1.

The Earth in the Solar System

2. Globe : Latitudes and Longitudes
3. Motions of the Earth
4. Maps
5. Major Domains of the Earth
6. Major Landforms of the Earth
7. Our Country – India
8. India : Climate, Vegetation and Wildlife
The Universe
 The word "universe" is derived from the Latin word "universum," which was used by the
Romans to describe the globe and cosmos.
 The empty space and all the existing matters including billions of galaxies, stars, planets
comets, asteroids, meteoroids and natural satellites etc. are termed as Universe.
 The Universe is made up of everything that exists, from Galactic Mega Clusters to
subatomic particles.
 Scientists agree that the Universe is roughly 13.79 billion years old.
 Most astronomers believe that the Universe came into existence after the Big Bang
explosion that took place about 15 billion years ago.

Composition of the Universe

 Dark energy (73%): A mysterious form of energy that is spread out uniformly throughout
space and which has anti-gravitational properties.
 Dark Matter (23%): We can't see matter since it doesn't emit visible radiation, but it can
be detected gravitationally.
 Hydrogen & Helium Gas (4%): Hydrogen & Helium are the most abundant element in
the universe.
 Star (0.5%): A brightly shining ball made largely of hydrogen and helium gas. Our Sun is
a celestial body.
 Neutrino (0.3%): A small particle that has no charge and is thought to have very little
mass. Neutrinos are created in energetic collisions between nuclear particles.
 Heavy elements (0.03%): Planets etc.

Theories of Earth’s and Universe’s Origin

Nebular Hypothesis of Laplace

 Kant's theory was revised in 1976 by mathematician Laplace. According to the nebular
hypothesis, the Sun was encircled by a solar nebula made up primarily of hydrogen and
helium, as well as dust.
 The development of a disk-shaped cloud is caused by particle impact and friction.
 Planets were formed from material associated with the young sun as a result of the
accretion process.

Binary theory or Planetesimal Hypothesis of Chamberlin

 In 1900, Chamberlain and Moulton gave this theory.

 Another wandering star, according to theory, approached the sun. As a result, the
material's cigar-shaped extension from the solar surface was separated.
 The sun with its very high-temperature projects hot material called the prominences,
thousands of kilometers away from it.
 The particles of this material got coalesced to form the planets. A lot of heat was
generated in the process.
 Separated material slowly condensed into a planet as the passing star moved away, and
the sun continued to spin.


Big Bang Theory

 The expanding universe hypothesis is another name for this theory. Edwin Hubble
demonstrates the expansion of the universe in 1920. The distance between galaxies is
getting longer over time.
 According to the big bang theory, all of the matter that made up the universe resided in a
single location with a volume smaller than an atom, an unlimited temperature, and an
infinite density.
 Around 13.77 billion years ago, it burst with a huge bang. The first atom was produced
within three minutes of the big bang event. The energy was transformed into matter over
time.
 Around 3 lakh years after the big bang, the universe turns transparent due to the
production of atomic matter
 According to this theory, the universe, ever since its birth, is expanding in all
directions.

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The Earth in the Solar System

 Stars, planets, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, natural satellites and all the objects that
shining in the night sky is called celestial bodies.
 Light year is the unit used to measure the distance between the celestial bodies.
 Some celestial bodies are very big and hot. They are made up of gases. They have their
own heat and light, which they emit in large amounts. These celestial bodies are called
stars. The sun is a star.
 Constellations - various patterns formed by different groups of stars are called
constellations.
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 Ursa Major or The Big Bear (The Great Bear) is one such constellation.
 One of the most easily recognizable constellations is the Saptarishi
(Sapta-seven, rishi-sages).
 It is a group of seven stars that forms a part of Ursa Major Constellation.
 In ancient times, people used to determine directions during the night with
the help of stars.
 The North Star indicates the north direction. It is also called the
Pole Star.
 It always remains in the same position in the sky.
 We can locate the position of the Pole Star with the help of the
Saptarishi.
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 Hemisphere : Northern Hemisphere
 Visibility : Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
 Common Name : Great Bear
 Latin Name : Ursa Major
 The brightest star in Ursa Major is Alioth, a blue-white star which is 102
times brighter than our Sun.
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 Orion - This is a constellation known as ‘the hunter’ or Mriga in India.

 Some celestial bodies do not have their own heat and light. They are lit by the light of the
stars. Such bodies are called planets.
 The word ‘planet’ comes from the Greek word “Planetai” which means
‘wanderers’.
 The earth on which we live is a planet. It gets all its heat and light from the sun,
which is our nearest star. If we look at the earth from a great distance, say the
moon, it will appear to be shining just as the moon.
 The moon that we see in the sky is a satellite. It is a companion of our earth and
moves round it. Like our earth, there are seven other planets that get heat and light
from the sun. Some of them have their moons too.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
 The sun, eight planets, satellites and some other celestial bodies known as asteroids and
meteoroids form the solar system.
 The Sun
 The sun is in the Centre of the solar system.
 It is huge and made up of extremely hot gases.
 It provides the pulling force that binds the solar system.
 The sun is the ultimate source of heat and light for the solar system.
 The sun is about 150 million km away from the earth.