Chapter 12: Beyond Earth
Look up at night and you'll see stars, planets and maybe the Moon. In this chapter we learn what stars are, find constellations and the Pole Star, explore our solar system, and imagine the vast Milky Way and the universe beyond.
In this chapter you will
- explain what stars and constellations are
- find the Pole Star using Saptarishi
- name the planets of the solar system in order
- describe the Milky Way and the universe
Topics
- Stars and Constellations NCERT 12.1
Stars are huge, hot balls of glowing gas; the Sun is our nearest star.
- Night Sky Watching NCERT 12.2
Stars seem to move from east to west because Earth spins.
- Our Solar System NCERT 12.3
Eight planets orbit the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
- The Milky Way Galaxy NCERT 12.4
A galaxy is a huge group of billions of stars; ours is the Milky Way.
- The Universe NCERT 12.5
The universe is everything: billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars.
Key words
- Star
- a huge, hot, glowing ball of gas
- Constellation
- a group of stars forming a pattern
- Pole Star
- the star above Earth's North Pole that shows north
- Planet
- a large body that orbits a star and shines by reflected light
- Satellite
- a body that orbits a planet, like the Moon
- Galaxy
- a huge group of billions of stars
Summary
- Stars are distant suns; the Sun is our nearest star.
- Constellations like Saptarishi and Orion help us find our way in the sky; the Pole Star shows north.
- Eight planets orbit the Sun; with moons, asteroids and comets they form the solar system.
- The solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy, one of billions of galaxies in the universe.