Universe and The Solar System
Universe and The Solar System
Universe and The Solar System
IAS Academy
Module Name World and Indian Geography Lecture 1
Various hypothesesboth scientific and religiousexist to
explain the formation of the earth. Ideas concerning
the origin and fate of the earth and the solar system
exist from the earliest known writings; however, for
almost all of that time, there was no attempt to link
such theories to the existence of a "Solar System",
simply because it was not generally thought that the
Solar System, in the sense we now understand it,
existed.
2.0 MAJOR THEORIES OF FORMATION OF THE EARTH
The nebular hypothesis was first developed in the 18th
century by Emanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant, and
PierreSimon Laplace.
According to this theory, the Solar System began as a
nebula, a huge mass of swirling cold gas and dust, in
an area in the Milky Way Galaxy. Due to some
perturbation, possibly from a nearby supernova, this
cloud of gas and dust began to condense, or pull
together under the force of its own gravity. As more
and more material was drawn towards the centre,
gravity became stronger due to which the speed of the condensation increased.
As the nebula conserved the angular momentum of the material drawn towards the centre, it began spinning anticlockwise. Due
to this the material around the center of the condensing nebula flattened out into a disklike shape. The nebula at this stage
had a centre and was a roughly, spherical core, surrounded by a disk. This has been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The remainder of the nebula theory is based more on modeling and indirect evidence.
The center of the nebula continued to contract due to gravity. Eventually, pressure and temperatures in this mass became high
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enough that nuclear fusion started. The central mass became a star, the Sun.
While this was happening, condensation was also occurring in the disk. Gas and dust came together to make tiny particles, which
gradually joined with other particles, making larger and larger objects. These objects grew to be several hundred kilometers
in diameter; they became protoplanets. The protoplanets had much stronger gravity than the very small particles of gas and
dust around them. They began to behave almost like vacuum cleaners, attracting the small particles around them. Protoplanets
also collided from time to time. These collisions, plus the "vacuuming" of small particles, formed the planets of the Solar System.
Gravity pulled these bodies into their current spherical shapes.
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As the protoplanets were formed, the disk of the nebula was whirling around the core. The protoplanets continued this motion
by revolving around the newly evolved Sun. In addition, the protoplanets, and the planets, as they formed, began to rotate,
or spin on an internal axis. This took place as some of the force from collisions was converted into rotational energy.
The large moons of the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) formed in a similar fashion to the planets.
The small moons of the gas giants, as well as the moons of Mars and Pluto are probably leftover debris from formation of the
planets that were captured by their respective planets' gravity. They are captured moons. The Earth's Moon probably formed
a third way, from a collision between the Earth and a large protoplanet.
The solar system is dynamic. Evolution of the solar system is still continuing. It is likely that the orbits of the planets were
originally more ovalshaped, and have changed to their current nearly circular shapes with time. The number of moons around
some planets has increased through gravitational capture and collisions. The strength of the Sun (the amount of solar radiation
emitted) has also possibly changed.
The ChamberlinMoulton planetesimal
hypothesis was proposed in 1905 by
g eo l o gi s t T h o ma s Ch r o wd e r
Chamberlin and astronomer Forest
Ray Moulton which contrasted with
the morepopular nebulargascloud
theory.
These large bodies gathered smaller
scattered bodies or Planetesimal and
eventually grew into the mature
p la n e ts o f t h e s o la r sy s t em .
Planetesimals are the tiny planets
w hi c h c o a le s c ed o wi n g t o
gravitational attraction of collision.
A binary star is a star system consisting of
two stars orbiting around their common
centre of mass. These systems may have
two, three, four or multiple star systems.
They often appear to the unaided eye as
a single point of light, and are then revealed
as double (or more) by other means.
Research over the last two centuries
suggests that half or more of visible stars
are part of multiple star systems.
In order to explain the causes due to which
planets have been thrown to such great
distances from the sun, Prof. H.N. Russel,
an American astronomer, made a suggestion
in 1937 that the sun was part of a binary star system and had a companion star.
In the beginning the planets were closer together and the satellites owe their birth to the mutual gravitational attraction between
them. This third star was too far away from the sun to have any impact on the latter. The third star happened to pass close
to the companion star of the sun which resulted in the ejection of gaseous matter from the latter in the form of a filament
which ultimately separated from it. In course of time, the planets were formed from this gaseous filament. The suggestion that
the primitive sun was a binary star cannot be dismissed as mere imagination. At least 10 per cent of the stars in the universe
are binary stars. In fact, in the opinion of some scholars, the number of binary stars is probably 30 per cent of the total. This
hypothesis helps us to explain the great distances of the planets from the sun as well as their high angular momentum.
The Big Bang theory is one
o f t h e m o s t w i de l y
ac ce pt ed th eo ri es f or
evolution of the Earth's
origin. This theory states
that the universe began
13.8 billion years ago by 13.8
e xp a n di n g f r o m a n
infinitesimal volume with
extremely high density
and temperature. The
u ni ve rs e w as i n it ia ll y
significantly smaller than
even a pore on your skin.
With the big bang, the
f ab ri c o f sp ac e i ts el f
began expanding like the
surface of an inflating
balloon matter simply
rode along the stretching
space like dust on the
balloon's surface. The big
b a ng i s n o t l i k e a n
explosion of matter in
otherwise empty space; rather, space itself began with the big bang and carried matter with it as it expanded. Physicists think
that even time began with the big bang. Today, just about every scientist believes in the big bang model. (In 1951, the Catholic
Church officially pronounced the big bang model to be in accordance with the Bible.)
In 1915, Einstein formulated his famous general theory of relativity that describes the nature of space, time, and gravity. This
theory allowed for expansion or contraction of the fabric of space. In 1917, astronomer Willem de Sitter applied this theory
to the entire universe and boldly went on to show that the universe could be expanding. Aleksandr Friedmann, a mathematician
and Georges Lemaître, a cosmologist and a Jesuit, reached the same conclusion in a more general way in 1922 and 1927
respectively. This step was revolutionary since the accepted view at the time was that the universe was static in size. Tracing
back this expanding universe, Lemaître imagined all matter initially contained in a tiny universe and then exploding. These
thoughts introduced amazing new possibilities for the universe, but were independent of observation at that time.
The Sun was formed when a swirling cloud of dust and gas contracted, pulling the matter into its centre. When the temperature
at the centre rose to 10,00,000°C, nuclear fusion the fusing of hydrogen into helium, creating energy occurred, releasing
a constant stream of heat and light. The sun has the following layers.
The innermost layer of the sun is the core. With a density of 150 g/cm 3 , 10 times that of lead, the core might be expected
to be solid. However, the core's temperature of 15.7 million kelvins (27 million degrees Fahrenheit) keeps it in a gaseous state.
In the core, fusion reactions produce energy in the form of gamma rays and neutrinos. Gamma rays are photons with high energy
and high frequency.
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with halfinteger spin. Neutrinos do not
carry electric charge, which means that they are not affected by the electromagnetic forces that act on charged particles such
as electrons and protons. Neutrinos are created as a result of certain types of radioactive decay, or nuclear reactions such
as those that take place in the Sun, in nuclear reactors, or when cosmic rays hit atoms. Most neutrinos passing through the
Earth emanate from the Sun. About 65 billion (6.5×10 10 ) solar neutrinos per second pass through every square centimeter
perpendicular to the direction of the Sun in the region of the Earth.
11.(c) 12.(b) 13.(d) 14.(c) 15.( a) 16.(d) 17.( b) 18.(d) 19.( a) 20.(b)
9.( b) 10.(c) 8.( b) 7.(d) 6.( b) 5.(a) 4.(a) 3.( d) 2.(a) 1.( b)
Answer key (DPQ) – Universe and the Solar System
Outside of the core is the radiative envelope, which is surrounded by the convective envelope. The temperature is 4 million
kelvins (7 million degrees F). This is known as the solar envelope. The density of the solar envelope is much less than
that of the core. The core contains 40 percent of the sun's mass in 10 percent of the volume, while the solar envelope has
60 percent of the mass in 90 percent of the volume.
The solar envelope puts pressure on the core and maintains the core's temperature.
The hotter a gas is, the more transparent it is. Hence the solar envelope is cooler and more opaque than the core. It becomes
less efficient for energy to move by radiation, and heat energy starts to build up at the outside of the radiative zone. The
energy begins to move by convection, in huge cells of circulating gas several hundred kilometers in diameter. Convection cells
nearer to the outside are smaller than the inner cells. The top of each cell is called a granule. Seen through a telescope, granules
look like tiny specks of light. Variations in the velocity of particles in granules cause slight wavelength changes in the spectra
emitted by the sun.
3.2.2 Photosphere
The photosphere is the bright outer layer of the Sun that emits most of the radiation, particularly visible light. It consists of
a zone of burning gases 300 km thick. The photosphere is an extremely uneven surface. The effective temperature on the outer
side of the . photosphere is 6000°K (11,000°F). The 2 photosphere is the zone from which
. the sunlight we see is emitted. The
4
photosphere is a comparatively thin layer of low pressure gasses surrounding the envelope. The composition, temperature, and
pressure of the photosphere are revealed by the spectrum of sunlight. In fact, helium was discovered in 1896 by William Ramsey,
when in analyzing the solar spectrum he found features that did not belong to any gas known on earth. The newlydiscovered gas
was named helium in honor of Helios, the mythological Greek god of the sun.
3.2.3 Chromosphere
3.2.4 Sunspot
Sunspots are dark spots on the photosphere, typically with the same diameter as the Earth. They have cooler temperatures
than the photosphere. The center of a spot, the umbra, looks dark gray if heavily filtered and is only 4500 K (as compared
to the photosphere at 6000K). Around it is the penumbra, which looks lighter gray (if filtered). Sunspots come in cycles,
increasing sharply (in numbers) and then decreasing sharply. The period of this solar cycle is about 11 years.
The sun has enormous organized magnetic fields that reach from pole to pole. Loops of the magnetic field oppose convection
in the convective envelope and stop the flow of energy to the surface. This results in cool spots at the surface which produce
less light than the warmer areas. These cool, dark spots are the sunspots, cooler than the surrounding chromospheres. The
individual sunspot has a lifetime ranging from a few days to a few months. Each spot has a black centre or umbra, and a lighter
region or penumbra, surrounding it. The number of visible sunspots fluctuates in an eleven year cycle. It has been suggested
that the Sun is 1% cooler when it has no spot, and that this variation in solar radiation might affect the climates of the Earth.
3.2.5 Corona
The outermost layer of the sun is the corona. Only visible during eclipses, it is a low density cloud of plasma with higher
transparency than the inner layers. The white corona is a million times less bright than the inner layers of the sun, but is many
times larger.
Temperatures steadily decrease as we move farther away from the core, but after the photosphere they begin to rise again.
There are several theories that explain this, but none have been proven.
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3.2.6 Solar flares
In the corona, above sunspots and areas of complex magnetic field patterns, are solar flares. These sparks of energy sometimes
reach the size of the Earth and can last for up to several hours. Their temperature has been recorded at 11 million K (20 million
degrees F). The extreme heat produces Xrays that create light when they hit the gasses of the corona.
4.0 PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
A celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit round a star is known as a planet. Planets are generally divided into : (i) the Inner Planets
(Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), and (ii) the Outer Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto dwarf planet). Of course,
icy giants is also a category within (ii).
The four inner or terrestrial planets have dense, rocky compositions, few or no moons, and no ring systems. They are
composed largely of refractory minerals, such as the silicates, which form their crusts and mantles, and metals such as iron and
nickel, which form their cores. Three of the four inner planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough
to generate weather; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term inner
planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets that are closer to the Sun than Earth is (i.e.
Mercury and Venus).
The four outer planets, or gas giants (sometimes called Jovian planets), collectively make up 99% of the mass known to
orbit the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn are each many tens of times the mass of the Earth and consist overwhelmingly of hydrogen
and helium; Uranus and Neptune are far less massive (<20 Earth masses) and possess more ices in their makeup. For these
reasons, some astronomers suggest they belong in their own category, "ice giants". All four gas giants have rings, although
only Saturn's ring system is easily observed from Earth. The term superior planet designates planets outside Earth's orbit and
thus includes both the outer planets and Mars.
Diameter: 12,756 km (7,926 miles)
Mass: 5,976 million, million, million tons
Temperature: –88° to 58°C
Distance from the Sun: 150 million km (93 million miles)
Length of day: 23.92 hours
Length of year: 365.25 earth days
Surface gravity: 1 kg = 1 kg
The Earth is shaped like a ball, but it is not perfectly round. The force of the Earth's rotation makes the world bulge very slightly
at the equator and go a little flat at the North and the South poles. So the Earth is actually a flattened sphere, or a 'geoid'.
The Earth is unique among the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) because of its size and distance from the
Sun. The Earth is unique in the solar system in that it supports life: its size, gravitational pull and distance from the
Sun have all created the optimum conditions for the evolution of life. It is large enough to develop and retain an
atmosphere and a hydrosphere. Temperature ranges on the Earth are such that water can exist on its surface as liquid, solid,
and gas. Water, more than anything else, makes the planet Earth unique. The Earth is a delicate ball wrapped in filmy white
clouds. The blue water and swirling patterns of clouds that dominate the scene underline the importance of water in the Earth's
system. Thus, life on Earth can be considered an accidental outcome of a very lucky combination of several factors, all beyond,
of course, the control of man!
During the early stages of the Earth's formation,
ash, lava, carbon and water vapour were
discharged onto the surface of the planet by
constant volcanic eruptions. The water formed
the oceans, while carbon dioxide entered the
atmosphere or was dissolved in the oceans. Clouds,
formed of water droplets, reflected some of the
Sun's radiation back into space. The Earth's
temperature stabilised and early life forms began
to emerge, converting carbon dioxide into life
giving oxygen.
The Earth's oceans and seas cover more than 367
million sq km, i.e. twice the surface of Mars and
nine times the surface of the Moon.
The Pacific Ocean contains the deepest places on
the Earth's surface the ocean trenches. The
very deepest is the Challenger Deep in the
Mariana Trench which plunges 11022 m into
the Earth's crust. If Mount Everest, the highest
point on land at 8,848 m was dropped into the
trench, its peak would not even reach the surface
of the Pacific.
6.0 ASTEROIDS
Asteroids are small Solar System bodies composed
mainly of refractory rocky and metallic minerals,
with some ice.
The asteroid belt occupies the orbit between Mars
and Jupiter, between 2.3 and 3.3 AU from the
Sun. It is thought to be remnants from the Solar
System's formation that failed to coalesce because of the gravitational interference of Jupiter.
The asteroid belt contains tens of thousands, possibly millions, of objects over one kilometre in diameter. Despite this, the total
mass of the asteroid belt is unlikely to be more than a thousandth of that of the Earth. The asteroid belt is very sparsely
populated; spacecraft routinely pass through without incident. Asteroids with diameters upto 1 metre are called meteoroids. A
meteoroid enters the earth’s atmosphere, becomes a meteor, and if it reaches the surface, is called a meteorite.
6.1 Comets
Comets are among the most spectacular and unpredictable bodies in the solar system. They have been compared with large,
dirty snowballs, since they are made of frozen gases (water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide) which hold together small
pieces of rocky and metallic minerals. Many comets travel along very elongated orbits that carry them beyond the Pluto. On
their return, the comets are visible only after they have moved within the orbit of Saturn. One of the larger comets is the Halley's
Comet. The orbit of Halley's Comet brings it close to the Earth every 76 years. It last visited in 1986.
6.2 Meteoroids
Meteor is a body of matter travelling at a great speed through space which becomes luminous when enters into the atmosphere
(ionosphere) at about 200 km above the Earth's surface, because it is heated by friction. Generally, this latter process dissipates
the material into meteoric dust. A meteor is popularly termed a 'shooting star' or 'falling star'.
6.3 Meteorite
Any particle of solid matter that has fallen to the Earth, the Moon, or another planet from the space. It is composed of various
proportions of a nickeliron alloy (typically about 10% nickel and about 90% iron) and silicate minerals.
A meteor crater in Arizona (USA) is 4,200 ft (1,300 m) deep is the largest meteor crater in the world. It was
formed over 10,000 years ago.
7.0 THE MOON
With the development of space programme, the Moon has become one of the best understood planetary bodies in the solar
system. The Moon is the natural satellite of the Earth, with a diameter of 3,470 km. The Moon is pockmarked with billions of
craters, which range in size from microscopic pits on the surface of rock specimens to huge circular basins of hundreds of
kilometers in diameter. Each of these must have been formed due to crashing bits of rocks onto the Moon’s surface.
The Moon rotates more slowly than the Earth and takes a little over 27 days to rotate once. Since it takes about the same
time to revolve around the Earth, it always presents the same face or hemisphere to the Earth. The interval between one Full
Moon and the next is 29.5 days. The Moon seems to have different shapes at different times of the month because of its
changing position in relation to the Earth. The different shapes are known as the phases of the Moon.
Any place just west of 180° is twelve hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; points just east of it are twelve hours behind.
To reconcile these facts, an imaginary line the International Date Line has been established. The line follows 180° longitude
except where it crosses land so there are some departures from the meridian. As the traveler moves from east to west over
the International Date Line he or she 'skips' a day; the date is put forward one day. The traveler moving in an opposite direction
keeps gaining time, so that a day must be repeated in order to reconcile the gains; thus, the date is put back one day.
Coordinated Universal Time: Greenwich Mean Time was replaced by a universal time system in 1928, and this system was
expanded in 1964 when Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) was instituted. Today, UTC is the reference for official time in all
countries. Although the Prime Meridian still runs through Greenwich, UTC is based on an average time calculations collected in
Paris broadcast worldwide.
Each time zone theoretically covers 7.5° on either side of a controlling meridian and represents one hour. However, time zone
boundaries are adjusted to keep certain areas together in the same time zone.
Daylight Saving Time: In many countries, time is set ahead one hour in the spring and set back in the autumn a practice
known as Daylight Saving Time. The idea of extended daytime in the evening was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin, although
not until World War I, did Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Canada and the United States adopt the practice.
Clocks in the United States were left advanced an hour from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, producing an added benefit
of energy savings (one less hour of artificial light needed), and again during 19741975.
Daylight saving time was increased in length in the United States and Canada in 1986. Time is set ahead on the first Sunday
in April and set back on the last Sunday in October only Hawaii, Arizona, portions of Indiana and Saskatchewan exempt
themselves. In Europe the last Sunday in March and September generally are used to begin and end Daylight Saving Time.
9.0 GREAT CIRCLES AND SMALL CIRCLES
Great circles and small circles are important concepts that help summarise latitude and longitude. A great circle is any circle of
Earth's circumference whose centre coincides with the centre of the Earth. An infinite number of great circles can be drawn
on the Earth. Every meridian is onehalf of a great circle that passes through the poles. On flat maps, airlines and shipping
routes appear to arch their way across oceans and landmasses. These are great circle routes, the shortest distance between
two points on the Earth. Only one parallel is a great circle the equatorial parallel. All other parallels diminish in length toward
the poles and, along with any other nongreat circle that one might draw, constitute small circles circles whose centres do
not coincide with the Earth's centre.
10.0 THE HEMISPHERES
The globe is divided by convention into four half spheres, using the Greenwich meridian or the Equator as a reference point.
The equator is an imaginary line drawn around the middle of the Earth, where its circumference is the greatest. If we cut the
Earth along the equator, the Earth separates into two hemispheres, the northern and the southern hemispheres. Most of the
Earth's land is in the Northern Hemisphere. Europe, and North America are the only continents which lie entirely in the Northern
Hemisphere. Australia and Antarctica are the only continents that lie in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Earth can also be divided along two other imaginary lines the Prime Meridian (0°) and 180° which run opposite each
other between the North and South poles. This creates the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres. The continents in the Eastern
Hemispheres are traditionally called the Old World, while those in the Western Hemisphere the Americas were named the
New World by the Europeans who explored them in the 15th century.
The Land Hemisphere: The land hemisphere is dominated by the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. The area of the land
hemisphere is however, taken up by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
The Water Hemisphere: The Pacific Ocean is so enormous, it stretches across a whole hemisphere, reaching halfway around
the globe at its widest point. It is bigger than all the land put together and contains almost half of all the water on the Earth.
The southern hemisphere containing less land is also known as water hemisphere.
Three of the most significant imaginary lines
running across the surface of the Earth are
the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the
Tropic of Capricorn. While the equator is the
longest line of latitude on the Earth (the line
where the Earth is widest in an eastwest
direction), the tropics are based on the sun's
position in relation to the Earth at two points
of the year. All three lines of latitude are
significant in their relationship between the
Earth and the sun.
On the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes near 21 March and September 21. The equator
divides the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. On the equator, the length of day and night are equal every
day of the year day is always twelve hours long and night is always twelve hours long.
11.2 The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn each lie at 23.5 degrees latitude. The Tropic of Cancer is located at 23.5°
North of the equator and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. The Tropic of
Capricorn lies at 23.5° South of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil (Brazil is the only country that
passes through both the equator and a tropic), and northern South Africa.
While the equator divides the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, it is the Prime Meridian at zero degrees longitude
and the line of longitude opposite the Prime Meridian (near the International Date Line) at 180 degrees longitude that divides
the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The Eastern Hemisphere consists of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia
while the Western Hemisphere includes North and South America. Some geographers place the boundaries between the
hemispheres at 20° West and 160° East so as to not run through Europe and Africa. The Prime Meridian and all lines of longitude
are completely imaginary lines and have no significance with regard to the Earth or to its relationship with the sun.
12.0 THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) comprises 24 orbiting satellites that transmit navigational signals for earthbound use.
Originally devised in the 1970s by the Department of Defence, US for military purposes, the GPS in its present form is now
commercially available worldwide. A handheld receiver about the size of a pocket radio accesses three satellites at the same
time and calculates and displays your latitude and longitude, accurate within 40 to 100 m (precision down to millimeters) making
its use possible for military applications.
GPS is useful for such diverse applications like oceannavigation, land surveying, commercial fishing, tracking and the monitoring
of highway taxes, mining and resourcemapping, farming, environmental planning and as of 1994, airlines began using GPS to
improve routes and increase fuel efficiency. GPS is also available for the backpacker and sportspersons. The importance of GPS
to geography is obvious because this precise technology reduces the need to maintain ground control points of location, mapping,
and spatial analysis.
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DAILY PRACTICE QUIZ
Module Name Lecture 1
World and Universe and the
Indian Geography Solar System
¿ Suggested Time : 10 min T o t a l q u e s t i o ns : 20
1 . In order of their distances from the Sun, which of the 10. Which of the following planets of the solar system has the
following planets lie between Mars and Uranus? longest day?
(a) Earth and Jupiter (b ) Jupiter and Saturn (a) Mercury (b) Jupiter
(c) Saturn and Earth (d ) Saturn and Neptune (c) Venus (d) Earth
14. Asteroids have their orbits between the planets:
5 . The ‘Summer Solstice’ in the southern hemisphere occurs on
(a) Mercury and Venus (b) Earth and Mars
(a) December 22 (b ) September 23
(c) Mars and Jupiter (d) Jupiter and Saturn
(c) June 21 (d ) March 21
15. The orbits of planets around the Sun, or of satellites around
6 . The hottest planet is the Earth, can be
(a) Mercury (b ) Venus (a) circular and elliptic
(c) Jupiter (d ) Saturn (b) circular and hyperbolic
(c) elliptic and parabolic
7. Which of the following is the largest of the inner planets?
(d) parabolic and hyperbolic
(a) Venus (b ) Mercury
(c) Mars (d ) Earth 16. NASA's Deep Impact space mission was employed to take
detailed pictures of which comet nucleus?
8 . Which of the planets is nearest to the earth? (a) Halley's Comet (b) HaleBopp
(a) Jupiter (b ) Venus (c) Hyakutake (d) Temple
(c) Mercury (d ) Mars
9 . Which one of the following planets takes the same number
of days for rotation and revolution?
(a) Mars (b ) Venus
(c) Mercury (d ) Jupiter
19. Days and nights are caused by
I . Rotation of the earth on its axis
II. Revolution of the earth around the sun
III. Inclination of the earth's axis
(a ) Only I is correct
(b ) I and II are correct
(c) II and III are correct
(d ) All are correct
Please make sure that you m ark the answers in this scores heet with an HB pencil/pen.
The marking of answers must be done in the stipulated time for the test. Do not take extra time over and above the time limit.
S C O R E S H E E T
1 a b c d e 11 a b c d e
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5 a b c d e 15 a b c d e
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