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80Fundamental Questions
Q1 What is Space or Universe?
Ans) The vast region in which celestial bodies like the stars, moons,
planets, etc reside is called Space or Universe.
Q2 What is Astronomy?
Ans) The branch of science that deals with the study of space and heavenly
bodies is called astronomy.
Q3 Who are astronomers?
Ans) The scientists who study astronomy or the existence and behavior of
heavenly bodies are called astronomers.
Q4 What is “Big Bang Theory”?
Ans) Most scientists believe that the universe was initially concentrated in
to a super dense mass. Approximately 13.7 billion years ago, this mass
exploded, causing matter to fly off in all directions. This led to the formation
of universe in the present shape. This is known as “Big Bang Theory”
Q5 What is a Light year?
Ans) Distances between celestial bodies are measured by a convenient unit
called a Light Year. It is the distance travelled by light in one year.
1 Light Year = 9.46 * 1012 Km
Q6 How do you calculate a light year?
Ans) Days in Year = 365.25
Speed of Light = 3* 108 m/s
So, 1 light Year = 3* 108 * (365.25 * 24* 60 * 60) m = 9.46 * 1015 m = 9.46*
1012 km
Q7 What is a Galaxy?
Ans) The billions of stars in our universe exist in huge clusters or groups.
Each group or cluster, consisting of billions of stars and other heavenly
bodies along with hydrogen gas and dust particles in the vast empty space is
called a Galaxy.
Q8 How many Galaxies are there in universe?
Ans) There are nearly 1011 galaxies in universe consisting of 1011 stars in it.
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Q9 What are the different shapes of Galaxies?
Ans) There are mainly three different shapes that have been observed so far
– Spiral, Elliptical and irregular.
Q10 What is Milky Way Galaxy?
Ans) This Galaxy is spiral in shape. The light of the stars appears like a
white ribbon stretching across the sky. The diameter of the Milky Way is
about 1, 00,000 light years. The Sun and its eight planets, along with their
moons are situated in one of the outer spikes of the Milky Way. It is also
known as Akashganga.
Q11 How did Akashganga galaxy get its name?
Ans) Ancient Romans called the band of stars of this galaxy “Via
Galactica”, meaning the ‘path of milk’. Hence our galaxy got the name
”Milky way”.
Q12 Write a brief note on Stars?
Ans) Stars are massive spheres composed of hydrogen and helium gases.
Continuous nuclear reactions take place in a star during which hydrogen
nuclei combine to form helium nuclei. As a result, an enormous amount of
energy is released in the form of heat and light. The Sun is the nearest star.
Q13 What do you understand by the term Constellation?
Ans) Certain groups of stars appear to form patterns or known shapes like
that of animals or objects. A group of such stars is called Constellation.
There are 88 known constellations till date.
Q14 What is Ursa Major or Great Bear?
Ans) This constellation of stars roughly forms the shape of a bear. It is seen
in the northern part of the sky from April to September. It is also known as
Vrihat –saptarishi . of all the stars forming this constellation , seven bright
stars seem to be arranged in the form of a long handled spoon and forms the
Big-Dipper.
Q15 What is Polaris?
Ans) The line joining the front two stars point towards the Pole Star or
Polaris (Dhruv Tara).This Pole Star belongs to Ursa Minor and is used to
locate the north direction. This star is also known as Dhruv Tara.
Q16 What is Ursa Minor?
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Ans) Ursa Minor or Little Bear ( Laghu –Saptarishi) is another constellation
with many star members in it. Seven of these form the little dipper (its most
prominent part). The Pole Star is at the tip of the tail of the Little Bear.
Q17 List down prominent constellation?
Ans) The prominent constellations are Orion or Hunter (mriga) , Scorpious
(Vrishchika), Leo ( Simha ) and Sagittarious (Dhanu)
Q18 When and how do constellations appear in the Sky?
Ans) Different constellations appear in the night sky at different times of
the year. This is caused due to revolution of earth around the Sun. On a
particular night, each constellation appears four minutes earlier than it did a
night before.
Q19 Which the nearest star to our Sun?
Ans) Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our Sun. Its distance from the
Sun is 4.24 Light years. It is the third brightest star in northern sky.
Q20 What are the difference between galaxy and constellation?
Ans) Difference between galaxy and constellation is:
i) The first difference is that a galaxy is a collection of billions of stars
whereas a constellation is a collection of only a very few stars.
ii) The second difference is that a galaxy does not form a definite pattern
which resembles the shape of an animal or a human being but a
constellation appears to resemble an animal or human being in its shape
Q21 What is Solar System?
Ans) Eight planets, along with their natural satellites (moon), and some
other celestial bodies constantly revolve around the Sun.Together they
constitute the Solar System.
Q22 Write a brief note on Sun?
Ans) A medium sized and middle aged star, the Sun is at the center of our
solar system. It is a giant spinning ball of very hot gases and is fuelled by
nuclear reactions. Sun is about 150 million kilometers away from earth. The
diameter of Sun is 109 times the diameter of earth. The mass of the sun is
more than 333,000 times the mass of earth. Light from the Sun takes nearly
8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth. It is nearest star to Earth.
Q23 List down the Solar Layers?
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Ans) The Sun has six regions – the core, the radiative zone and the
convection zone in the interior; followed by photosphere, the chromospheres
and the outermost region, the corona.
Q24 Explain the layers of Sun?
Ans) The six layers of Sun are
i) Core: The center of the Sun is called its core. The main mass of the Sun
is concentrated in its core. The temperature of the core is nearly 15
million °C. This high temperature is because of the nuclear reactions
taking place in the core. The energy produced inside the core produces all
the heat and light we receive on earth.
ii) Radiative Zone: Heat energy from the core slowly rises to the radiative
zone. It takes the energy about 1 million years to travel out of the
radiative zone.
iii) Convection Zone: The convection zone carries energy from the radiative
zone to just beneath the Sun’s surface. The temperature here is about 2
million °C.
iv) Corona: The outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere is called the
corona. It extends for millions of kilometers .Temperature rise
dramatically in the corona and can get about 2 million °C.
v) Photosphere: The photosphere is nearly 400 km thick and is generally
called the surface of the Sun. This is the part of the Sun we see. Most of
the white light that makes our world visible comes from Photosphere.
The temperature of this layer is about 5500 °C.
vi) Chromosphere: Above the photosphere lies the chromosphere. The
thickness of this layer ranges from nearly 400km to 21000km, as the
gases keep flowing and spreading within this layer. The temperature of
this layer ranges from 3700 °C to 7700 °C.
Q25 What are planets?
Ans) Planets are celestial objects that revolve around a star (the sun, in case
of our solar system) in fixed orbits. Planets do not produce light, they only
reflect the light falling on them. The eight planets in our solar system in
order of their distance from the Sun – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
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Q26 What are Orbits?
Ans) All the planets of solar system revolve around the Sun in elliptical
paths called Orbits.
Q27 What do understand of Period of Revolution?
Ans) The time taken by a planet to complete one revolution is called its
period of revolution.
Q28 What is period of Rotation?
Ans) Besides revolving around the Sun, each planet
Q29 What is Asteroid Belt?
Ans) Between the orbits of mars and Jupiter, there is a ring of space rocks
known as the Asteroid Belt.
Q30 What are Inner Planets?
Ans) The planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, which lie between the
Sun and the Asteroid belt. These have none or very few satellites or moons.
Q31 What are Outer Planets?
Ans) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which lie beyond the asteroid
belt, are known as Outer Planets. They are icy cold gaseous planets and have
large no of moons and rings around them.
Q32 Write a brief note on the planet Mercury?
Ans) The planet mercury:
i) It is the planet nearest to Sun
ii) It is the smallest planet in Solar System.
iii) It is slightly larger than Earth’s moon.
iv) Its surface is covered with many bowl –shaped depressions called craters.
v) This tiny planet has no moons.
vi) There is no life on mercury as it does not support any atmosphere.
vii) The temperature at the surface of mercury ranges from – 180 °C to
430 °C.
viii) It is also known as “Budh” in India
Q33 What is Morning Star?
Ans) Mercury is visible in the east, in the morning sky before sunrise. So it
is also called the Morning Star.
Q34 Write a brief note on the planet Venus?
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Ans) The planet Venus:
i) It is almost the same size as Earth.
ii) It is our nearest neighbor.
iii) It is the hottest (nearly 480 °C) planet of our solar system as the Carbon
Dioxide present in its atmosphere traps heat due to its greenhouse
behavior.
iv) It rotates from east to west. The Sun rises in the west and sets in the east
on the Venus.
v) It is also the brightest of all planets due to its desnse atmosphere, which
reflects 3/4th of the sunlight falling on it.
vi) It is a Moonless planet.
vii) It is called “Shukra” in India
Q35 Write a brief note on the planet Earth?
Ans) The Planet Earth:
i) It is the third planet from the Sun.
ii) It is only planet known to support life.
iii) It has one natural satellite called Moon.
Q36 What makes earth a unique planet?
Ans) Earth is the only planet which supports life because:
i) It is at the right distance from Sun to sustain just the right temperature
range.
ii) It has the right mass and hence perfect gravitation to hold the gaseous
atmosphere and water on its surface.
iii) Its atmosphere maintains the right proportion of oxygen, nitrogen and
carbon dioxide gases.
iv) The tilt in the axis of rotation and revolution of Earth around the Sun
result in the formation of seasons of Earth.
Q37 Write a brief note on the planet Mars?
Ans) The planet Mars:
i) It is the fourth planet from Sun.
ii) It is also known as the Red planet, due to its reddish appearance resulting
from the rust colored soil on its surface.
iii) It is half the size of earth and has a very thin atmosphere.
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iv) The temperature on Mars ranges from -153 °C to 20 °C at different places
and different times on its surface
v) It is the second smallest planet of our solar system.
vi) It has two moons namely Phobos and Diemos.
Q38 Write a brief note on the planet Jupiter?
Ans) The planet Jupiter:
i) It is the fifth planet from Sun
ii) It is the largest and heaviest planet in the system.
iii) It is 1300 times earth’s size and 318 times earth’s mass.
iv) Its mass is almost 2 and half times the total mass of all other planets
together.
v) The atmosphere of Jupiter contains mainly hydrogen and helium, while
the cloud like other region contains methane in gaseous form and
ammonia in crystalline form.
vi) It is surrounded by a faint ring and has 67 moons. 4 of its moons is
visible from the Earth.
Q39 What is the Red spot on Jupiter visible in the evening sky?
Ans) The large red spot on the surface of Jupiter is actually a giant storm
that has been raging for hundreds of years. It can be seen as a very bright
object for about six months in the evening sky.
Q40 Write a brief note on the planet Saturn?
Ans) The planet Saturn:
i) It is the sixth planet from the Sun.
ii) It is the Second largest planet of our Solar system.
iii) It is a gas giant that consists mostly of hydrogen and helium.
iv) It has 7 distinct rings surround this planet.
v) The rings are believed to be made up of millions of small particles of
rock or ice.
vi) It has 62 moons.
vii) Its density is almost one-eighth of that of earth.
viii) It is 95 times heavier than earth.
Q41 Write a brief note on the planet Uranus?
Ans) The planet Saturn:
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i) It is the seventh planet from Sun.
ii) It is the first planet to have been discovered through a telescope.
iii) It rotates from East to Wes.
iv) It has the coldest planetary atmosphere consisting of hydrogen and
helium in gaseous form, and water, ammonia and methane in ice form.
v) It has 13 distinct rings and has 27 moons.
Q42 Write a brief note on the planet Neptune?
Ans) The planet Saturn:
i) It is the eighth planet from Sun.
ii) This blue –green planet is 17 times heavier than earth and is visible to
unaided eye.
iii) It is an ice giant, its surface is covered with ice and the poles have pink
snow of frozen nitrogen.
iv) Its atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium. It has avery cold
outer atmosphere (-218 °C)
v) Its core temperature around 5000 °C
vi) It has faint and fragmented ring system and is so far known to have 14
moons.
Q43 What are dwarf planets?
Ans) A dwarf planet is a celestial body that:
i) Orbits the sun.
ii) Has enough mass to assume a nearly round shape.
iii) Has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
iv) Is not a moon.
The main distinction between a dwarf planet and a planet is that planets have
cleared the path around the sun while dwarf planets tend to orbit in zones of
similar objects that can cross their path around the sun, such as the asteroid
belts. Dwarf planets also are generally smaller than the planet Mercury.
Q44 Name the five dwarf planets in Solar System?
Ans) Ceres, Eris, Makemake, Haumea and Pluto are five recognized dwarf
planets in our Solar System.
Q45 What is comet? How is its tail formed?
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Ans) Comet is made up of lumps of rocks and dust, loosely bound by the
ice revolving around the sun in highly elliptical orbit. They have long period
of revolution. When comet approaches the sun, it heats up and leaves behind
a stream of hot glowing gases and dust particles which we see as a tail. As it
moves away from Sun the tail disappears.
Q46 What are the asteroids?
Ans) Asteroids are a collection of small bodies which revolve around the
Sun in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Q47 What are Meteors?
Ans) Meteors are pieces of rock that float in our outer space.
Q48 What are Shooting Stars?
Ans) As the meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up
due to friction of air, and in most cases reduced to ashes. As they burn they
appear as glowing streaks of light and are called shooting stars.
Q49 What is a meteorite? In which bodies are meteorites craters more
commonly found and why?
Ans) Meteorites are rocky bodies revolving around the sun. Large meteors
when hit the surface of planet create craters. Meteorites craters more
commonly found on those planets and moon which have no or little
atmosphere to burn off the falling rocks. E.g. Moon and Mercury.
Q50 What is an Eclipse?
Ans) The shadow cast by heavenly bodies on each other during the course
of their orbital revolution is known as an eclipse.
Q51 What is Solar Eclipse?
Ans) A Solar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and the moon come in
straight line such that tat the Moon is in between the sun and the Earth. The
shadow of the moon falls on Earth and situation is called Solar Eclipse.
Q52 What are the two types of Solar Eclipse?
Ans) There are two types of solar eclipse – partial and total. A partial solar
eclipse occurs when the Moon hides only a part of the Sun. A total solar
eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely hidden by the Moon. This
happens on a new moon day.
Q53 What is Lunar Eclipse?
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Ans) When the Sun, earth and the moon happen to be in the same straight
line such that earth lies between the sun and the moon, it blocks the sunlight
falling on the moon and its shadow falls on the moon. This causes Lunar
Eclipse. A Lunar Eclipse occurs on full moon day.
Q54 Write a brief note on Moon?
Ans) Earth has only one natural satellite known as Moon
(1) Its distance from Earth is nearly 384,406 km
(2) It revolves around Earth from West to East.
(3) It is more than one quarter of the size of earth
(4) Moon’s gravity is one sixth of earth's gravity.
(5) Its surface has craters, mountain ranges, hills and lava plains
(6) There is no atmosphere , water , vegetation or life on moon
(7) The temperature of moon is 100 °C to – 168 °C
Q55 Explain the phases of Moon?
Ans) Phases of moon:
(1) Phase 1 - New Moon - The side of the moon that is facing the Earth is
not lit up by the sun. At this time the moon is not visible.
(2) Phase 2 - Waxing Crescent - A small part (less than 1/2) of the moon
is lit up at this point. The part that is lit up is slowly getting bigger.
(3) Phase 3 - First Quarter - One half of the moon is lit up by the sun at
this point. The part that is lit up is slowly getting bigger.
(4) Phase 4 - Waxing Gibbous - At this time half of the moon is lit up.
The part that is lit is slowly getting bigger. Waxing means to slowly
get bigger.
(5) Phase 5 - Full Moon - The side of the moon that is lit up by the sun is
facing the Earth. The entire moon is lit up at this point.
(6) Phase 6 - Waning Gibbous - The moon is not quite lit up all the way
by sunlight. The part of the moon this is lit is slowly getting smaller.
Waning means to slowly get smaller.
(7) Phase 7 - Last Quarter - Half of the moon is lit up but the sun. The
part that we can see lit up is slowly getting smaller.
(8) Phase 8 - Waning Crescent - A small part of the moon is lit up at this
point. It is getting smaller by the minute.
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Q56 What is a Lunar Month?
Ans) A Lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the moon to get from
one specific phase, like anew moon back to the same phase. It takes about
29.5 days for the moon to complete one lunar month.
Q57 What are Tides?
Ans) Every day the level of sea water rises and falls twice at an interval of
about 12 hours. This periodic rise and fall of level of sea is called a tide.
Tides are caused by combined effect of the gravitational force exerted by the
Moon and the Sun and the rotation of Earth. The moon exerts a pull on
Earth’s surface, this causes the sea water facing the moon to bulge out in the
direction of Moon , this is called high tide. Opposite side s of the pull have a
low tide.
Q58 Explain Spring tide and Neap Tide?
Ans) Spring tide are exceptionally high tides when the Sun, the moon and
the earth are in a line, they occur twice a month. Neap tides are
exceptionally low tides when the pulls of the Sun m the Moon, act at a right
angle to each other.
Q59 What are the advantages of Tides?
Ans) The advantages of Tide are:
i) Cause enormous movement of water which can generate electricity.
ii) Energy from tides is inexhaustible and renewable
iii) Tides are cheap source of energy
iv) Even low speed tides can generate electricity.
v) Tidal Energy is pollution free.
vi) Tides make rivers navigable for ocean going vessels.
vii) High tides bring saline sea water in to low lying coastal areas, from
which common salt is obtained.
Q60 What are artificial satellites?
Ans) An artificial satellite is a man made device which orbits around the
Earth, the moon or other planets to gather relevant information for scientific
and technical research.
Q61 What are the different types of artificial satellites?
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Ans) The various types of artificial satellites depending upon the nature of
their work:
i) Navigation satellites The GPS (global positioning system) is made up of
24 satellites that orbit at an altitude of 20,000 km above the surface of the
Earth. The difference in time for signals received from four satellites is
used to calculate the exact location of a GPS receiver on Earth.
ii) Communication satellites These are used for television, phone or internet
transmissions, for example, the Optus D1 satellite is in a geostationary
orbit above the equator and has a coverage footprint to provide signals to
all of Australia and New Zealand.
iii) Weather satellites These are used to image clouds and measure
temperature and rainfall. Both geostationary and low Earth orbits are
used depending on the type of weather satellite. Weather satellites are
used to help with more accurate weather forecasting.
iv) Earth observation satellites These are used to photograph and image the
Earth. Low Earth orbits are mainly used so that a more detailed image
can be produced.
v) Astronomical satellites These are used to monitor and image space. A
satellite such as the Hubble Space Telescope orbits at an altitude of 600
km and provides very sharp images of stars and distant galaxies. Other
space telescopes include Spitzer and Chandra.
Q62 How far away is earth from the sun if sunlight takes 8.3 minutes to
reach earth?
Ans) Time taken by sunlight to reach earth = 8.3 min = 498 sec
Speed of light = 3 x 10^8 m/s
Distance b/w earth and sun = 3 x 10^8 m/s x 498 sec = 1494 x 10^8 m

Fill in the Blanks

Q1) Universe is a vast unimaginable space, which encompasses the stars, planets
and everything which can be imagined.
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Q2) A vast collection of billions of Stars, along with vast amount of hydrogen
and dust in an isolated place in the universe is called galaxy.
Q3) Our Sun is a medium star in the galaxy called Milky way .
Q4) The light of the Sun reaches the Earth in 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
Q5) The Sun is 300000 times heavier than Earth.
Q6) The temperature of the gas particles in the corona of the Sun can be as high
as 1,700,000°C.
Q7) The middle region of Sun’s atmosphere is called Chromosphere.
Q8) The average temperature of Sun’s Photosphere is 6000 °C.
Q9) The shape of solar system resembles an inverted saucer .
Q10) The time taken by the Moon to complete one revolution around the Earth
with reference to Sun is called synodic month.
Q11) The time taken by the Moon to complete one revolution around the Earth is
called sidereal month.
Q12) A group of stars forming a recognizable shape is known as constellation .
Q13) The Sun is the star nearest to the earth.
Q14) Earth is the only planet where life exists in our solar system.
Q15) Galaxies are the building blocks of the universe.
Q16) The temperature of the Sun at the centre is 15 million°C.
Q17) Uranus is the only planet which rotates on its axis from east to west.
Q18) Hailey’Comet is a periodic comet.
Q19) All stars except the Pole star appear to move from east to west.
Q20) Moon is a celestial body that revolves round the Earth .
Q21) There are 88 numbers of constellations known.
Q22) The only planet which does not revolve around the Sun in the same plane as
the other planets do is Uranus.
Q23) The second closest star to the Earth is Proxima Centauri.
Q24) The total number of zodiacal constellations is 12 .
Q25) The unit used to measure astronomical distances is Light year .
Q26) The planet that has no atmosphere is Mercury.
Q27) Mars is called the Red planet.
Q28) The shape of the milky Way galaxy is Spiral.
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Q29) The duration of time between one new Moon day and the next new Moon
day is 29½ days.
Q30) The space research programmes of India are managed by Indian space
Research Organisation (ISRO)
Q31) The branch of science which deals about the universe and heavenly bodies is
called Astronomy.
Q32) Pole star belongs to the constellation Ursa Minor .
Q33) India’s first satellite in space was Aryabhatta .
Q34) The nearest planet from the Sun is Mercury .
Q35) The planet farthest from the Sun is Neptune .
Q36) The streak of light caused by a heavenly body burning completely while
moving through the atmosphere is called Shooting Star .
Q37) The planet with rings around itself is Saturn .
Q38) The planet which appears reddish in colour is Mars.
Q39) Shooting stars are called Meteors .
Q40) The very small heavenly bodies revolving round the Sun between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter are called Asteroids .
Q41) The temperature of the Sun at the centre is 15 million °C .

Differentiate between the following

Q42) Star and planet

Ans) Star and planet: Stars are heavenly bodies which twinkle in the sky
and have their own heat and light while planets are heavenly bodies which
do not twinkle and do not have their own heat and light.Planets get their
light from the stars and move in definite orbits around the stars
Q43) Planet and satellite
Ans) Planet and satellite: Planets are heavenly bodies which revolve around
the sun while satellites are heavenly bodies that revolve around the planets.
Q44) Star and shooting star
Ans) Star and shooting star: The heavenly bodies which twinkle and have
their own heat and light are called stars. When a meteor enters the Earth’s
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atmosphere, it glows and burns, its path appears as a streak of light in the
night sky, it is called shooting star.
Q45) Meteors and meteorites
Ans) Meteors and meteorites: Meteors are heavenly bodies made up of
rocks and metals and when enters Earth’s atmosphere, glow and burn due to
friction of air. Some of the large meteors which do not burn completely on
entering the atmosphere of the earth reach the earth’s surface. They are
called meteorites.
Q46) Galaxy and constellation
Ans) Galaxy and constellation: A large group of stars, dust and low density
gases, bound together by their own gravity, is called a galaxy. The stars
which appear in the from of closed groups and form recognisable patterns
are known as constellations.

Give Reasons of the following

Q1) Sun appears to move from east to west.

Ans) Since Earth moves from west to east on its axis, so the Sun appears to
move from east to west.
Q2) Pole Star appears to be stationary.
Ans) Pole Star appears to be stationary because the pole Star lies on the
axis of rotation of the Earth. The position of pole Star does not change with
time when the Earth spins about its axis.
Q3) Uranus is the coldest planet.
Ans) Amongst the planets Neptune is the farthest from the sun, so it is the
coldest planet.
Q4) Life is possible only on the Earth.
Ans) Earth is the only planet which has water and air which are essential
for life. So life is possible only on the Earth.
Q5) Mercury is called the morning and evening stars.
Ans) Mercury is known as morning and evening stars because they can be
seen in the east before sunrise and in the west just after sunset.
Q6) Meteors become luminous on entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Ans) When a meteor enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it gets heated due to
friction of air. The heat produced is so high that the meteor becomes
luminous.
Q7) Kilometre is not a convenient unit to measure distances in the universe.
Ans) The Stars are very far from each other. So kilometre is not a
convenient unit to measure distances in the universe. The distance in the
universe is measured in terms of light year and parsec.
Q8) Constellations seem to be moving from east to west.
Ans) Since our Earth rotates from west to east on its axis, so constellations
seem to be moving from east to west.
Q9) Not many meteorites hit the Earth’s surface.
Ans) All meteorites are meteors when in space. Most of them burn to ashes
when enters the Earth’s atmosphere due to friction of air. So only some
meteorites which do not burn completely on entering the Earth’s atmosphere
hit the Earth’s surface.
Q10) We always see only one face of the Moon.
Ans) Moon completes one revolution around the Earth in 27.3 days. It also
rotates once on its axis in the same period of time. So, we always see only
on face of the Moon.
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WORKBOOK EXERCISE

Fill in the Blanks

Q1) The study of star and other heavenly bodies is called Astronomy .
Q2) The galaxy to which our Sun and Earth belong is the Milky Way.
Q3) Pole star belongs to Ursa Minor constellations.
Q4) All stars , including the Sun produce energy due to the process of Nuclear
Fusion.
Q5) The planet farthest from the Sun is Neptune.
Q6) The heavenly body which leaves a long tail when it burns while moving in
the atmosphere is a/an meteor.
Q7) The instrument used to observe heavenly bodies is telescope
Q8) The first satellite put in space by India was
Q9) Scientists refer to the formation of the universe according to the Big Bang
theory.
Q10) There are several constellations in a galaxy.
Q11) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is the second smallest planet of our solar system.
Q12) The planet _________________ has three rings around it.
Q13) The first planet to be discovered through a telescope was____________.
Q14) The ____________ eclipse occurs on afull moon day.

Define the Following Terms

Q1) Galaxy
Ans) Galaxy
Q2) Constellation
Q3) Solar System
Q4) Phases of Moon
Q5) Solar Eclipse
Q6) Comet
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Differentiate Between

Q1) Galaxy and Constellation

Q2) Natural Satellite and Artificial Satellite
Q3) Meteor and Meteorite
Q4) Star and Shooting Star

Write Short Answers

Q1) Which gases do stars consist of?

Q2) What is the shape of Milky Way galaxy?
Q3) In which constellation is the Pole Star located?
Q4) What is an orbit of a planet?
Q5) What is a light year? How many kilometers make a light year?
Q6) What is meteor? Why does it become luminous on entering the Earth’s atmosphere?
Q7) Name the Planets which do not have moons.

Answer in Detail
Q1) Describe the planet Saturn. What makes Saturn the most unique of all planets?
Q2) What is a constellation? Describe any two well known constellations.
Q3) Describe the phases of Moon.
Q4) How are tides formed? What are high tides and low tides?
Q5) Explain the formation of a lunar eclipse. What are New Moon and Full Moon days?

Give Reasons for the following

Q1) The Sun is very important for our existence.

Q2) Life can exist on the Earth.
Q3) Venus is different from the planet earth.
Q4) Lunar eclipse is more common than solar eclipse.
Q5) A solar eclipse lasts for a shorter duration than lunar eclipse.
OUR UNIVERSE
CHAPTER 1
PHYSICS