The Milky Way Galaxy
Class 6 Science · Chapter 12: Beyond Earth · NCERT Curiosity section 12.4
Learn
On a very dark night, you may see a faint, milky band of light stretching across the sky. In India it has been called Aakaashganga (the river of the sky). It is made of countless faraway stars, too faint to see one by one.
This band is part of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. A galaxy is a huge family of billions of stars, along with gas and dust, held together. Our Sun is just one ordinary star in the Milky Way, far from its centre.
Seen from far outside, the Milky Way would look like a giant spinning spiral, like a pinwheel of stars. The whole solar system is a tiny speck in it.
Explore: biggest to smallest.
- Put them in order from biggest to smallest.
Remember
- A galaxy is a huge group of billions of stars; ours is the Milky Way.
- The faint band across a dark sky is the Milky Way seen from inside.
Quick check
What is the Milky Way?
- The galaxy our Sun belongs to
- A cloud of milk
- A planet
- A constellation of seven stars
Answer
The galaxy our Sun belongs to. The Milky Way is our home galaxy, with billions of stars.
Think about it
Why can't people in big cities usually see the Milky Way band?
One answer
It is very faint, and city lights brighten the sky so much that they drown it out. It is best seen from a dark place far from lights.
Practice
Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.