A heavenly body that shines with its own light is called a:
Summary
Set under the clear, dark skies of Nubra in Ladakh, this chapter takes students on a journey into space, beginning with the stars. Stars shine with their own light, and groups of stars appear to form patterns that ancient people linked with animals, objects, and stories to help recognise the sky and find directions. The sky is now divided into 88 regions called constellations, such as Orion the hunter (with Canis Major and the brightest night star, Sirius, nearby), Taurus, and the Big Dipper and Little Dipper in Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The Pole Star (Polaris), part of the Little Dipper, appears nearly stationary in the north and helps locate the north direction in the Northern hemisphere; Indian tradition calls the Big Dipper Saptarishi and the Pole Star Dhruva tara. Night-sky watching is best from dark, open areas away from light pollution. The chapter then explores the Solar System: the Sun is our nearest star, a hot ball of gases about 100 times bigger than the Earth in diameter and about 150 million km away (one astronomical unit), and the main source of light and heat. Planets are large, nearly spherical objects that revolve around the Sun; the eight planets in order of increasing distance are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, with the four inner ones rocky and the four outer ones large gas-and-ice giants with rings. Objects that revolve around planets are satellites; the Moon is Earth's natural satellite, about a quarter of Earth's diameter, taking about 27 days to revolve, with craters and almost no atmosphere, explored by India's Chandrayaan missions. Asteroids are small rocky objects mostly in a belt between Mars and Jupiter, and comets are icy-rocky visitors with long tails. The Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets form the Solar System, which lies within the Milky Way Galaxy, one of countless galaxies in the Universe.
Stars and constellationsThe Pole Star and night-sky watchingThe Sun and the planetsThe Moon and satellitesAsteroids, comets, galaxies, and the Universe
Key terms
Star
A heavenly body that shines with its own light, such as the Sun, which is the star nearest to us.
Constellation
A defined region of the sky that often includes a recognisable pattern of stars; the sky is divided into 88 such regions.
Pole Star
The star Polaris, part of the Little Dipper, which appears nearly stationary in the north and helps locate the north direction.
Planet
A large, nearly spherical object that revolves around the Sun; the eight planets range from Mercury to Neptune.
Satellite
An object that moves around a planet; the Moon is the Earth's natural satellite.
Solar System
The Sun together with the eight planets, their moons, and smaller objects such as asteroids and comets that move around it.
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A heavenly body that shines with its own light, such as the Sun, which is the star nearest to us.
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