questions regarding our understanding of the
universe many more have been emmerging while
conflicting some of the conventional beliefs. (4)
With an intension to provide a scientific platform
to explore the universe, we shall study the
developments in space research, different tools to
study them and, in particular, our solar system in
detail. (5) Brief outline of the space science
program in India is also included.
2. Write in brief on space research: An overview.
2,3
(1) Early scientific observation for space
exploration is traced back to 17 th century when
Galileo with his telescope could discover the four
large moons of Jupiter and confirmed the different
phases of Venus. (2) In fact, till 1940s, almost all
the information about the universe and solar
system were derived from the observations made
by such optical telescopes. (3) Since optical
telescopes have certain limitations, huge radio
telescopes were later invented and installed. (4)

They provided us more accurate information about

the celestial objects. (5) They are usually located
at higher altitudes far from population to avoid
electromagnetic interference from radio, TV, radar,
etc. (5) They are superior than the optical
telescopes, as they are not sensitive to optical
(visible light) pollution. (6) For example, the
Hubble - space telescope provides great deal of
informations using optical, ultraviolet and infrared
waves. (7) In order to have deeper understanding
of neutron star, black hole and supernova as a link
to explore the existance of the universe. (8) The
scientists realized that they required X-ray
telescope. (9) In this view, he first imaging X-ray
telescope 'Einstein' (HEAO - 2),was launched into
orbit by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) in 1978. (10) It was renamed and
launched as "Chandra' in 1999. (11) The Chandra Xray observatory sends X-ray pictures of the distant
galaxies also.
3. Write a description on changing views on the
universe.
3
(1)
Early
astronomers
study
celestial
phenomena through observations. (2) Many
astronomical happenings cannot be observed more
than once in life and they cannot be reproduced in
the laboratories. (3) So their records had taken
very long time to get finalized in the reported

forms,
and
inferences
drawn
from
these
observations
were
mostly
through
intuitive
philosophy. (4) For instance Greek astronomer
Ptolemy thought that all celestial objects orbit
round the earth. (5) Earth,in the centre of the
universe, does not move at all. (6) This 'earth centred' or 'Geocentric' models of Ptolemy was
challenged
by
Polish
mathematician
and
astronomer Nicholas Copernicus through his
mathematical model. (6) He suggested that all
planets orbit round the sun including the earth,
while moon revolves round the earth. (7) The sun
is in the centre of the universe and is stationary.
(8) Copernicus model is known as Sun-Centred' or
Heliocentric' model. (9) In common, both these
models have assumed circular orbit for celestial
objects. (10) It is worth mentioning that,
historically, Copernicus model was the first
predictive
geometrical
model.
(11)
This
heliocentric notion of the universe was also
supported by Galileo's telescopic observations.
(12) In the sixteenth century, John Kepler, like
Newton's laws of motion, discovered laws of
planetary motion. (13) He considered elliptical
orbit to explain the motion of Mars. (14) Later, it is
realized that even within the solar system, the sun
is not at the geometric centre of any of planet's
orbit. (15) It is rather at one of foci of the elliptical
orbit. (16) Over the course of 18th and 19th
centuries, the status of the sun was confirmed as

one star among many. (17) In the beginning of 20 c

century, the picture of 'Akash Ganga' (Milky-way)
galaxy became clear. (18) It is proved that the sun
is at a distance of 30,000 light years from the
galactic
centre.
[For
information
only
(1)
Astronomers measure distance in Astronomical
Units (AU). (2) One AU is equal to the average
distance between the centre of the earth and the
sun. (3) 1 AU = 1,49,598,000 km1.496 x 108 km.
(4) Another unit to measure celestial distances is
light year. (5) 1 light year = 9.46 x 10 12 km =
63,240 AU] (19) However, the "principle of
relativity' given by Albert Einstein suggests that
there is no obvious centre of the universe. (20)
Further, Hubble and X-ray telescopes have revealed
the fact that the universe is expanding and stars
and other heavenly bodies are receding away from
each other. (21) According to famous theoretical
physicist, Stephn Hawking, there may be many
more such universes !
4. Write an Introduction about solar system.
2
[July-2013 What is solar system? Write the name of
planet of the solar system insequence.(2)]
Fig:- orbits of the planets in the solar system
(1) Formation and evolution of the solar system
is estimated to have begun 4.568 billion years ago
due to the gravitational collapse of a small part of

a giant molecular cloud. (2) Most of the collapsing

mass assembled in the centre and the sun was
formed. (3) Therefore, the sun contains 99.86%
mass of the solar family. (4) Remaining mass was
flattened
into
orbits
and
planets,
moons
(satellites), asteroids, meteors, comets, etc. were
formed. (5) However, Pluto is now considered as a
dwarf planet. (6) The centripetal force required to
keep them in respective orbits is provided by the
gravitational force between the sun and the
planets. (7) The sun is the main source of energy
for us. (8) We receive just desired amount of
energy, which keeps water in liquid state. (9) This
is essential for the origin and evolution of life on
the earth. (10) As the sun is essential for the
existance of the solar system, we shall first study
the sun.
[March-2014 Solar system comprises of the sun, its
planets, their satellites,asteroids and meteors.
Which of the following is not a member of solar
system.
(A)Artificial satellites

(B) shooting stars

(C) Asteroids

(D)sun ]

5. Write a note on Sun.

3
(1) Its diameter is about 13,92,000 km. (2)
Temperature of the core region in the sun is about
1.5 crore K. (3) Due to such high temperature

matter in the core region is in the plasma state. (4)

Further, due to high density, pressure in the
central part of the sun is also very high. (5) These
conditions are responsible for thermo-nuclear
fusion of 4 hydrogen nucleii into a helium nucleus.
(6) During this process some mass of hydrogen
nuclei is converted into energy as per the
Einstein's mass-energy relation, E = mc2, where c
is the speed of light in vacuum. (7) This large
amount of liberated energy is in fact the
source
of energy for us. (8) This also gives self-luminous
to the sun. (9) However, towards the surface its
temperature reduces and is about 6000 K at the
surface. (10) Thus, sun looks like a sphere of hot
gases. (11) Matter (plasma) in the sun is confined
by strong magnetic field surrounding it. (12)
Variation in magnetic field gives rise to sun spots.
(13) Number of sun spots keep on changing
periodically with time. (14) Its period is of 11
years. (15) About the 400 km thick, bright layer
around the sun is known as photosphere'. (16) The
density of photosphere is very low as gases above
the photosphere are very hot, hence this layer is
seen only during the solar eclipse. (17) It is known
as Corona, meaning crown. (18) Currently, the
sun is in its matured state. (19) It is estimated that
the sun will die in approximately 5 billion years.
(20) Before that it will expand in size and will
become red-giant. (21) Sun's planets may be
carried away by nearly passing heavy celestial

objects or they may be destroyed or ejected into

the interstellar space.
6.Write a note on Terrestrial Planets.
2
[March-2014 What are terrestrial planets?Mention
the common characteristics of them. (2 marks)]
(1) After the sun,other important members of
the solar family are the planets. (2) Our solar
system has nine planets. (3) They can be classified
into two : (1) Planets which are found inside the
orbit of Mars, known as terrestrial planets. (2)
Planets which are found outside the orbit of Mars,
known as jovian planets. (3) Mercury,Venus, Earth
and Mars are the terrestrial planets. (4) Structure
of these planets resemble to earth. (5) These
planets have fewer number of natural satellites
and have thin atmosphere.
7. Write about Mercury.
2
(1) It is the smallest planet in the solar system.
(2)

Its mass is approximately

1
18

th mass of the

earth. (3) It contains metals like nickel (Ni) and

iron (Fe) at the centre. (4) Its outer surface is
rocky. (5) Strength of its gravitational force is
approximately one third of the earth. (6) Due to
weak gravitational field and short distance from
the sun,it has a very thin atmosphere containing

vapours of potassium and sodium. (7) As a

result,difference
between
day
and
night
temperatures is very large. (8) Temperature of the
side facing the sun is 427C whereas night
temperature is -173C. (9) Due to such extreme
temperature difference life is not possible on
mercury. (10) Its surface has many craters. (11)
Some of them are volcanoes. (12) Most of the
craters were formed due to hitting of meteors. (13)
Mercury has no moon.
8. Write a note on Venus.
2
(1) It is the second planet of the solar system
and is the neighbour of the earth. (2) It is the most
bright planet. (3) Its outer atmosphere consists of
white clouds of carbon dioxide (CO2). (4) It is the
only planet that is spinning from east to
west,which is in the opposite direction to other
planets. (5) Due to this reason,the sun rises in the
west and sets in the east on the venus. (6) Its orbit
is more circular. (7) The surface of the venus
contains large mountains,valleys and volcanoes.
(8) It also has no moon.
9. Write a note on Earth.
2
(1) The third planet in the solar family is the
earth. (2) This is the only planet in the solar family
which supports life. (3) It has thin layer of

atmosphere. (4) Thickness of this layer is about

800 to 1000 km. (5) Thanks to atmosphere that
when meteorus strike the earth they burn due to
friction and get converted into gaseous matter. (6)
Thus, atmosphere protects us from meteors. (7)
Moreover, it contains thin layer of ozone gas. (8)
This ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet rays of the sun
and reduces their harmful effects on the living
organisms. (9) Atmosphere produces green-house
effect, which maintains suitable temperature
necessary to sustain life. (10) Due to such
favourable circumstances, life has originated on
the earth. (11) Outer layer of the earth is made up
of mud or rocky stones (silicate). (12) Here,
proportion of silicon dioxide (SiO2) is very large.
(13) Its core region contains semi-liquid made up
of molten iron, magnesium and silicate like
substances. (14) It has one satellite, the moon
(Chandra).
10. Write a note on Mars.
2
[March-2013 Describe briefly about planet Mars. (2
marks)]
(1) Mars is also our nighbouring planet away
from the sun. (2) It is reddish in colour. (3) The
surface of the mars has large valleys, mountains
and dry rivers. (4) It has negligible atmosphere
(1% of the atmosphere of the earth). (5) This
atmosphere mainly contains carbon dioxide. (6) It

also contains nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar) in small

amounts. (7) It is believed that its poles are
covered by dry ice (solid CO2). (8) Information
available from Path Finder Mission of 1997
indicates existence of flowing water on the mars in
the past. (9) At present, probability of existence of
life on the mars is negligible. (10) It has two
moons,
namely
Phobos
and
Demos.
[For
information only (1) NASA of USA has launched a
space vehicle known as Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter (MRO) for detailed study of the mars in
August 2005. (2) This un-manned vehicle landed on
the mars on 10th March 2006 after seven months
journey. (3) It sends informations and photographs
regarding its atmosphere. (4) NASA has taken up a
mission to send a man on the Mars in next 10
years. (5) Scientists of NASA are of the firm
opinion that in the near future human beings will
be sent to Mars.]
11. Write a note on Jovian Planets.
2
(1) Planets of the solar system with their orbit
outside the orbit of the Mars and composition
similar to Jupiter are known as Jovian planets. (2)
These planets are bigger in size but with lesser
density. (3) They are mainly made up of
Hydrogen,Amonia and Helium. (4) Rings are
usually seen around them. (5) They have moons of
bigger in size.

12. Write a note on Jupiter.

2
(1) Jupiter is the fifth planet in our solar system.
(2) It is a luminous planet. (3) It is the biggest
planet in the solar system. (4) It is about 1400
times bigger than the earth. (5) Bands of hazy
brownish colour are present on the Jupiter. (6)
Colour concentration of these bands changes
continously. (7) Due to its brightness, this planet
can be seen with naked eye also. (8) It has
relatively rocky core and no real surface. (9)
Jupiter has more than 60 moons. [For information
only (1) Because of its mass, Jupiter has a strong
gravitational field and due to this strong
gravitational field comets passing near by it gets
deviated. (2) Sometimes they break up into pieces.
(3) The reason is very clear. (4) The part of comet
nearer to the jupiter experinces more gravitational
force compared to the part of the comet away from
the Jupiter. (5) In 1994, comet Levy Shoemaker was
broken into more than two pieces while passing by
this planet. (6) Some of the pieces fell on this
planet also. (7) Observations of the jupiter through
radio telescope indicates that jupiter radiates two
to three times more energy than the energy it
receives from the sun. (8) Possible reason behind
this might be thermo-nuclear process taking place
on a large scale at its core.]

13. Write a note on Saturn.

2
(1) Saturn is the second largest planet of the
solar family. (2) Its size is 850 times that of the
earth. (3) Three beautiful luminous rings add to its
beauty. (4) Some of the scientists believe that
saturn is completely made up of hydrogen. (5) Its
core region is made up of solid hydrogen while its
crust is made up of fluid hydrogen. (6) While some
other scientists argue that its core is made up of
rocks and metals surrounded by thick layer of ice
and atmosphere. (7) Its surface temperature is
very low. (8) Its largest moon is Titan.
14. Write a note on Uranus.
2
(1) Uranus was discovered by William Marshall
in 1781. (2) Its size is 64 times than the earth. (3)
Its diameter is 3.7 times larger than the earth. (4)
Its core contains iron, magnesium and silicate
rocks. (5) It has layers of hydrogen and helium
surrounded by the clouds of methane and ammonia
in the ice from. (6) This planet is surrounded by
narrow rings of ash colour.
15. Write a note on Neptune.
2
(1) Neptune is bluish in colour. (2) It has two
luminous and two hazy rings. (3) Thus, in total, it
has four rings. (4) Its core region is made up of

silicate rocks and ice. (5) Its upper crust contains

rocks of methane, ammonia and water in the ice
form. (6) It is a very cold planet. (7) Triton and
Nerid are its well known moons.
[March-2013 Which of the following is a satellite of
Neptune?
(A)
Titon
Triton ]

(B)

Phobos

(C)

Demos

(D)

16. Write a note on Pluto.

2
(1) As per the new classification of the planets,
pluto is known as a dwarf planet. (2) It is very cold,
dark and yellowish planet. (3) Its surface density is
similar to that of the earth. (4) Therefore, it is also
considered to be terrestrial planet. (5) Its orbit is
highly elliptical. (6) Its core region has silicate
rocks surrounded by water, methane and carbon
monoxide in the solid form. (7) Its outer most thin
layer contains nitrogen, methane and carbon
monoxide.(8) Its atmosphere mainly consists of
methane gas. (9) Pluto and its moon, Sheron form
a binary system,and they revolve around their
common centre of mass. (10) Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto cannot be seen with naked eye. (11)
Therefore in ancient days only 6 planets were
known.Last three planets were discovered using
telescope.

17. Write a short on asteroids.

3
Fig:- Asteriods belt
(1) The rocks that failed to form a planet during
the time of the formation of the solar system are
known as asteroids. (2) Majority of them are found
in a belt lying between the Mars and Jupiter. (3)
Such rocks are of various sizes. (4) They revolve
around the sun. (5) Number of asteroids are
approximmately more than 1 lac out of which
orbits of more than 4000 asteroids are now
determined. (6) Asteroids have irregular shapes.
(7) Size of these asteroids can be estimated on the
basis of their luminosity. (8) The first ever
discovered and the largest asteroid is Ceres. (9) Its
diameter is approximately 1000 km. (10) Luminous
asteroid vesta is approximately 400 km. (11) While
revolving around the sun these asteroids keep
colliding with each other and keep on breaking.
(12) Sometimes their debris come to the earth in
the form of meteors. (13) Some of them are very
large, which are known as meteorites. (14)
Asteroids are
composed
of
silicon,
nickel,
chromium and calcium. (15) Gold and platinum are
also the probable coustituents.
18. Describe about shooting stars.
2

(1) Various substances of different sizes keep on

coming to the earth regularly. (2) Such substances
are known as meteors. (3) When they enter the
earth's atmosphere, they burn due to friction
cause by the earth's gravity and a streak of light is
seen. (4) This, in ordinary language, is called
shooting star. (5) In fact, they are not stars.
Maximum number of meteors are seen in the
period
between
August
to
November.
(6)
Sometimes, the heavenly body of large size cannot
burn completely and strike the earth surface as fire
ball. (7) Such burning fire balls are known as
meteorites.
[For information only (1) When very large
meteorites strike the earth they create craters. (2)
Some of such craters are converted into lakes. (3)
Lonar lake of Maharashtra is the example of it. (4)
One such crater in Arizona in America is 180 m
deep and 1300 m broad. (5) The meteorite which
produced this crater is believed to be having 10 lac
ton mass. (6) In 1976, near Dhajala village of
Surendranagar district, a meteorite weighing 40 kg
struck. (7) This meteorite is known as Dhajala Ulka
(Ulka means meteorite). (8) Actual origin of these
meteorits is unknown but they are suspected to be
from the belt of the asteroids. (9) It is found that
compositions of meteorites is largely due to sand,
iron, nickel, etc. (10) This gives an idea of what is
the composition of other planets of the solar

system. (11) However, it is difficult to say with

surety unless we know the exact origin of the
meteorites. (12) In the desert of western Australia
numerous meteorites are found. (13) Here, an
automatic station is established, which provides
more informations about the origin of meteorites
and locations of their landing.]
19. Write a short note on comets.
3, 4
Fig:- Orbit of a Comet
(1) Around the solar system far from Pluto there
is a group of about 10 billion celestial objects,
which are known as cloud of Urt. (2) Due to
gravitational force of the sun and other stars, they
start moving towards the sun. (3) They are known
as comets. (4) Most of the comets revolve around
the sun in an elliptical orbit. (5) Comets are
spheres of dust and icy rocks. (6) As they come
closer to the sun, ice vapourizes and a long bright
tail is formed. (7) When comet is nearest to the
sun its luminous tail is the longest and points
opposite to the sun. (8) As it moves away from the
sun, its tail becomes shorter and eventually
vanishes. (9) Since tail is seen from the earth,
comet is also called a tailed-star. (10) In fact it is
not a star and tail is not permanent. (11) Uptill
now, orbits of 750 comets have been discovered.
(12) The most famous of them is Halley's comet.
(14) It comes close to the sun at every 76 years.

(15) It was last seen in 1986 and will be seen again

in 2062. (16) It is named after Edmond Halley, who
studied it in detail. (17) In 1997, Helbopp, another
brilliant comet, was seen for about 19 months with
naked eye. (20) Comets are basically made up of
water, carbon dioxide, ammonia and other frozen
gases along with dust particles. (21) Since their
compositions resemble to the composition of the
other members of the solar family, they are of
great importance to scientists. (22) Detailed study
of their tail has shown that it contains the
molecules of CO and HCN. (23) These molecules are
essential
to
form
complicated
compounds
necessary for the origin of life. (24) Hence, some of
the scientists believe that such molecules must
have arrived at the earth through comets, and life
had originated on the earth. (25) In ancient days
arrival of the comet was considered as the bad
omen and was believed to be responsible for war,
epidemic or natural calamity like flood. (26) But
modern science has proved that the arrival of a
comet is just a normal event and there is no need
to panic about it.
20. Write a short note on stars.
2,3
(1) The celestial self luminous objects which
produce energy on their own in the form of
radiation due to thermo-nuclear fusion process are
called stars. (2) Stars are hot spheres of gases like

hydrogen and helium. (3) The sun is also one such

star. (4) There are numerous stars of various sizes.
(5) Stars bigger in size compared to the sun have
carbon-nitrogen thermo-nuclear fusion process in
their cores. (6) The stars seem to be permanent
and of the same nature as if they do not undergo
any changes. (7) But they are born, grow and
eventually die. (8) Sun-like stars die as white dwarf
while those much larger in size end up in black
holes. (9) Different phases of their life span
depends on their sizes. (10) Stars appear in
different colours. (11) The star having red colour
has the lowest surface temperature and the star
having blue colour has the highest surface
temperature. (12) Colour and surface temperature
depends on their phases. (13) Their physical
characteristics change with time.
[March-2014 Some stars appear red in colour and
some blue in colour. Which one of the statement is
true?
(A)Blue colour star and red colour star has equal
temperature.
(B)There is no relation between colour of the star
and temperature. (C) Temperature of blue colour
star is less than red colour star.
(D)Star with blue colour has more temperature
than red colour star.]

21. Write about nakshatra.

2
[March 2015:-Write a brief note on Nakshatras.]
(1) An imaginary sphere covering the sky with the
earth at its centre is known as the celestial sphere.
(2) The ecliptic of the celestial sphere is divided
into 27 equal parts, (3) which are known as
Nakshatra. (4) Their angular region is 360 27 =
1320'. (Read as thirteen degree twenty minutes.)
(5)
Our
moon
undergoes
1320'
angular
displacement every day along the ecliptic. (6)
Thus, moon remains in one nakshatra for a day,
while the sun remains in one nakshtra for 365 27
= 13.5 days. (7) Nakshatra are given names on the
basis of imaginay figures formed by joining stars or
by luminous stars belonging to the nakshatra. (8)
Pushya, Swati, Ardra, etc. are some of the well
known nakshatras. (9) In India, they have religious
importance too.
[March-2014 An imaginary sphere covering the sky
with the earth at its centre is known as the
celestial sphere. The ecliptic of the celestial sphere
is divided to 27 equal parts, which are known
as_____ (A) Pulsar (B) Nakshatra (C) Akash ganga
(D) Zodiac sign]
22. Write about night-sky.
2

(1) The star rises four minutes earlier

compared to the previous day. (2) It is because the
earth takes 23 hours 56 minutes to complete one
rotation about its own axis while day is made up of
24 hours. (3) During these 4 minutes stars in the
celestial sphere undergo angular displacement of
1. (4) In a month their angular displacement
becomes 30. (5) If you watch them at particular
time everyday, within six months they undergo
angular displacement of 180 (i.e. from horizone
to horizone). (6) Thus, after the six months the
same stars are not seen. (7) This shows that nightsky changes everyday. (8) But this change is not
noticeable in a single day and one should observe
the sky for considerable time like a month or so.
23. Describe about milky-way and other galaxies.
3
(1) Numerous stars in the universe are not
distributed uniformly. (2) But they are found in big
clusters. Such a big cluster of stars is known as a
galaxy. (3) During dark and clear sky, we can see a
milky belt stretching from north to south. (4) It
looks like flowing river Ganga, and hence the name
Milky-way. (5) If milky-way is viewed from the side,
bulging is seen at the centre and tapered towards
the ends. (6) When it is viewed from the top it is
seen spiral in shape. (7) Its diameter is about 1 lac
light years and the thickness of the middle part is
about 15 to 20 thousand light years. (8) Sun is at

30,000 light years away from the galactic center.

(9) It completes one revolution around the galactic
centre in 22.5 crore years at the speed of 250 km
per second. (10) There are about 10 11 galaxies and
each galaxy contains about 1011 stars. (11) Thus, in
all there are about 1022 stars. (12) Galaxies are of
different shapes, of which following two are the
main: (1) Spiral galaxy (2) Elliptical galaxy. (13)
Other galaxies are of irregular shapes. (14) Most of
the stars in elliptical galaxies are very old and red
in colour. (15) Whereas in spiral galaxies most of
the stars are bluish and they are young. (16) So it
is believed that elliptical galaxies are older than
spiral galaxies. (17) In the universe, number of
spiral galaxies are more.
[March 2015:-In which of the following statements
the word light year is used correctly?
(A)Light travels with the speed of 1 light year in
the Universe (B)Cetus dwarf galaxy is 2.46 million
light year away from us (C)The next complete solar
eclipse will be seen after 32 light year (D)The earth
takes 365 days to complete the distance of 1 light
year around the sun]
24. Write about Blackhole.
3
(1) A blackhole is a region of space from which
nothing can escape. (2) Gravitational collapse
occurs
when
outward
internal
pressure
is

insufficient to resist the star's own gravity. (3)

When massive star (whose mass is larger
compared to solar or sun's mass) at the end of its
life cycle collapse in a supernova, and eventually
ends up into a black hole. (4) Once a black hole is
formed it can continue to grow in mass by
absorbing mass from its surroundings and may
become supermassive black hole with millions of
solar mass. (5) It is believed that star formation in
the young universe might have produced such
massive blackholes of mass 1000 times greater
than the solar mass. (6) Such blackholes are found
at the centers of most galaxies. (7) There is a
strong evidence of a blackhole of more than 4
million solar mass at the center of our Milky-way.
(8) Around a blackhole, we may imagine a surface,
called an "event horizon', which marks the points
of no return. (9) Light reaching to event horizon
will
be
absorbed
like
a
black
body
in
thermodynamics, so it is called black'. (10)
However, quantum mechanics predicts that even
black holes emit radiation at finite temperatures.
(11) Since temperature of a blackhole is inversely
proportional to its mass, they radiate by small
amount. (12) This makes very difficult to observe
this radiation, and astrophysicists have to rely on
indirect observations. (13) Its existance can
sometimes
be
inferred
by
observing
its
gravitational interactions with its surrounings. (14)
For example, X-ray binaries (binary star which

emits
radiation
in
X-ray
region
of
the
electomagnetic spectrum) are formed due to
accreating matter by one star (accreation-star)
from the other (regular-star). (15) By studying
regular star we can determine the presense of the
blackhole. (16) Classification of blackholes based
on their mass, electric charge and angular
momentum. (17) However, still it is a mystery to
astrophysicists
that
what
mechanism
is
responsible for restricting gravitational collapsing
to zero. (18) Prediction of neutron stars through
Einstein's general theory of relativity sparked
interest in such gravitationally collapsed objects.
(19) This was then supported by the discovery of
rapidly rotating neutron stars, pulsar, in 1967.
[March 2015:-Which of the following statements is
true for "black hole'?
(A)It emits radiations in large number (B)Its
temperature is directly proportional to its density
(C)Its temperature is equal to the temperature of
the
sun
(D)Its
temperature
is
inversely
proportional to the density]
25. Write about Pulsar.
2
(1) The core of massive star when compressed
during supernova becomes a neutron star. (2)
However, so formed neutron star retains its
original angular motion. (3) But due to its reduced

size it rotates faster. (4) This infalling matter and

high speed rotation results into the emission of
high energy radiation along its magnetic axis. (5)
Howerer, alignment of magnetic axis and rotation
axis are generally not same. (6) This misalignment
causes the electromagnetic radiation to be seen
twice during its one rotation. (7) Thus, it appears
as if the star radiates in pulser. (8) Hence the name
is given pulsar. (9) In fact, it is the abbreviation of
a pulsating star. (10) This process of pulsating
energy stops after about 10-100 million years
when pulsar stops rotating. (11) To date, the
slowest observed pulsar has period of 8 seconds.
26. Write a history of space exploration.
4
(1) Space exploration is the term used to
explore the outer space using the principles of
space technology and astronomy. (2) While the
observation of objects in space is known as
astronomy, it was the development of large rockets
during the early 20th century that allowed physical
space exploration to become a reality. (3) The
pioneer of space travel was a Russian, Konstantin
Tsiolkowsky (1857-1935). (4) He realized that only
a rocket could take us to near space. (5) He also
proposed that a rocket should be built in stages so
it would dump each stage when its fuel
(propellant) would be exchausted. (6) The rocket
works on the Newton's third law of motion. (7) Fuel

in the rocket engine burns very quickly, thus

producing large amount of gases. (8) These gases
come out of the nozzle with large momentum and
rocket is pushed upwards. (9) This action requires
special kind of fuel. (10) For example, a mixture of
liquid hydrogen and oxygen is used as a liquid fuel,
while powdered mixture of ammonium perchlorate
or ammonium nitrate and aluminum are used as
solid fuel. (11) Rockets are disgined to carry
scientific devices or instruments, which are called
payloads. (12) A multistage rocket has two or more
stages, each of which contains its own engines and
fuels. (13) The main advantage of multistage
rockets and boosters is that once the fuel is
exhausted, stages are dropped off to reduce the
weight of the rocket. (15) This provides more
acceleration to the remaining assembly with less
fuel requirement. (16) Indeed, these multistage
rockets have done tremendous jobs to push space
exploration truly into the multifold discipline. (17)
For example, the Russians have launched first
artificial satellite, Sputnik-I on 4th October 1957.
(18) Immediately, America launched its first
satellite Explorer-I in January 1958. (19) The first
human being, Yuri Gagarin, was sent in space by
Russia on 12th April 1961, while the first space walk
was done by Aleksi Leonov on 18th March 1965.
(20) In the subsequent years scientists launched
series of satellites to investigate different planets
and moon of a solar system. (21) On 21th July 1969,

astronaut Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11 mission

landed and stepped on the moon. (22) In 1971 and
1973, Russians and Americans launched their
space stations, Salyut -1 and Skylab, respectively.
(23) In 1980, India has launched its first satellite,
Rohini. (24) In fact, after the first 20 years of space
exploration, scientists of different countries have
realized that space exploration is a very costly
mission. (25) Therefore, they have shifted focus
from competition to cooperation, and have jointly
built International Space Station (ISS). (26) As a
result, many more countries have participated in
space exploration programme. (27) Multistage
rockets have couple of major drawbacks:- (1)
staging may result into failures like separation
ignition or stage collision, and (2) The cost factor.
(28) This led to the foundation of a reusable launch
system - orbital space craft and the space shuttle.
(29) It carries different payloads to low earth orbit,
provides crew rotation for ISS and performs
servicing missions. (30) It can also be used to
recover satellites and other payloads from orbit to
earth or it may repair the damage part in the orbit
itself.
[March-2013 Which of the following
member of solar system?
(A) Asteroids
(C) Sun

(B) Shooting star

(D) Artificial satellite ]

is not a

27. Write a note on Space Shuttle.

(1) The first space shuttle, Colombia, was
launched on 12th April 1981, followed by
Challenger,
Discovery,
Atlantis.
(2)
Hubble
telescope was launched from the space shuttle
Discovery in April 1990.
Space shuttle is composed of threee main parts:- (1) The

reusuable Orbiter Vehicle (OV), The expandable

external tank (ET)and The two reusable solid
rocket boosters (SRBs). (2) The space shuttle is
lanuched vertically like a conventional rocket,
revolves around the earth, does its job and returns
to earth, like an aeroplane. (3) After which it is repolished for reuse. (4) During the flight of space
shuttle, the SRBs are dropped with the help of
parachute to a predecided location in the ocean.
(5) During the descent the orbiter passes through
different layers of atmosphere and slows down,
primaily, by aerobraking. (6) Howerer, speed of the
space shuttle remain still so high that air-friction
generates large heat energy. (7) To protect against
this heat, outer surface of the space shullte is
made up of a special alloy. (8) Once the space
shuttle comes to very low altitudes, pilot takes
over the control of space shuttle and it lands like
an aeroplane. (9) All space shuttles are launched
from Kennedy Space Centre due to favourable
geographic conditions. (10) However, space shuttle

flights are not always safe. (11) On 28th January

1986, Challenger disintegrated just after its
launch, and all the seven crew members died. (12)
On 1st February 2003, Colombia met an accident
during its re-entry to the earth. (13) Again all
seven astronauts were killed including Kalpana
Chawla of Indian origin. (14) Apart from physical
space exploration to understand the nature and
existance of the universe, scientists try to simulate
conditions in the laboratories similar to the one
which was supposed to be just after the big bang.
(15) For example, Large Hedron Coliider (LHC) is
the world's largest particle accelerator experiment.
(16) Scientists expect novel insight to understand
deepest laws of nature, existance of dark matter,
origin of universe, etc. from this experiment. [For
information only (1) The LHC lies in a 27 km long
circular tunnnel at a depth of 175 m at the Franco
-Swiss border near Geneva. (2) It is designed to
collide opposing beams of very high energy
protons. (3) They are accelerated to almost the
speed of light in vacuum. (4) It is built by European
Organization for Nuclear Research. (5) Total cost of
the experiment is expected to be approximately
$4.4 billion ! (6) The term hadron refers to
particles composed of quarks, e.g, proton]
[March 2015:-In the accident
shuttle,Kalpana Chawla died?

of

which

space

(A)Colambia
(D)Atlantis]

(B)Challenger

(C)Discovery

28. Explain various types of artificial satellites and

their orbits.
4
(1) A smaller heavenly object revolving around a
bigger object is known as satellite. (2) Moon is the
natural satellite of the earth. (3) A man-made
automatic system launched in the space with a
special purpose and revolving around the earth is
known as an artificial satellite. (4) Modern artificial
satellite are equipped with transponders, high
resolution cameras, radio meters, solar panels and
necessary fuels. (5) These satellites receive signals
from the earth-station and send observations
taken by various equipments in a proper format to
the earth station. (6) India launched its first
satellite Rohini on 18th July 1980 using SLV-3
rocket, and became the seventh nation in the
space-club. (7) So far, India has launched Rohini,
SROSS, IRS series, Resource sat, Carto sat
satellites using our own rockets. (8) We have also
launched INSAT series with the help of other
countries. (9) To understand the principle of
satellite launching we have to go back to
gravitation. (10) Suppose you throw a stone in the
horizontal direction from the top of a tower, You
would observe that the path of the stone is
perabolic and it returns to the earth. (11) If the

object is thrown with more speed, it travels longer

distance in the horizontal direction. (12) Gradually,
if we increase the speed in this way then at some
speed the object will start revolving around the
earth instead of falling on the earth. (13) The
minimum speed required is 8 km/sec, to revolve
around the earth in orbit. (14) Before projecting
the satellite in this way it is taken to a height of
200 km to minimize the friction due to atmosphere.
Orbits of the Artificial Satellites:- (1) Usually artificial

satellites are kept in one of the following orbits:(1) Equatorial orbit and (2) Polar orbit. (2) The
orbit which is parallel to the equator is known as
an equatorial orbit. (3) The orbit which is parallel
to meridian is known as a polar orbit. (4) The
revolution period of a satellite having height from
the earth's surface equal to 35,786 km is 24 hours.
(5) Therfore, such satellite is seen to be stationary
when viewed from the earth. (6) It is called geostationary satellite and such orbit is known as
geostationary orbit. (7) Satellites in such orbits do
not require any energy for its revolution. (8) By
arranging three geo-stationary satellites at proper
place in the orbit, the entire earth can be linked
and signals from any corner of the earth can be
sent to any other place on the earth. (9) Some of
the satellites are launched in polar orbits. (10)
Their height from the surface of the earth is about
1000 km and their revolution period is 2 hours or

less. (11) Such satellites have a number of

revolution around the earth in a day, and they pass
through a location on the earth at a regular
interval of time. (12) This interval of time is called
repeating time. (13) Remote sensing satellites of
India and America's landset visit any location on
the earth at the interval of 21 days and 16 days,
respectively. (14) During these days they scan the
entire earth. (15) Useful life time of the satellite
depends on stability of their orbits. (16) So their
path is constantly observed and they are reestablished in their orbit using rocket engines
attached to them. (17) Orbits of artificial satellites
like natural satellites are elliptical due to the effect
of gravity. (18) However, to calculate the revolution
period orbits are considered circular for the sake of
simplicity.
[March 2015:-What is the distance
stationary satellites from the earth?
(A)37,956
km
(D)23,123 km]

(B)35,786

km

of

(C)43,000

geokm

29. Write uses of artificial satellites.

3, 4
(1) Using artificial satellites we are able to see
events happening in any corner of the world on our
television. (2) We also get weather forecast. (3) In
the field of education, country-wide classroom
becomes the reality. (4) Tele-conferencing enables

us to have a meeting with people separated by

long distances. (5) Satellites are also useful in
space research, communication, remote sensing,
defence, etc. (6) Human beings have lots of
advantages due to satellites. (7) Some of the uses
are discussed below.
(1) For Communication:- (1) In the field of
communication,
we
use
satellites
for
telecomunication, television transmission, radio
networks and computer networks. (2) Country-wide
classroom and teleconferencing have enabled us to
spread education in remote villages of the country.
(3) For this purpose India has launched INSAT
series. (4) So far we have launched INSAT 1,2,3
series for these purposes.
[For information only, British scientist Arther Clark,
in 1945, had suggested that a geo-stationary
satellite can be used for communication puipose
for microwave relays.]
(2) For Weather Forecast:- (1) We can also get
information regarding weather using satellite of
INSAT series. (2) These satellites can take
photographs of clouds, provide useful information
about surface temperature of the oceans,
temperature of various layers of atmosphere,
humidity in the atmosphere, etc. (3) They also
provide forecast regarding monsoon or sudden
climatic changes that can cause storms or
hurricanes.

(3) For Remote Sensing:- (1) Remote sensing is the

method by which information about a substance or
a phenomenon can be obtained using scientific
instruments without direct contact with them.
(8) Using satellite we can carry out geological
survey of metallic ores present in the earth's crust,
changes in the forest and environment, water
resources, agriculture resources, etc. (9) It also
provides information about diseases that can
spread in the crops. (10) It is also used in
oceanography and study about movements of
fishes. (11) The installation of sensors in the
remote sensing satellites covers the area of 10 sq.
m to 6400 sq. m, and they send the information to
the earth-station.
[For information only (1) Remote sensing techniqes
basically depends on solar radiation and enerey.
(2) Each and every substance on the earth emits
energy in certain amount depending on their
temperature. (3) They also reflect incident solar
energy in various amounts. (4) The sensors kept in
the satellites receive these radiations and send its
information to the earth-station. (5) Study of such
information enables us to interpret the situation of
the surface of the earth Of course, it requires
special training to interpret these data or
informations.]

30. Write a short note on

Programme.
2

Indian Space Research

(1)
Artificial
satellites
have
potential
applications in the field of mass communication,
weather forecasting and remote sensing. (2) ISRO
(Indian
Space
Research
Organigation)
has
developed and launched various satellites.
[For information only (1) Dr. Vikram Ambalal
Sarabhai (1919-1971) was born in Ahmedabad on
August 12, 1919. (2) He carried out his research on
cosmic waves and obtained Ph.D. degree from the
Cambridge University. (3) He established Physical
Research Laboratory' (PRL) and Ahmedabad
Textile Industry Research Association' (ATIRA) in
Ahmedabad.
(4)
He
has
given
valuable
contributions in the development of rockets and
space research in India. (5) He is known as the
Father of India's space programme. (6) Scientists
contributing remarkably in this field are given Dr.
Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Prize.]
(3) They are widely used for transmission of TV
signal and communication, along with a geological
survey for mineral resource, for agricultural
purpose and study of marine life. (4) The rocket
launching programme of ISRO have been utilized
on commercial basis by other countries also.

31. Write programmes conducted by ISRO.

2
(1) INSAT (Indian National Satellite System) has its
series INSAT -1,2,3 were launched in the space and
INSAT - 4 was launched on 22nd December 2005
from Guana (France) which will be useful for Direct
To Home (DTH) service for TV transmission. (2) IRS
(Indian Remote Sensing) satellites have been
launched. IRS -1, IRS - P series which is meant for
commercial
purpose,
whereas
METSAT
(Meteorological satellite) is used for weather
forecasting. (3) The Resource satellites are used
for the study of oceanography. (4) Carto sat is used
for geographical survey. (5) Rohini satellite series
is for astronomical observations. (6) PSLV (ploar
satellite launching vehicles) is used for launching ]
1000-2000 kg class of remote sensing satellite. (7)
GSLV (Geo Synchronous Satellite Lauch Vehicle)
launched "EDUSAT' nearly weighing 2500 kg in
space, in September 2004.
[March-2013 Which artificial satellite is responsible
for Weather forecast? (A) METSAT (B) INSAT (C)
CARTOSAT (D) EDUSAT]
[March-2014 Which satellite is launched by india
for Direct to Home T>V. transmission?
(A)
IRS-P

CARTOSAT (B)
]

INSAT-1 (C)

INSAT-4A (D)

What have you learnt ?

(1) Limitations of optical telescopes have led
foundation for X-ray telescopes. The 'Chandra' Xray
observatory
takes
X-ray
pictures
of
astronomical happenings. (2) Our views on the
universe continuously change. From earh-centred
to sun-centred, expansion of the universe, many
universes, etc. (3) Our solar system is made up of
nine planets, satellites, asteroids, meteors,
comets, etc. (4) Planets which are found inside the
orbit of Mars and having structure similar to the
earth are known as Terrestrial planets. (5) Planets
which are found outside the orbit of Mars and
having composition similar to Jupiter are known as
Jovian planets. (6) Venus is the only planet in the
solar system, which revolves around the sun in
opposite direction to other planets. (7) Asteroids
are the rocks that failed to form a planet. They are
found between Mars and Jupiter. (8) Asteroids keep
on colliding with each other, and keep on breaking.
(9) Their debris coming to the earth are known as
meteors. (10) Meteors of large sizes are known as
meteorites. (11) Due to earth's atmosphere,
meteors coming to eath burn and produce a streak
of light. This appears as a shooting star. (12)
Comets are also known as tailed-star. (13) Its tail is
longest and point in opposite to the sun when it is
nearest to the sun. (14) They revolve round the
sun at a regular interval of time. (15) The celestial

self luminous objects due to thermo-nuclear fusion

are known as stars. (16) Stars are not permanent.
(17) But they born, grow and eventually die. (18)
27th part of the ecliptic sphere is known as
nakshatra. (19) Stars are found in big clusters,
known as galaxies. (20) Our solar system belongs
to Milky-way galaxy. (21) There are about 10 11
galaxies each containing 1011 stars. (22) They are
mainly found in two shapes : spiral and elliptical.
(23) Black holes are supermassive celestial objects
such that no radiation can escape from their strong
gravitational pull. (24) Their existance, usually, can
be found through X-ray binaries. (25)
Pulsating
neutron stars are known as pulsar. (26) Rockets
require special kind of fuels (propellant) Liquid
fuel:- Liquid hydrogen and oxygen. (27) Solid fuel:Mixture of ammonium perchlorate or ammonium
nitrate and aluminum. (28) Space exploration is
now done using space shuttle. (29) Important parts
of it are Orbiter vehicle (OV), expandable external
tank (ET) and solid recket boosters (SRB). (30)
Man-made satellites are known as artificial
satellites. (31) They are used for the benefit of the
mankind. (32) Geo-stationary satellites and polar
satellites are the two types of artificial satellites.

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