The Universe

Class 6 Science · Chapter 12: Beyond Earth · NCERT Curiosity section 12.5

Learn

The Milky Way is just one galaxy. With powerful telescopes, astronomers have found billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars. Everything that exists (all the galaxies, stars, planets, space, and us) together is the universe.

Distances in the universe are so huge that light, the fastest thing there is, takes years, thousands of years or even millions of years to travel between stars and galaxies. When we look at a faraway star, we see light that left it long ago!

Indian scientists have contributed to astronomy for centuries, from Aryabhata long ago to modern observatories and missions like Chandrayaan and Aditya-L1 (which studies the Sun). Who knows: maybe you will make the next discovery!

Explore: what belongs where?

1. Sort each one.

Remember

• The universe is everything: billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars.
• Distances are so large that starlight takes years or more to reach us.

Quick check

Which is the biggest?

1. The universe
2. The Milky Way
3. The solar system
4. The Sun

Think about it

Put these in order from smallest to largest: galaxy, Earth, universe, Sun, solar system.

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.