Class 6 Geography Notes: The Earth in The Solar System

CELESTIAL BODIES:

• The sun, moon and all those objects shining in the night sky are called Celestial Bodies. 

• A natural object which is located outside of Earth's atmosphere, such as the Moon, the Sun, an asteroid, planet, or star. 

• The Kuiper belt contains many celestial bodies. 

• Any asteroid in space is a celestial body.

MOON:

• The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth.

• The Moon is Earth's only permanent natural satellite.

• The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth meaning the same side is always facing the Earth.

• full moon night: Poornima (You can see the moon)

• new moon night: Amavasya (You can't see the moon at all)

STARS:

Stars are the celestial bodies having their own heat and light, which they emit in large amounts.
eg: The Sun is a Star.


CONSTELLATIONS: 

• While watching the night sky, the patterns formed by different groups of stars are called constellations. 

• Ursa Major or Big Bear is one such constellation.

• Saptarishi or Small Bear (Sapta: seven, rishi: sages) is a group of 7 stars that forms a part of large Ursa Major constellation.

POLE STAR: 

• North Star indicates the North direction.

• North Star:= Pole Star

• A pole star is a visible star, preferably a prominent one, that is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles, and which lies approximately directly overhead when viewed from the Earth's North Pole or South Pole.

• The Pole Star always remains in the same position in the Sky, and we can locate the position of the Pole Star with the help of the Saptarishi.

PLANETS:

• Planets are the celestial bodies that do not have their own heat and light and they are lit by the light of the stars.

• The word 'Planet' comes from the Greek word 'Planetai' which means 'Wanderers'.

• Earth is a Planet which gets all its heat and light from the Sun.

• Sun is the nearest star to the Earth.

• Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus have rings around them. These rings are nothing but the belts of small debris.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM:

• The Sun, 8 Planets, Satellites and some Celestial Bodies known as Asteroids and Meteoroids form the Solar System called as the Solar Family with Sun as its Head.

• People who study the Celestial Bodies and their movements are called Astronomers.

• Geo (ge:= earth)
• Logy(logia:= study)
• Metry (metria:= measurement)
• Oid (oeides:= shape or form)

Geology: Study of the earth

Geometry: Measurement of the earth

Geoid: Resembling the shape or form of the earth

• The Sun is in the centre of the Solar System.
• The Sun provides the pulling force that binds the Solar System.
• The Sun is about 150 million km away from the earth.
• All planets move around the Sun in an elongated path.
• There are 8 Planets in our Solar System. On the basis of their distance from the Sun, they are:

1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune

References: NCERT BOOK CLASS 6
                     facts about the moon
                     celestial bodies
                     pole star