Unit 02

Nature of the Earth & Space

2.1 Views on solar system

(1) What can be considered as the oldest science in the world?

(2) What country has introduced Astronomy as a science which deals with stars, sun and planets?

(3) What is the Thales view about the solar system?

(4) What was Pythagoras's view about the solar system?

(5) What was Aristotle's view about the solar system?

(6) What was the Aristarchus's view about the solar system?

(7) What was the Ptolemy's view about the solar system?

(8) What the Nicholas Copernicus's view about the solar system?

(9) Explain the works of Tyco Brahe on astronomy.

(10) Explain Johannes Kepler' s view.

(11) Explain Galileo's view about the solar system and also mention his findings.

(12) What were the findings of Halley?

(13) What has done by Sir Isaac Newton on Astronomy?

(14) Explain why we see the sun, planets and the moon and constellations, as they move from
eastern horizon to western horizon.
2.2 Constellations
(15) What are constellations?

(16) How many constellations are there in the sky?

(17) The following constellations are named by the names of animals. Name them.

(18) Some constellations have named by the names of characters of mythology. Name three such
constellations.

(19) Some constellations have named by the names of scientific instruments. Mention two such
constellations.

(20) It is necessary to observe the night sky to study about the star patterns. In doing so, what
instructions must follow?

(21) The following diagram shows some constellations appear in the sky in the months of February
and march around 8 pm in the night.

(22) Where can be seen the Orion (Hunter) in the sky

during this period?
(23) How many bright stars are present in this constellation?

(24) In Orion four stars are visible at the corners of the square. Where these four stars are found?

(25) The belt of Orion is made of how many stars?

(26) The head of Orion is indicated by how many stars?

(27) What can you say about the brightness of these stars?

(28) Orion's head is directed to what direction?

(29) When Orion is setting down from the west horizon, what constellation appears in the eastern
horizon?

(30) To the north of head of Orion and slightly to the east two bright stars close to each other are
visible. What are these stars?

(31) What do these two stars indicate?

(32) When the three stars on the belt of Orion are connected in line and extended towards east, the
brightest star can be seen. What is the name of this star?

(33) It belongs to what constellation?

(34) When you observe to the west of Orion a group of stars is visible with the shape of the letter V.
What is the name the bright red star in this group of stars?

(35) In the Taurus constellation, a very attractive group of stars is present. What do you call this group
of stars?

(36) What is the second brightest star in the sky?

(37) When you connect Sirius and Canopus by an imaginary line and extend it down wards, what pole
of the sky is found?

Some constellations visible in the midnight sky in February and March are given below. These
constellations are also visible around 8 pm in the night during the months of May and June.
(38) How do you identify 'Great bear (Ursa major)' out of the above constellation?

(39) What name is given to the two stars found on the side of the head in the rectangle of great bear?

(40) What is the importance of these two stars?

(41) What is the importance of Pole Star (Polaris)

(42) What is the special feature of this pole star?

(43) Pole star is found in what constellation?

(44) What is the reason for this star (pole star) to be stationary?

(45) When you raise your eye upwards in the sky along the two indicator stars of the Great Bear
constellation, a sickle shaped bright constellation can be seen. To the east of this constellation 3
bright stars are visible. This sickle and the triangle together forms what constellation?

(46) What is the brightest star of Leo constellation?

(47) What is the name of the constellation which appear on the southern sky?

(48) What is the brightest star of the centaurs constellation ?

(49) What is the closest star to the earth?

(50) What is a light year?

(51) What is the distance between Proxima Centauri and the earth?

(52) What is the distance between the earth and Sirius?

(53) What is meant by'Zodiac'?

(54) What are the 12 constellations found in the zodiac?

(55) What is Ecliptic?

2.3 Stars, galaxies & universe

(56) What is meant by 'Lagna'?

(57) What are the uses of star patterns?

(58) What are'galaxies'?

(59) What are galaxies?

|60) Solar system including the earth is situated in what galaxy?

(61) What is the shape of this galaxy?

(62) What is the distance from the centre of this galaxy to sun?

(63) Name the two galaxies that are visible to our naked eye.

(64) Explain how the life of a star is originated.

(65) How does a star is formed?

(66) What is a nebula?

(67) A nebula which is visible to our naked eyes is found in the constellation of Orion. Name this
nebula.

(68) What is the distance from the earth to this nebula?

(69) What is the diameter of this nebula?