A text book for Class IX

A text book for Class IX

 Preface
Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has taken a historical decision of
Introducing Astronomy as a subject from class IX onwards from the academic year 2020-21 to be
continued for higher classes in phased manner.

The responsibility of framing the curriculum and writing of text book was taken by
Association of Friends of Astronomy, Goa and accordingly Board of studies was formed.
Association of Friends of Astronomy (Goa) is an NGO, active and enthusiastic in the popularisation
of Astronomy and Science, working since last 37 years. It was an ardent wish of the Founder
President of the organisation, Late Mr Percivall Noronha that more astronomy content should be
incorporated into the school curriculum as the subject is of great depth and importance.

We thank Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education for taking the decision
and hence Goa Board has become first Board to introduce Astronomy as a school curriculum subject.
Our thanks goes to Shri. Bhagirath Shetye, Secretary Goa Board for his support to Board of Studies
(BoS) in framing of curriculum and writing of Text book and preparation of other study material.
Thanks also go to Dr. Nandakumar Kamat, ex-vice-president of the association who put up the
proposal to introduce Astronomy as a subject in secondary section in the Goa Board.

The BoS has strived to make the content interesting and the language simple as far as
possible. The topics have been formalised in a manner, so as to, account from prehistoric period to
the latest knowledge of Astronomy and The Universe. The references utilised in the process are from
NASA website, and various other informed sources.

The book also includes a lesson on Astronomy in Goa, which will give information of the
local available resources to students who can explore the same to learn more about the practical
aspect of the Astronomy visiting various Astronomical centres in Goa.

Acknowledgement also goes to respected education secretary, Smt. Nila Mohanan, IAS for
her invaluable support to the project.

Acknowledgements are due to the team of AFA(Goa) who worked day and night to finalise
the curriculum, prepare the Textbook, Journal and Teacher's handbook. The BoS team comprised of
Author: Shri Satish. S. Nayak -President, AFA(Goa); Data, Exercises, Journal compilation and
Technical support work by Shri Videsh Khandeparkar-Science Coordinator AFA(Goa) and editorial
team consisting of advisory council members of AFA(Goa), Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Chief Scientist
(retired) National Institute of Oceanography and Shri. Sunil Kher. Acknowledgement also to Shri.
Sadanand Mishal Headmaster, Dr. K. B. Hedgewar Vidhyamandir Sakhli, the ad hoc member of
BOS. Our thanks to all those who have directly or indirectly contributed in this process.

Vilas Satarkar,
Convenor BOS Astronomy
Headmaster, Dr.K.B. Hedgewar High School Cujira Bamboli.
 .Disclaimer:- While the authors of the book have made every effort to avoid any mistakes
and omissions and have used their skill, expertise and knowledge to the best of their capacity to
provide accurate and updated information, the BOS do not give any representation or warranty with
respect to the accuracy and completeness of the content of the text book. The BOS expressly
disclaim all and any liability to any person, in respect of anything forming the part of the content of
this text book. Further the appearance of personal names are coincidental and work of imagination
and should be in no manner be termed as defamatory to any individual. Figures are not proportional
or aspect ratio of the figures are not maintained in the text throughout.
 Content

CHAPTER 1: BIRTH OF ASTRONOMY 01

CHAPTER 2: NUMBERS IN SPACE 12

CHAPTER 3: ASTRONOMY OF TIME 21

CHAPTER 4: EARTH IN SPACE 30

CHAPTER 5: ASTRONOMY OF SEASON 37

CHAPTER 6: THE SOLAR SYSTEM 46

CHAPTER 7: OUR LOCAL STAR : THE SUN 55

Non evaluative

CHAPTER 8: ASTRONOMY IN GOA 65

 Chapter 1
THE BIRTH OF ASTRONOMY
“Astronomy compels the soul to look upward, and leads us from this world to another."
— Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

Sumukh's father explained that when he himself

had gone to school, he had learnt astronomy
from his Scouts teacher and it was very
fascinating. “Papa can I learn it too? It sounds
really exciting, Please buy me a telescope and I
will look at these stars from close” said
Sumukh. “Of course” said his father, “I will get
you a telescope, no doubt, but there is a nice
place called The Public Astronomical
Observatory at Junta House building in Panjim
where people who love star gazing, visit. They
have lots of telescopes there, so go and learn the
basics there first”. Sumukh was very happy and
made up his mind to take his best friends Varad
and Aseem and visit the observatory and
together enjoy the thrills of Star gazing.

1.1 Birth of Astronomy:

Sumukh studied in the IX standard. One The Birth of Astronomy started with the
day at 08:00pm, the lights went out. It was very appearance of man on planet earth. About Two
hot, so he went out to the terrace to catch a cool and half million years ago, the first humans
breeze. It was pitch dark everywhere in their evolved from the great apes. Apart from the
locality as there was a complete power cut off. struggle for survival, one of the first activities
He saw his father was also on the terrace and that early man did on earth was to observe
intently looking at the sky. “What are you nature around him and try to understand what
staring at?” asked Sumukh. His father pointed was going on. As the cave man looked around
out to a small cluster of stars in the sky and said carefully, he started understanding the meaning
that it was called Pleiades or Krittika. Sumukh
looked up in awe; the sky was filled with
hundreds of twinkling stars and looked
amazing. “But papa, how can anyone just point
out randomly at the stars and name them? How
can anyone know them by names? They look all
the same to me!” Sumukh's father smiled, “it is
of course possible and that's what is called
Astronomy.” Sumukh had studied the basic
information of the universe from his earlier
Science textbooks as all of you have studied. It
was about stars and planets, eclipses and
seasons. It gave a basic idea about the universe Fig. 1.2 : the caveman looks in awe at the stars.
and he knew only a little bit about astronomy.
1
of day and night, concept of Time, idea of
seasons, directions and the beautiful
phenomena like phases of the moon, twinkling
of stars, passage of the sun and so on. The first
body of knowledge was thus born and today we
call it as Astronomy. What drew man to the
universe was the beauty of the stars twinkling
majestically in the vast unpolluted clear ancient
sky.
Fig. 1.3 There are two photographs above, The upper
one is from a city. The Lower one is taken in a forest.
Observe how the city light pollution has almost wiped
out all the stars from the sky. But in the forest' away
from pollution and lights, see how clear the stars appear.
This is how the sky appeared to our ancestors thousands
of years ago and it is because of this that they fell in love
with Astronomy.
1.2 What is Astronomy:
The word Astronomy comes from the
Greek word Astronomos meaning Astro: Star
and Nomos: arranging, meaning study of the
arrangement of stars. It is the study of evolution,
physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics,
Horology (science of time), Calendar making,
navigation, and motion of celestial objects, as
Activity 1.1
Light Pollution: today evening go to your
balcony or terrace and look at the stars, you will
see a few. Now put on the terrace/ balcony lights
and look again. Instantly you will see lesser
stars. See how light pollution has decreased the
beauty of the star studded night sky instantly.
Imagine what the sky would have looked like
1000s of years ago when vehicle light beams,
factory pollution, street lights, dust pollution, etc
didn't exist.
well as the development of the universe. In short
Astronomy is the study of the entire Universe.
In Sanskrit it is called Jyotishastra ( Jyoti means
light , shastra means science, remember that
Jyotishastra here does not mean Astrology
because Astrology is also known as Jyotish in
India)
DID YOU KNOW?
Mathematics was born due to Astronomy. When the
ancient man looked up, he saw the stars moving and
the planets moving through them. Calculating their
movements developed into the science of
Mathematics. He got the idea that their movement
could be useful to him in making calendars,
understanding seasons and prediction of eclipses. In
fact, calculating Moon's phases was one of the great
fascinations in different parts of the ancient world.
1.3 Earliest discoveries:
As the early cave man observed the
movement of the Suns Shadows, the concept of
Time was understood and a simple stick planted
into the ground casting moving shadows
became the first clock, The Sundial. (Fig 1.4 )
The observation of rising and setting of the Sun
made man understand the concept of day and
night. At night the stars showed him the
directions, the Moon's full cycle of phases from
full moon to full moon gave him the idea of
making calendars.
2
 Fig. 1.4 : the first clock, A stick sundial.
Thus, the first science and also the oldest
Science on earth is Astronomy and in the world
of science it is respected with the title “Mother
of Science”.
1.4 Astronomy in the ancient World:
1.4.1 Lascaux Caves:
How can we say that the earliest man
was an astronomer? The proof is found in
almost all parts of the world where ancient
cavemen lived. The cavemen were not only
observing nature and understanding it, but were
also recording their observations on cave walls
and artifacts and thus were leaving behind a lot
of proof of the earliest man's scientific pursuits.
In France the most striking proof of
early man's studies survives at the 17,000 year
old caves in Lascaux. There, on the cave walls
along with paintings of various ancient animals
and hunting scenes, we find symbols of moon
phases, simple calendars, Suns movement,
seasons, star patterns, constellations, star
clusters and so on.
Fig. 1.5: A painting by caveman on the wall of Lascaux
caves, France, clearly depicts the constellations as we
know them today. Constellation Orion, the hunter is
clearly seen fighting the bull, the constellation Taurus.
Even the cluster of stars called Pleiades or krittika is
clearly shown on top of the bull. This picture of the
17,000 year old sky is still visible exactly like this in the
winter months even today. The upper picture is the
original wall art and in the lower picture, the dots have
been joined to show you how the cavemen imagined
constellations.
1.4.2 Mesopotamian Astronomy:
The landmass forming Iraq and Syria
today was called Mesopotamia almost 5,500
years ago. In around 3,500 BC, one of the most
advanced civilisations of the ancient world
called The Sumerian civilization flourished
there. Their science was well developed and
they had also evolved a distinct language and
script of writing. Expert observation and
understanding of the sky helped them
understand the difference between stars and
planets and also understand the paths and
3
and movements of the heavenly objects.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Mesopotamian numeral system is
called the Sexagesimal system. It is a numbering
system whose base is sixty, like in our modern
Decimal counting system of which the base is
ten. It is still used by us today. The circle is
divided into 360 degrees. (60x6=360). The 60
seconds and 60 minutes of division in Time also
come from The Sumerians. Fig. 1.6: You are standing at Sunrise facing West. The
The sexagesimal system is also used today for Blue line passing straight over your head is the path of the
measuring angles, geographic coordinates and Sun, ie, The Ecliptic. The area between the red and green
lines is 16 degrees and this band is called the Zodiac. The
electronic navigation, besides other things. It is Moon and Planets only pass through this area in the sky.
of fundamental importance in modern
Astronomy.
Activity 1.2
1.4. 3 Mesopotamian contribution: Zodiac Ecliptic is a straight line passing over your head
Expert astronomers that they were, The from East to West. It is very important in
Astronomy because it is near the ecliptic that the
Sumerians observed that the Sun moved on a
Solar system objects appear in the sky. Go out at
straight path from East to West and thus they dawn and see the rising sun in the East, mark that
were aware of The Ecliptic line. Further they spot with some object or landmark you see near
noticed that the Moon and the 5 visible planets the horizon. Now go to the same spot at Sunset
also moved close to this line. The Ecliptic line and mark the spot where the Sun is setting. Draw
passes from East to West and between 9 degrees an imaginary line from the eastern Sunrise point
on both sides of this line was the path of the passing over your head and touch it to the Sunset
Moons and planets. This area, shaped like a belt point in the West. You have found The Ecliptic!
in the sky from East to West is called The Zodiac
belt.

Next, they observed a number of

prominent stars on this Zodiac belt and using
their Sexagesimal system, they cut this 360
degrees belt of the entire sky into twelve equal
parts of thirty degrees each. Each group of stars
falling in the thirty degree slot was given a
figure and shape as per Sumerian mythology
and The Zodiac was born.

1.4.4 Locating the Zodiac:

As you saw, The Zodiac is the belt of the
sky in which the 12 main constellations called
Zodiac constellations pass. Let us know how to
find it (Fig: 1.6)
Fig. 1.7: How the 12 constellations appear around the
Earth on the Zodiac belt (blue line) and the Sun passes
through them.
4
 Although The Zodiac was the creation
of The Sumerians, It was to some extent
borrowed by the Egyptians and later copied by
The Greeks. Today modern Astronomy follows
the Greek constellations, their Greek names and
their Greek legends.
Activity 1.3
Check out the Sunday newspaper and see the
astrology column. Memorize the names of the 12
Zodiac constellations from Aries to Pisces from
there.
1.4.5 Egypt:
The Egyptians were exceptional
astronomers. Almost 5,000 years ago they
accurately determined the times of rising of
various stars and constellations in the sky. One
of the first complete maps of the heavens with
almost all star patterns is found clearly carved
on a temple roof in Egypt. With their knowledge
of astronomy, the Egyptians built massive
temples and pyramids aligned to various objects
of the sky and still many of them receive the rays
of the Sun on particular days of the year.
Carvings, records, documents, art and artefacts
of Egypt scattered all over the world in
museums, reveal the expert knowledge of the
Egyptians in understanding Astronomy. Egypt
is a desert country, still it became a very
powerful country of the ancient world
producing ample grain and leading to great
prosperity. How did this happen? It was mostly
because of the Astronomical Knowledge of the
ancient Egyptians .Every year in August, the
constellation Canis Major returns to northern
hemisphere skies at dawn, bearing with it the
brightest star in our night sky: the star Sirius.
Sirius played a significant role in every
aspect of Egyptian culture because its first
appearance in the morning sky, before sunrise in
mid-August each year was the signal that the
mighty river Nile was about to flood. At the
rising of Sirius, people would move off the flood
plain to make way for the river, and also the
Activity 1.4
Constellations:
Group of stars joined together to make an
imaginary picture in the sky is called a
constellation. Our ancestors made many such
shapes to represent animals, objects and
mythological characters and creatures from
their culture. Let us now see the sky, how they
saw it long ago and like them try to make
constellations.
Take 2 drawing papers. Now you and your
classmate mark 50 random dots on the whole
paper. Now exchange the papers. Can you join
the dots and create something from day to day
life? Like a cell phone or computer or a Pizza?
Yes, that's exactly how our ancestors imagined
constellations in the sky. They joined the
random stars to create pictures from their daily
life, like a hunter, animals and so on. This is how
the cavemen created constellations which are
fascinating even today.
wiki How to Make Up Your Own Star Constellation
5
agricultural activities would start, not one drop
of water would be wasted and all of it would be
channelized to the fields to produce crops in the
desert! The rising of Sirius also marked the
Egyptian New Year and its correct calculation
helped them to avert flood disasters and mark
their agricultural calendar.
Fig. 1.8: The constellation of the southern sky, Canis
Major (Canis=dog, Major=Big), the Big dog is
popularly referred to as the hunting dog and companion
to the constellation, Orion, The Hunter. The brightest
star in the night sky, Sirius marks the collar or mouth of
this Dog.
1.4.6 Greek Astronomy:
Building on the discoveries and
knowledge of civilizations in Mesopotamia
and, Egypt among others, the Ancient Greeks
developed a sophisticated culture in which
science was of great importance. The Greeks
made major contributions to mathematics and
science. We owe many basic ideas about
geometry and the concept of mathematical
proofs to ancient Greek mathematicians such as
Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes. Some of
the first astronomical models were developed
by Ancient Greeks trying to describe planetary
movement. Many concepts like the Earth's axis,
and the Geocentric system—a model that
places the Earth at the center of the solar system
were Greek ideas.
DID YOU KNOW?
Go out and stand at the highest place you can
manage. Look around you. You already know
that The Earth is round. But can you see it? You
already know that the Earth is moving, Can you
feel it?
Answer to both questions is NO. No elevation on
earth can show you that the planet is circular and
this was one of the first observations of Man. Our
ancestors believed that the Earth was flat and
unmoving and this was the base of many
branches of knowledge in the ancient world.
This concept is known as Geocentric model of
Earth.
1.4.7 Circumference of Earth:
Eratosthenes (276 BC – 196 BC) was a
Greek mathematician, geographer, poet,
astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of
learning, and The Main librarian at the Library
of Alexandria, which was the biggest Library of
the ancient western world, located in Egypt. He
is known as The Father of Geography and is
credited with coining the word Geography and
under it systematically organising the science
and study of the physical
world.
Fig. 1.9: the famous painting by artist Bernardo Strozzi
(1635) of Eratosthenes, father of Geography, teaching in
the library of Alexandria
6
 Using his knowledge of Geography,
Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of
the Planet. Although his result was not perfectly
correct by today's standard, still it was very
close. At a time when most believed the Earth to
be flat, he not only calculated the circumference
but also used it as evidence to prove that the
Earth was round. This was a most remarkable
achievement in the world of Science of those
times.
1.4.8 Earth's circumference: The Method
How did Eratosthenes calculate the
Earths circumference? Suppose if I were to give
you two observations and, on that basis, tell you
to derive the circumference of the earth, can you
do it?
1) I stay in Alexandria in Egypt and I know of
surface is curved. ( If the earth was flat
shadows formed would be similar all over)
3) Transverse cutting across 2 parallel lines
creates identical angles.
4) Using properties of similar triangles formed,
he found the circumference of earth.
5) His answer was within 1% of the correct
value of 40,000 kilometres. His success at
measuring the size of our planet by using
only shadows, sunlight, and the power of
human thought was one of the greatest
achievements in history.
With h and s known
you can solve for Ө

a well in a place called Syene which is With Ө known,

you can use the equation
approximately 800 kms away from where I (3600/ Ө ) x (s) at Col
Al um
stay. (800 kms was equal to 400 Stadia in ex n
an
dr
Greece, 'Stadia' being a unit of Greek Ө
ia
Ө
measurement)
}
Co
Sh lum
On a particular day in the year, the Sun ad n's
ow h
S
shines directly on top of that well and hence

at
We yene
=
4,4

S
ll
00
the sunlight strikes the bottom of the well sh
ad
es
and there is no shadow falling in the well at
12 noon.

2) I also know of a column which is built very

close to my home and which casts a shadow
on the same day and time, when no shadow
is cast in Syene. Equa
tor

Ө
Given the above 2 facts, How can you
find the circumference of the earth?
Eratosthenes who calculated the circumference T P
of the earth followed this method: He observed 0
as follows : 7
A
1) The Sun is far away and hence rays of the
Sun are parallel (confirmed by similar 800 km
Sun's Rays
shadows of the pillars at Alexandria Library, 7
0

where he worked). E S

2) If there's no shadow at Syene and a Fig 1.10: How Eratosthenes calculated the Earths
shadow at Alexandria, it means the earth circumference.

7
1.4.9 Geocentric theory of universe:
The greatest astronomer of ancient
Greece Claudius Ptolemy (pronounced as
Tolamy) lived in Alexandria, Egypt in 140 AD.
He put together his own ideas with those of
earlier astronomers to perfect one of the most
famous theories of ancient astronomy: the
geocentric theory. (geo= earth, centric= centre
of the universe) which said that Earth was at the
centre of the universe and all other heavenly
bodies circled it. He was the first person to use
Fig 1.11: Ptolemy holding an instrument called The
Armillary sphere, said to have been invented by him.
This instrument shows Earth at the centre and the orbits
of Sun, Moon and planets around it. This instrument was
constructed on the geocentric theory, that Earth was the
centre of the universe.
longitude and latitude to identify places. He
By now you know:
wrote a massive volume on astronomy: The
Almagest (meaning “The Greatest”) which was
the compilation of all astronomical knowledge
of his times.
1.4.10 Indian contribution:
Indian heritage of Science and
technology is very ancient and all over the
world, scholars and historians are today
acknowledging the knowledge, depth and
expertise that our ancient Indians had. India had
great advancements in the field of astronomy.
Dirghatamas was a sage who wrote
m a n y h y m n s i n T h e Ve d a s r e g a r d i n g
astronomical happenings. The earliest
astronomical text from India, the Vedānga
Jyotisha is a compilation of all the astronomical
content mentioned in the Vedas. Ancient Indians
prepared a very accurate calendar and could
predict seasons, weather, rainfall and eclipses
very accurately by consulting mathematical
texts. Aryabhatta was one of the first persons in
the field of Indian science to say that the Sun and
not earth is at the center of the solar system,
Bramhagupta understood the concept of
gravity much before the western world,
Bhaskara explained the motions of Earth and
the planets, Maharana jay Singh II built
massive observatories all over North India, the
list is very vast.
To discuss the astronomical innovations
and discoveries of India we need a separate
chapter and we will learn about Indian
contribution to the field of astronomy in detail
next year.
8
 The Sumerians called the twelve major zodiacal constellations the 'Shiny herd'.

Sumerian Translation Greek/Modern Name

GU.AN.NA Heavenly Bull Taurus
MASH.TAB.BA Twins Gemini
DUB Pincers, Tongs Cancer
UR.GULA Lion Leo
AB.SIN Her father was Sin Virgo
ZI.BA.AN.NA Heavenly Fate Libra
GIR.TAB Which claws and cuts Scorpio
PA.BIL (Archer) Defender Sagittarius
SUHUR.MASH Goat-Fish Capricorn
GU Lord of the waters Aquarius
SIM.MAH Fishes Pisces
KU.MAL Field dweller Aries

MOVEMENT OF THE SUN IN THE CONSTELLATIONS:

Look at the figure carefully. The Sun and the 12 Zodiac constellations in the sky are fixed. The Earth is moving
around the Sun. Every month as the Earth moves forward, we see the Sun in a different constellation. For ex. the
Sun appears from Earth to be in the constellation Leo, the lion in July-August, but as the earth moves forward, in
August-September, the Sun appears to move in to the constellation Virgo, the girl. Thus it is not the Sun moving,
but actually the movement of the Earth that creates an illusion of Sun moving in the twelve constellations.

9
 Exercise
I) Answer in one sentence
1.What is astronomy?
2.What is Zodiac?
3.Which observation helped Egyptians to plan their agriculture?
4.Who Proposed Geocentric Theory?
5.What does Geocentric theory state?
6.Which astronomer first calculated the circumference of the Earth?
7.What does The Vedang Jyotish book contain ?

II) Fill in the blanks

1)Claudius Ptolemy compiled all available astronomical knowledge in his book _________.
2)The Moon and the five visible planets appears to move along _______ line.
3)The Sumerians divided the zodiacal belt into __________ constellations.
4)_________ was the biggest library of ancient western world located in Egypt.
5)The line passing from East to west in the sky on which the Sun passes is called ________.
6)The flooding of the river Nile in Egypt was announced by the rising of the star _______.
7)Man discovered the ______ by observing the phases of the Moon.
8)Aryabhatta claimed that the ______ was at the centre of the solar system.

III) Match the pairs

France Zodiac
Mesopotamia Circumference of Earth
Ptolemy Lascaux cave
Dog star Geocentric theory

IV) Answer in two or three sentences

1)What does the study of astronomy entail?
2)Describe first Clock
3)What is the location of the Zodiac in the sky?
4)How is the ecliptic determined?
5)What is the meaning of constellations?
6)What is the evidence to show that man observed the sky in ancient times?
7)Explain how Eratosthenes calculate the circumference of the Earth?
8) What are the major contributions of Mesopotemia?
9) What are the important contributions of the Egyptians?
10) What is the major contribution of ancient Greece to our knowledge of the universe?
11) What was the unique role played by MaharajSavai Jai Singh II in Indian Astonomy?
12) What observations led to the concept of time and time keeping?

V) Tick any two correct options

1)The ancient caveman discovered the following by looking at the stars
a)Economics b)Agriculture c)Concept of Time d)History
e)Calendar

10
 Exercise
2)We can see more stars in the sky during
a)Full moon b)Power cut off c)Fire works display d)New moon
e)Cloudy night

3)17000 years ago at Lascaux in France, the prehistoric people drew on the cave walls:
a)Animals b)Constellations c)Sunset d)Calendar e)Dinosaurs

4)Mahrana Jaysingh II was the king who

a) conquered Delhi b) built observatories c) invented chess
d) liked sky observation

11

NUMBERS IN ASTRONOMY
"I said there are maybe 100 billion galaxies and 10 billion trillion stars. It's hard to talk about the Cosmos
without using big numbers...”
- Carl Sagan, American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer,
and science communicator.
In astronomy we deal with distances and
sizes on a scale, from very minute to absolutely
massive. You may never have come across such
distances before. So first let us see how to
understand distances on a large scale so that the
concept of distances in the universe is easier to
understand.
2.1 Indian approach:
Since time immemorial mathematics
has been a part of Indian astronomy. Right from
the most ancient Indian text, The Rig Ved,
calculation of time was of great importance in
India. Not only were minute fractions of time
calculated, but massive periods were also
required to be calculated and calendar making
was an important activity of Ancient Indians.
Big numbers in India were primarily used for
two reasons:
2.1.1 Calculation of time: The Ayana was the
basic foundation of the calendar. Each ayana
lasted for six months and the Solar year
consisted of two Ayanas: Uttar-ayana and
Dakshin-ayana.
2.1.2 Calculation of Distances: an idea of vast
distances exists in ancient Indian system and
astronomers tried to determine distances
between Surya loka ( Suns orbit) , Dhruv loka
(Pole star), Chandra loka (Moon), distance to
planets etc. The unit of measurement was
Yojana, (1 Yojana was 15 kms in the ancient
texts, but in Aryabhatta's and the 5th century
Surya Siddhanta's calculation, a yojana as
equivalent to 8.0 km)
* Distance from the Sun to the Earth was
8
calculated as 12000000 yojanas (1.47×10 kms)
Chapter 2
* Distance from Sun to Pole star was thought to
be 3,800,000 yojanas and so on.
North
West East
South
Uttarayan
(Northward movement of the Sun)
21 June 14 Jan
Dakshinayan
(Southward movement of the Sun)
Fig 2.1: The Sun reaches its maximum point Southward
on 22nd December and shines on the Tropic of Capricorn.
After 14th January (Makar Sankranti) the Sun begins its
journey towards the Northern hemisphere.
The Sun's northern movement is called Uttarayana
and continues for 6 months. Then the reverse happens
and The Sun appears to move southward for six months,
this period is called Dakshinayana.
DID YOU KNOW?
Trigonometry
is a branch of mathematics that studies
relationships between side lengths and angles of
triangles. It was widely used by the Greeks during
the 3rd century BC and is of greatest importance
in calculating distances in space. The most
significant development of trigonometry in the
world was in India. Aryabhatta's works and the
th
astronomy manuals called Siddhantas from the 4
& the 5th century AD, first defined the values of
trigonometric variants like Sine, Cos, tan etc.
12
2.1.3 Aryabhatta's calculation of
distances:
Aryabhata is one of the first
astronomers to calculate distances in space
accurately. In his book Aryabhatiya , the
value of the earth's diameter is given as
1,050 yojanas, which translates to 3,300
yojanas as the equatorial circumference
(based on Aryabhata's extremely accurate
value of pi= 3.1416) Aryabhatta also
calculated quite closely , the various other
distances in space especially between the
planets of the Solar system.
(AU)
11
1.5X10 Km
(AU) (AU)
2.2 Modern calculations: We adopt two
approaches that make dealing with
astronomical numbers a little bit easier. First,
we use a system for writing large and small
numbers called scientific notation (or
sometimes powers-of-ten notation).
2.2.1 Scientific notation: This system is very
easy because it eliminates the many zeros that
can seem overwhelming to the student.
In scientific notation, if you want to
write a number such as 500,000,000 (8 zeros),
you express it as 5 × 108. The small raised
number after the 10, called an exponent, keeps
track of the number of places we had to move
the decimal point to the left to convert
500,000,000 to 5.
Numbers expressible in decimal notation:
106 = 1,000,000 = 1 million
109 = 1,000,000,000 = 1 billion
1010 = 10,000,000,000 = 10 billion
1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 trillion
1015 = 1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 quadrillion
10 100 = googol
2.2.2 The International System of Units:
The second way we try to keep numbers
simple is to use a consistent set of units—the
metric International System of Units. The
International System of Units recommends that
numbers having many digits be represented as
groups of three digits separated by narrow
spaces, like this: 2 675 491.
But, the American definitions for large
number names are internationally popular and
is also used in The Dictionary. According to this
a number with 6 zeros is called million. If you
add three more zeros it becomes billion, more
three will make trillion and so on.
Fig 2.3: most of the world uses the system of American
counting terms like billion, million, etc. Indian
computing uses a separate system to code big numbers as
in Lakh, crores, etc. Note the usage of Sanskrit terms like
padma and Shankh for bigger values.
13
Let us now see the 3 major units of calculating Average Distance of the Planets From the Sun
distances in space: Planet Average Distance
(km)
Average Distance
(AU)
Mercury 57,910,000 0.39
2.3 Measuring Space: Venus 108,210,000 0.72
Different units of measurements can be Earth 149,600,000 1.00
used to measure things of various sizes. To Mars 227,920,000 1.52
measure small things like a compass box or a Jupiter 778,570,000 5.20
drinking straw we use centimetres, for bigger
Saturn 1,433,530,000 9.58
things like your classroom, we will measure it in
Uranus 2,872,460,000 19.20
metres while still bigger things like distance
Neptune 4,495,060,000 30.05
from your house to the school will be measured
in kilometres. As the objects become bigger, we Fig 2.5 : Sun to planet distance table in AU
need bigger units of measurement. So if we
want to measure distances between the planets 2.3.2 Light Year
of the Solar system, which are millions of The universe is so massive that even the
kilometres away from each other, we need a Astronomical Unit is too small for measuring
bigger unit than kilometres or miles. distances between stars and galaxies, so
astronomers use a unit called Light-year to
2.3.1 Astronomical Unit (AU) describe distances in the universe.
Astronomers have created a scale called
as Astronomical Unit (short form: AU) for this. A Light Year is the distance travelled
The distance between the Earth and the Sun is by light in one year.
approximately 150 million km or 150 000 000 Don't get confused. You must be thinking,
km. and this is the unit used for measuring what has light and a year got to do with
distances inside the Solar system. distance? Let us simplify.

So, the distance from Sun to Earth is
one astronomical unit. Similarly distance,
from the Sun to Jupiter will be 5 AU and to
Neptune will be 30 AU and so on.
The distance between Panjim to Ponda
is 31 kms. If you are sitting in a bus and ask a
fellow passenger “how far is Ponda from
Panjim?” Many a time the person will simply
say “one hour”. He did not talk about the kms.
But just referred to the time normally needed for
the travel by bus. Similarly many times we say
“my school is 10 minutes from my home” or “
Panjim market is 15 minutes away” etc. this is a
day to day example where we use the time of
travel to symbolise distance.

Fig 2.4: The distance between the Earth and the Sun
varies at different times of the year. An average
estimate is taken as 150 million kilometres. This 150
ml kms is called as 1AU
In the same way, in the universe, a scale
had to be created to measure it. So astronomers
came up with a novel idea and that was to use
Light as unit of distance.

The distances from the Sun to each
planet, distances between planets, distance of
the entire span of the solar system, etc is
calculated in AU. (Refer Fig 2.5)
Light is the fastest travelling form of energy in
the universe. We know that light:-
* travels at constant speed all the time
* Its speed turns out to be the fastest possible
14
So it makes a good standard for keeping track of
distances.

Fig 2.7 the nearest star to the Sun/Earth is Proxima

Fig 2.6 Observe the sky in the monsoon. When there is a
bolt of lightening on the horizon, first you will see the
lightening and next you will hear its noise that is the
thunder. This shows us that Light travels before sound
and hence is faster. Light travels fastest in the universe.
5
Light travels at the amazing speed of 3 × 10
Kms/sec. (three Lakh kilometres per second)
12
which makes a light-year 9.46 × 10 kilometres.
Centauri. It is a small red star in the southern direction
of the sky, located in the constellation Centaurs. It is so
small that it is not even visible to us in a telescope. To
reach that star we have to travel at the speed of three
Lakh kms/sec and continue travelling at this speed for
4.2 years. Only then we will reach it. Hence the distance
of this closest star is calculated as 4.2 light years from
Earth.
You might think that such a large unit
like light year would be able to calculate vast
distances in space easily, but the stars are far
more remote than our imaginations might lead
us to believe.

Let's calculate kilometres in a light-year.

If light travels 3 × 105 km in 1 second, let's
calculate how far it goes in a year:

a) 300000km in one second.

b) There are 60 seconds in a minute so,
300000 X 60 sec.
c) There are 60 minutes in one hour so,
300000 X 60sec X 60min.
d) There are 24 hours in a day so,
300000 X 60sec X 60min X 24 hrs.
e) There are 365.24 days in a year so,
300000 X 60sec X 60min X 24 hrs X Fig 2.8. the light from each star we see has travelled
365.24 days thousands, even millions of years through space to reach
So 300000 X 60 X 60 X 24 X 365.24 our eyes. Hence when you look at the sky you are looking
12
= 9.46 X 10 . at different periods of history. For example the light of
That's almost 10,000,000,000,000 kms! some stars may have left them at the time our ancient
cavemen ancestors were staring curiously at the sky, and
that light has reached your eyes now. Isn't this interesting
This is the tremendous distance that and thrilling to experience?
light covers in one year travelling in space. To
help you imagine how long this distance is, we'll
mention that a string of 1 light-year length could 2.4 Parsec
fit around the circumference of Earth 236 The third unit of measuring distances in
million times! space is called a parsec. Hold your finger in
front of your face, focus on something in the
15
distance, and close first one eye, then the other
eye. As you alternate eyes, you'll notice your
finger appears to dance back and forth in front of
your face. The motion is, of course, an illusion.
Your finger isn't moving. Each eye sees your
finger from a slightly different angle. So the
finger's location, relative to objects in the
background, looks different. ( fig 2.9 )
Fig 2.9: how you can do the parallax experiment
This apparent shift is called parallax,
from a Greek word meaning 'alternation'. If you
measure the angle over which your finger
appears to move, you can figure out how far
your finger is from your face using
trigonometry. Likewise, astronomers measure
angles to find the distances to stars. But since
stars are too far away, astronomers can't blink
eyes to find star movement!
So they used their intelligence and
decided to observe a star or galaxy from the 2
furtherest points possible for humans .The
Earth moves around the sun in twelve months
so, six months to six months is the maximum
distance of earth from two points on its orbit
around the Sun.
So if you consider a place on Earth on
1st January and observe a star, then if you
observe the same star again in exactly six
months on1st July, you are seeing the star from
two most distant points of Earth's orbit
possible.(fig. 2.10)
distant stars
Every January, Every July
we see this: we see this:
nearby star
1 AU
(not to scale)
July January
Fig 2.10: how the parallax experiment is done to find
very large distances in space by observing the same
object from the maximum distance possible from earth.
Thus using the earth's revolution helps astronomers to
get the maximum distances apart in space
We calculate how much the stars in the
background have slightly moved with respect to
the star observed because we know the base line
as two times the Earth to Sun distance,
i.e. 2 AU = 150 million Kms X 2= 300 million
Kms,
We can easily calculate the distance of
the star observed using trigonometric formula.
This method is not new and was used even
centuries ago by ancient Greeks, Indians and
Arabs and the distance is measured in a scale
called PARSEC.
One parsec is defined as the distance to a
star that shifts by one arc second from one side
of Earth's orbit to the other. One parsec is about
30 trillion kilometres, or just over three light-
years.
16
2.5 Consequences of light's travel time
There is another reason the speed of
light is a natural unit of distance for
astronomers. Information about the universe
comes to us almost exclusively through various
forms of light, and all such forms of light travel
at the speed of light i.e., 1 light-year every year.
This sets a limit on how quickly we can learn
about events in the universe.
If a star is 100 light-years away, the light
we see from it tonight left that star 100 years ago
and is just now arriving in our neighbourhood.
The soonest we can learn about any changes in
that star is 100 years after this. For a star 500
light-years away, the light we detect tonight left
500 years ago and is carrying 500-year old
news. Because many of us are accustomed to
instant news from the Internet, some might find
this frustrating. “You mean, when I see that star
up there,” you ask, “I won't know what's
actually happening there for another 500
years?” But this isn't the most helpful way to
think about the situation. For astronomers, now
is when the light reaches us here on Earth. There
is no way for us to know anything about that star
(or other object) until its light reaches us.
The delay in the arrival of light provides
an answer to this question. The farther out in
space we look, the longer the light has taken to
get here, and the longer ago it left its place of
origin. By looking at objects billions of light-
years out into space, astronomers are actually
seeing billions of years into the past. In this way,
we can reconstruct the history of the universe
and get a sense of how it has evolved over time.
This is one reason why astronomers
strive to build telescopes that can collect more
and more of the faint light in the universe. The
more light we collect, the fainter the objects we
can observe. On average, fainter objects are
farther away and can, therefore, tell us about
periods of time even deeper in the past.
Activity
DID YOU KNOW?1.1
Betelgeuse:
The star Betelgeuse marks the shoulder
of the constellation Orion (the hunter). The star
is a red giant star. A red giant star is a type of star
which has almost used up all the Hydrogen gas
that it burns to survive. So now the star's life is
almost over and it has blown up into a giant like
a balloon about to burst. Its red colour is because
of almost finishing all its gas, it has cooled down
(hot stars appear blue while less hot ones appear
red in the sky). Astronomers feel that the star has
almost blown up, died and disappeared. So why
do we still see it in the night? The answer is
simple and is connected to light travel.
This star is situated at a distance of
642.5 light years from earth. This means that the
Betelgeuse that you see tonight is how it looked
642.5 years ago, because the light that left the
star has travelled 642.5 to enter your eyes today.
So if the star explodes, to see this explosion, you
will have to wait for a period of 642.5 years!
Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Astronomers
all over the world are eagerly waiting to see this
awesome phenomena of a star exploding but do
not know exactly how long it will take to be
visible . They do know that the star has already
exploded but do not know when exactly in the
last 642.5 years it happened!
So keep watching this star, you might
be the lucky one to catch the first view of its
explosion!
Constellation Orion with the red giant star
Betelgeuse.
17
 By now you know:

Exercise

I) Answer in one sentence

1. How many Ayanas are there in a year and name them?
2. What is a Light year?
3. Imagine if a alien on a planet 2 light years away flashes light towards earth, in how much
time that light will be seen on earth?
4. What is parallax?
5. What is one parsec?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) ____________ is the ancient Indian unit for distance.
2) One astronomical unit equals to _________________km.
3) _________ is the biggest unit of distance.
4) According to Surya Siddhanta one yogana is equal to ______km.
5) Parallax in Greek means ___________.

III) Write the numbers in scientific notation

Billion 109
12
Trillion 10
6
Million 10
15
Quadrillion 10

IV) Answer in two or three sentences

1) What is the international system of units?
2) How is the Astronomical Unit calculated?
3) What is a Light Year?
4) What is a Parsec?
5) Why do astronomers build bigger and bigger telescopes?

18
 Exercise
V) Solve the following
1) A star is at a distance of 6 light years from the Earth. If we had to travel to the star with a
spacecraft travelling at 30 km/s, then how many years it would take for us to reach the
Star?

2) Proxima centaury is 4.3 ly away from us. What is this distance in parsec?

3) If an imaginary spacecraft travelled 2 times from earth to the Sun and back to Earth, how
many kilometers did it travel?

19
SCALE OF THE
UNIVERSE
(Power of 10)

100M to 103M

-3 -1
10 M to 10 M

10-7M to 10-4M

10-10m to 10-8m

10-20 M to 10-10M

20

THE ASTRONOMY OF TIME
“E pur si muove”
In 1633 when Galileo proved
scientifically that the earth moves around the
Sun and not vice versa, The Church was
annoyed because they supported the centuries
old belief that the earth is at the center of the
universe and everything moves around it, was
proved false. So they punished Galileo and
ordered him to say that he was wrong. But brave
Galileo did not care and said these famous
words which mean that “(whatever you believe
or do makes no difference), nevertheless the
Earth still moves! “
Now we will understand in detail the
two main movements of Earth: rotation, and
revolution and their effects.
3.1 Earth's Rotation:
In primary class, in Science, you learnt
that Earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours. Sounds
simple, but there is an immense amount of
astronomy behind this. Earth rotates once on its
axis in about 24 hours with respect to the Sun,
but once every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1
seconds with respect to other, distant, stars.
Studying the science of Rotation will help you
to understand the planet on which you live all
your life, in a much better way.
Objects in the universe are observed to
move around themselves. Newton's laws of
motion explain the motion of celestial bodies.
Earth moves around itself and keeps the
movement continuously going on due to a
principle called Angular momentum. You will
learn Angular momentum in higher Standards
and you need not worry about that now.
3.2Types of Days:
Earth rotates from West to East. Broadly, one
Chapter 3
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
complete rotation of the planet makes one day
on Earth, but we have different types of days in
astronomy.
3.2.1 A civil day: or a calendar day of Earth is
approximately the period of time during which
the Earth completes one rotation of 360° on its
axis. It is broadly accepted as 24 hours and a
new day starts after 12am at midnight. So one
midnight to another is a civil day. Civil day is
based on time.
DID YOU KNOW?
Increasing length of days:
The length of an Earth day has been increasing
slowly throughout most of the Earth’s 4.5 Billion
Year history.
When the earth had newly formed and was hardly
a billion years old, the day would have been
hardly 4 to 5 hours long! 1.4 billion years ago,
a day lasted just over 18 hours.
Since the dinosaurs lived from 250 million years
ago to 65 million years ago, a day length would
have been longer than 21 hours and probably
closer to 23 hours. Today the earth’s day is 23
hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds. This directly
implies that rotation of the planet is slowing
down. What is the cause of this slowing down?
We will study further.
21
3.2.2 A solar day: the period during which the exactly 24 hours but slightly more than 360
earth makes a rotation on its axis relative to the degrees of rotation.
sun. The Sun is like a marker in the sky and the Briefly, sidereal time is a time scale that
earth has to rotate 360° to come to the exact is based on Earth's rate of rotation measured
position in front of it from one day to another. relative to the fixed stars.
This is a solar day. This is also calculated from
one midnight to another but the days may vary
slightly as the earth is sometimes closer or
farther from the sun in a year and this causes the
rotation to slow or speed up very minutely.

Fig 3.2: Solar Day: because the earth rotates while

it revolves, a Solar day first needs a full 360 °
rotation of the earth to be complete. Imagine you
are standing at the equator at the position of the
red dot in this picture A and with the sun overhead
as shown. to get the Sun at the same overhead position
again, the earth has to rotate slightly more than one
circle because along with rotation around itself, Earth
is going ahead in the revolutionary motion around the Sun Fig 3.3: Sidereal day compared to Solar day:
as in position B. This is a solar day
look at Fig. a. You are standing at the point A and a
3.2.3 Sidereal day: The 3rd type of day based distant star as well as the Sun is directly overhead.
on earth's rotation is called Sidereal day.
*Fig. b shows how the Sun as well as the star are
'Sidereal' means 'in relation to stars' and a located in the sky on day 1.
Sidereal day is the period taken by the planet to
rotate with respect to a fixed remote star. First a *As the earth completes a 360 degree rotation around
star in the sky is taken as a marker. By the time its axis, the same star is again directly overhead. A
the star has reached the exact same location in Sidereal day has passed.
the sky again, one Sidereal day is considered to *Fig. c shows how the sun and star appear on this day
have passed. 2
A sidereal day is 4 minutes shorter
than the solar day. A sidereal day is accepted as *Because the earth is going ahead in its orbit, the Sun
a most accurate calculation of a day. One is left behind and the Earth has to rotate slightly more
so that the Sun is again overhead . This is a Solar day.
Sidereal day means an exact 360° rotation of Thus a Solar day is longer than a sidereal day.
Earth and the time taken is 23 hours and 56
minutes and 4.1 seconds. Whereas a solar day is

22
3.3 Longitudes and meridians:
Longus in Latin means Length and the
word derived from it: Longitude is the
geographic coordinate that specifies the
east–west position of any point on Earth's
surface. Every longitude joins the North Pole to
the South Pole. It is an angular measurement,
usually expressed in degrees.
Fig 3.4
The term meridian comes from the
Latin meridies, meaning midday. Normally
people consider midday to be the time when the
Sun comes exactly on your head. So normally
midday divides the day into 2 parts and hence
meridian is a line on which the Sun shines to
divide the day into 2 equal parts.
3.4 Time Zones:
Did you know that Longitudes are not
just imaginary markings? Longitudes are
actually time zones of the earth. When we
understood that Earth makes one rotation in 24
hours, to make it easy to organise the day,
longitudes were used to create time zones.
A time zone is a region of the globe that
observes a uniform standard time. Although
each longitude should be in one time zone,
actually, time zones tend to follow the
boundaries of countries instead of longitude,
because it is convenient for areas in close
proximity to keep the same time.
Although the word 'longitude' and
'meridian' are synonymous, they have distinct
meanings in geography. Earth is a round object.
Hence its circumference is 360°. So to make one
Rotation, Earth has to pass through 360°. Since
longitudes are in the direction of Earths
rotation, they are convenient to mark time.
Since one rotation equals 24 hours, 24
longitudes of 15°apart from each other are
marked on earth. Thus earth moves from one
longitude to the next in one hour. Between 2
lines of longitudes are 14 more longitudes, 1
degree apart. These mid longitudes are called
Meridians. So look at the calculation:
24 + (14 x 24 ) = 360
Meaning,
24 (longitudes) + 14 (meridians) =38
38 x 24 (hours) = 360 (degrees: that earth
moves in one rotation )
Now, isn't it clear what longitudes are? They are
markers of earth's rotation and the time taken. In
short longitudes are Time zones
Did you know?
AM and PM:
AM stands in short for Ante Meridiem, in Latin
for “ Before Midday” or “Before Noon”. It
means that it is the time before which the Sun
crosses your meridian at the Zenith above your
head at noon.
PM stands in short for Post Meridiem, in Latin
for “After Midday” or “After Noon”, the time
after the sun crosses your meridian.
An example: 11.00 a.m. is 11 o-clock in the
morning. But if you are using a 24 hour
timescale, this is called 11:00 hours. Similarly,
06.00 pm is Six o-clock in the evening and in a 24
hour timescale becomes 18:00 hours.
23
3.5 Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) :
When we mark time on Earth, we have
to start and end somewhere, since Earth is a
round sphere, it is difficult to start or end
anywhere. In the ancient world, this factor was
the major problem as to where time should start.
The first concept of meridians and longitudes
was set by Eratosthenes in Greece in 200 BC.
And Ptolemy was the first astronomer to mark a
fixed prime meridian passing though the Canary
Islands in The Atlantic Ocean.
In 1884, The Prime Meridian was fixed
to be passing through the Greenwich
astronomical Observatory at London and was
thus named as the Greenwich meridian. The
Greenwich meridian is the zero longitude and
time starts from the East side of this line in
London and is called GMT.

Fig 3.6 The Prime Meridian or 0 degree longitude

marked on the ground at the Greenwich Royal

Activity 3.1

Time Zones Calculation.

3.6 Indian Standard Time (IST):
Taking the two facts into consideration
that there are 360 longitudes and the earth takes
1440 minutes (24 hours X 60 minutes)
to move through these 360 longitudes, the time
interval between each of these longitudes can be
calculated as 1440 (minutes) divided by 360
(longitudes) which is equal to 4 minutes.
(1440/360 = 4)
So, calculating time anywhere on earth
is easy. Count how many meridians fall after
The Prime meridian and multiply by 4 minutes.
India falls 82.5 degrees (or meridians) after
Greenwich. Hence,
(82.5 degrees X 4 minutes = 330 minutes
And 330 / 60 minutes = 5.05 hours)
Thus India is 5.5 hours ahead of GMT.
Take a World atlas and calculate the Time
Zones of any 5 capitals of World countries.
It is simple.
See how many degrees that place is ahead
of Greenwich meridian, multiply the
number of degrees by 4 (minutes) and
divide the answer by 60 (minutes). You will
get how many hours that country is ahead of
GMT
3.6 International Date Line (IDL):
Just as The Greenwich meridian is the
first longitude and marks the zero degrees on the
globe, there is another line called The
International Date Line to mark the 180
degrees longitude. This imaginary line is
24
 Did you Know? passed between your home and the school.
Wouldn't it be funny? Since The IDL is where
How IST was marked? the day changes, your home would be in today
British India did not adopt the international but when you went to school, you would cross
standard time zones until 1905 when the
meridian passing through Allahabad at 82.5 º
The IDL and would reach the school which was
east (of Greenwich Meridian) longitude was in tomorrow! Again in the evening when you
picked as the central meridian for India, came back home in the evening, you would pass
corresponding to a single time zone for the from tomorrow again into today! You would
country at 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of just go crazy adjusting your watch and your
GMT. calendars! So this is why The IDL is drawn
This went into force on January 1,1906.
never to cross any habited landmass.
However, Calcutta time was officially
maintained as a separate time zone until
1948. Bombay time was maintained until
about 1955. After independence and the
partition of India, Pakistan stayed on Indian
Standard Time for three years and adopted
Pakistan standard Time at 5 hours in advance
of GMT in 1951.

Fig 3.7 The International Date Line

Activity 3.2
Date Line Calculation

Take a World atlas and find out which islands

are closest to the IDL.
This clock tower of Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
marks the 82.5 degrees latitude based on which Check out the dates on those islands.
IST is calculated Remember that the left side of the IDL where
India lies is in today and the right side where
located exactly behind the Greenwich meridian America lies is in tomorrow.
on the other side of the planet. This line that also
runs from the North Pole to the South Pole
3.7 Earth's Revolution:
marks the change of one calendar day to the
One movement of Earth around the Sun
next.
in a fixed orbit is called a revolution. Earth
The IDL passes through the Pacific
revolves from west to east i.e., in the
Ocean and is slightly zigzag and not straight like
anticlockwise direction. Earth completes one
the Greenwich meridian. This is because
revolution around the Sun in one year or
whenever the IDL meets any landmass, it is not
precisely in 365.242 days. During the entire
drawn to pass through it but rather to avoid it.
period of rotation and revolution, earth's axis
There is a reason for this.
never moves but points to the same spot in
Imagine you stayed in a city in which
space. This is called a gyroscopic movement of
The IDL passed and your school was located
the axis. (Fig: 3.8)
one kilometer away from home, but the IDL
25

Fig 3.8
The revolutionary speed of earth is
approximately 30 km/sec. In -one year, Earth
travels about 940 million km. Since speed is
equal to the distance traveled over the time
taken, Earth's speed is calculated by dividing
940 million km by 365.25 days and dividing that
result by 24 hours to get km per hour.
3.8 The Year:
Earth does not orbit the Sun in a circular
Fig 3.10
path. It goes around in an elliptical or oval orbit.
When it is at the closest distance to the Sun, the
position is called Perihelion and when it is at
furthest distance, the position is Aphelion.
When the Earth is at Aphelion it speeds up and at
Perihelion slows down due to The Suns gravity.
Like different types of days are based on
rotation, astronomers classify different types of
years of the earth based on revolution. Let us see
some of them:
3.8.1 Civil Year:
The normal 12-month year that we all
follow is called the civil year. It is based on a
calendar known as The Gregorian calendar.
Some call it The Christian calendar. Although
originally it was implemented by The Pope in
Vatican, now it is followed all over the world
and is known as common year or civil year.
By 1582 there was a calendar which had
evolved right from the Egyptian to Roman times
and The Roman Catholic Church was following
it. But some mistakes were pointed out in it and
it was required to be regularized and
standardized. Hence the Vatican after a lot of
calculation and astronomical adjustments
perfected a calendar which followed the 365
day revolution of the Earth. It is named after
Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in
October 1582. This year is based on:-
* 365 days is taken as Earth's revolution period
* It is divided into two eras or ages BC and AD,
today more commonly called BCE and CE
respectively (fig 3.9 )
* It is made of 12 unequal months
* It uses the concept of Leap years
* The day changes after 24:00 hours midnight
Did you Know?
The Gregorian calendar
The order passed by Pope Gregory
the 13th to implement the Calendar in 1582
(left) brought in force the calendar we all
follow today.
Since this calendar was issued to
correct the mistakes of the older calendar
which had fallen out of tune with the
seasons, 10 days were dropped from
October 1582, so that from next year the
calendar would exactly match with the
seasons and the suns 365 days revolution.
(right)
26

Fig 3.9: The Gregorian Era system: How time is
divided into two parts with the Year One, considered
to be the Birth year of Jesus Christ as the midpoint.
We know that one complete revolution
of earth is 365.2425 days long. But in the
Gregorian calendar the fraction is removed and
the year is deemed to be only 365 days. If this is
continued for a long time, eventually the
seasons will start slipping away and centuries
ahead, summer will shift to December! To avoid
this, the fraction day which the 365 day civil
calendar drops is collected and every fourth
year inserted as one whole day of February 29th.
This is called a leap day. This is the method
which keeps the civil calendar year
synchronized with the astronomical year or
seasonal year.
Although it is a common belief that
every forth year will be a leap year, in the
Gregorian calendar, some criteria must be taken
into account to identify leap years.
*Fraction years like 1924,2012,Etc. are leap
years only if they can be evenly divisible by 4.
* Round year like 2000, 1200 etc are a leap
years only if they can be evenly divisible by
100 as well as 400.
3.8.2 Synodic Year or Tropical Year:
A synodic year is the time it takes for an
earth-sun alignment to reoccur. It is the time it
takes for the sun to come to the same place on
the ecliptic (equinox to equinox) and is 365.242
days. Let us simplify:
On the day of The Vernal Equinox on
21st March, the Sun is exactly on top of the
Equator. For the Sun to come exactly at the same
place in the sky again, it takes exactly 365.242
days. This period is called a Synodic year. A
synodic year is also called as a tropical year as it
is the time that the Sun takes to return to the
same position in the cycle of seasons, the
tropical year is the interval at which seasons
repeat and is the basis for making the
agricultural calendar.
3.8.3 A sidereal year
It is the time it takes for the sun to return
to the same position with respect to the stars.
The sidereal year is about 20 minutes longer
than the synodic year. One Sidereal year is
exactly 365.242 days, 20 minutes.
2 Sidereal Year
1 Trop
ical
Yea
r
Fig 3.10: to make one full revolution around the
sun and come to the same point in space from where
it started, earth takes one tropical/synodic year. but
with respect to a distant star, the Earth takes a little
more time to return to the same position in space and
be aligned to that star again, as the star appears to
slightly move ahead as seen from earth in one year
from 1 to 2. This is the Sideral year.
27
 By now you know:
a) Based on Earth's rotation, we have 3 types of days: Civil day based on one 360 º rotation, Solar
day based on one rotation with respect to the Sun and Sidereal day based on one rotation with
respect to any star.
b) A longitude is a semicircular line joining the North Pole to the South Pole and meridians are 14
sub-longitudes between 2 main longitudes. There are totally 365 Longitudes and meridians.
c) A time zone is a region of the globe that observes a uniform standard time. Each time zone is
marked by one longitude.
d) The Prime Meridian at Greenwich is the first or zero longitude and time is calculated from there.
e) India is 5.5 hours ahead of GMT.
f) The line exactly 180 degree opposite to the Greenwich meridian not joining and landmass is The
International Date line and day changes from here.
g) Revolution of Earth is the basis of calendars. There are mainly 3 types of years: Civil or
calendar year, the basis of our day to day calendar; Synodic year which is one revolution with
respect to Sun and Sidereal year which is one revolution with respect to any distant star.

I) Answer in one sentence

1) What are different types of days?
2) What is a Civil day?
3) What is a Solar day?
4) What is a Sidereal day?
5) What is a time zone?
6) Where did Ptolemy fixed the prime meridian?
7) What is aphelion?
8) What is a leap year?
9) How many longitudes are there on the globe?
10) What is a sidereal year?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) A sidereal day is _____ minutes shorter than solar day.
2) A sidereal year is ____ minutes longer than Synodic year.
3) The orbital speed of the Earth is approximately _________.
4) The first concept of meridians and longitudes was set by ___________.
5) A synodic year is also called as a ________year.
6) The point in Earth's Orbit where the earth is Closest to the Sun is called _____.

II) Match the pairs

Sidereal day 24 hours
Synodic year leap day
Solar day Seasons
Civil year 23hours 54 minutes

28
IV ) Give the full forms of
GMT
IST
IDL
AM
PM
AD
BC
BCE
CE

V) Answer in two or three sentences

1) Explain Greenwich meridian Time?
2) Explain International Date Line?
3) Why there is need of introducing leap day?
4) What are the three conditions required for a year to be a leap year?
5) What is Synodic Year?
6) What is Sidereal Year?

VI ) Give reasons
1) Why is the length of the day varying in Solar Day
2) If you see a star Sirius in the sky at 7:00pm. Next day at same time the star will not be
seen at the same position in the sky. Why does this happen?
3) Why the international date line is not straight?

29

“After my death, the molecules of my being will return to the earth and sky. They came from
the stars. I am of the stars”.
We study Geography as a separate
subject in itself, but many of its basic concepts
related to space like position of our Earth and its
movements have their base in astronomy. If you
would study geography as a part of Astronomy,
you will not only understand it fully, but it will
be easy too. In this and the next chapters let us
make an effort, let us try.
4.1 Earth in Space:
The Earth lies in the Solar System which
is a tiny part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which
itself is a part of a much larger group of galaxies.
So studying the Earth as a part of this system
will help us to understand our planet better.
a)At the primary level Earth is a part of the
Sun: Moon: Earth system, because both the
Sun and Moon interact with the earth and
give our planet its characteristics.
b)At a higher level our planet is a part of
Solar system, because without all the
objects in the Solar system including
planets and asteroids, the Earth would
have not evolved as it is today.
c)Finally, planet Earth is a part of the
Universe and most of the things in the
universe have an affect on the earth like
cosmic radiations, gravity, etc.
Hence our Earth is an inseparable part of
the entire universe and so are each one of us and
all forms of life.
4.2 Earth and Celestial Sphere: let us see how
the sky appears to us from Earth.
4.2.1 Why space looks round:
Standing below the sky, it appears round
or hemispherical to us. Wherever we go, or
wherever we stand or whichever height we
observe from, the sky appears round. This is
Chapter 4
EARTH IN SPACE
- Charles Lindbergh (pilot, inventor, author)
Sun's effects on earth: The Sun warms our
oceans, affects tides, stirs our atmosphere,
generates our weather patterns, activates the
water cycle and gives energy to the growing
plants that provide the food and oxygen for
life through photosynthesis, keeps us in our
place with its gravity.
Moon's effects on earth: The Moon causes
tides, influences breeding patterns of many sea
creatures, holds the Earth in a tilt of 23.5
degrees which causes seasons and provides us
seasonal foods.
why our Indian ancestors called Astronomy as
Khagolshastra (Kha = sky, Gola = circular,
Shastra = study) or science of the circular sky.
Actually the sky has no shape, it appears so
because we are standing on a circular object and
looking at it.
If we stand at equal intervals at different
places on the equator draw a straight line to the
maximum limit of visible sight and then if we
could join all these points, the resulting shape
would be a circle, simply because our base of
observation is a circle. This is why the sky
appears round. (Fig 4.1)
Fig 4.1
30
4.3 Celestial Sphere:
The massive sky you see, studded with
stars is called the celestial sphere. The stars and
objects in it look as if there are fixed to the giant
dome visible and the observer feels that he is
observing the entire dome of the sky just as a
viewer sits in a cinema hall and observes the
movie unfolding in front of him on the screen.
All that we see in the sky is at different
distances from us. The farthest object visible to
the human eyes is The Andromeda galaxy, our
neighboring galaxy which is at a distance of 2.5
million light years from us. Hence we could say
that the objects visible on the celestial sphere
are only up till those at 2.5 million years
distance. But the celestial sphere creates the
illusion that all objects exist at the same distance
on the inside of one massive sphere. The star
patterns that appear on the celestial sphere are
studied as constellations by us, but remember
that the shapes are imaginary and the
constellations can take a different shape if
viewed from some other point in our galaxy.
Fig 4.2: the Celestial Sphere viewed from outside.
Celestial Markings: Just like we have
imaginary lines called latitudes and longitudes
on earth to study geography, we have
coordinates on the celestial sphere for the use of
astronomical calculations and observation. Let
us now see a few of these:
4.3.1 Celestial Equator/hemispheres:
a) Stand on the Earth's Equator
b) Look up and extend the equatorial plane
into the sky
c) Now draw the same equator parallel to
this plane in the sky,
You would be exactly imagining the
Celestial Equator. This Equator on the celestial
sphere cuts the entire observable universe into
two parts for us. The North Celestial
hemisphere covering the northern hemisphere
of the planet and the south Celestial
hemisphere, covering the entire Southern
hemisphere of Earth.
Thus the Celestial Equator and Celestial
hemispheres are but projections of the Earths
geography into the sky. (Fig 4.3)
Fig 4.3: the Celestial Sphere viewed from
outside, with different coordinates of earth
projected on it..
4.3.1 Ecliptic: Now we will see one of the most
important marking on the celestial sphere which
is of absolute importance in Astronomy: The
Ecliptic. We have already seen that the Equator
of Earth projected in the sky is called the
celestial equator. Because the Earth is tilted on
its axis at 23.5 degrees, the celestial equator also
31
appears to be tilted 23.5º.
Now look at the sun's movement. The
Sun appears to rise and set everyday, and ifyou
mark the daily path of the Sun in the sky, you
will form another line from east to west; this is
the Ecliptic or the path of the Sun in the sky.
(Fig 4.4)
Fig 4.4: the Celestial Sphere viewed from outside,
with Celestial Equator and Ecliptic projected on it.
The suns movement in the sky appears on the
Ecliptic line and this line passes from East to West
in the sky as observed by us from Earth.
In Fig 4.4, observe that the celestial
equator and Ecliptic are different planes on the
celestial Sphere and the planes intersect at two
points. These points are of paramount
importance in Astronomy, sky observation,
Calendar making and understanding formation
of Seasons as we shall see ahead.
4.3.2 Celestial Poles:
The North Pole projected into the sky is
called the North Celestial pole and South Pole
projected in the sky is called the South celestial
pole. The plane of the Solar system is aligned to
the ecliptic and hence the poles which are
perpendicular to the celestial equator are tilted
at 23.5º to the solar system plane .(Fig: 4.4)
4.3.3 Zenith and Nadir:
If you stand outside under the sky and
look straight up, the highest point on your head
and on the sky is called the zenith. This is where
your local longitude (meridian) passes over
your head.
Nadir (a Sanskrit word) is the lowest
position in the sky. If you look down on the
ground, The Nadir is on top of the sky on the
other side of the planet diametrically opposite,
all the way passing through the earth below you.
4.4 Astronomical motions of Earth:
Go and stand outside your School.
Observe the trees, the buildings, the road and
the fixed things. They never move, you can't see
anything except humans, animals, vehicles,
move on their own and many other things like
trees and other lifeless things like paper, plastic
moving in the wind. But if I said that the school
building is moving at around 30 km/s second,
you would start laughing in disbelief. But yes, it
is true. Everything on Earth moves, nothing is
stationary, even you when you sit still. The
school building is moving with the Earth which
in turn moves ahead in its orbit at 30 kms/sec.
Movement is the rule of the universe.
Planets, stars, galaxies to the entire universe, all
are moving at terribly unimaginable speeds and
yet you feel everything is calm and quiet. That's
the fun part of learning astronomy. Astronomy
helps you understand the real science of
everything that exists, even your own self.
Normally we study that the Earth rotates
and revolves in space, but the earth and its orbit
have many more astronomical motions in space
which we will see.
32
 Activity 4.1
Understanding movement in the universe.
Sumukh's father is going to the next city,
i.e from Panjim to Margao, so Sumukh did this
experiment, which you too can try out. When father
closed the door of the house to leave, sumukh asked
him to call when he reached Margao and then
marked the time, which was 06:00pm. Sumukh
then sat in one place with his homework and did not
move.
When his father reached Margao at
07:00pm, he called to say that he had reached.
Sumukh was sitting at the same place since father
left. SO, Who had moved? You will say that his
father who went to Margao had moved. He had
moved 32 kms , South of Panjim, since that is where
Margao lies.
But you are wrong, both have moved!
Confused? Let us see what actually happened.
Sumukh's Father who went to Margao moved 32
kms to the South and also took one hour to move
that distance. So he moved downward in direction
and forward in time.
But on the other hand Sumukh was sitting
in one place and his watch had showed 06:00pm
when father left , but when he reached Margao,
Sumukhs watch showed 07:00pm too , that means
Sumukh's time also moved forward. Thus even
though he never moved with respect to direction, he
still moved forward in time! Isn't this great?
This simple theory, though difficult to
perceive was made by none other than Sir Albert
Einstein.
4.5 Earth's precession:
Have you seen a toy top spinning? As it spins,
notice three motions. As the top spins around
itself, this is how earth rotates. As the top spins,
it makes a small circle as spinning goes on
continuously. This circle is equal to earth's
revolution. Finally observe the top as it makes a
small circle with its upper tip, while its
rotational and revolutional motions are going
Fig 4.5: Like a giant top, the earth axis also wobbles
and a small circle is made by the North Pole. Due to
this, the fixed stars in the sky will appear to move.
Presently Polaris or Dhruv is at the point of the North
Star, but approximately 16,000 years later, it will have
completely moved away due the movement of the axis
and then the axis will point to another star as the North
Star in space called Vega or Abhijit nakshatra.
on. This small spin is also made by the earth's
axis (the top's upper tip) as the earth rotates and
revolves. This 3rd motion of Earth is called
Precession. To make one full circle of
precession, the axis of the Earth takes
approximately 25,772 years. Why the Earth
makes this motion will be studied in the chapter
relating to The Moon.
4.5.1 Effects of Precession:
While rotation causes day and night and
revolution causes the seasons, the precessional
motion also has effects although they are not
noticeable instantly due to the huge amount of
time required for one circle of precession to be
completed. Precession causes the following
phenomena on earth:
4.5.2 Movement of Pole Star:
The Pole star or Polaris or Dhruv
Nakshatra is the star which is located on top of
the North Pole of the earth. We think that the
pole star is fixed. But as the Pole itself is actually
moving gradually due to precession, the pole
star also slowly appears to move away from its
fixed position in the sky. At present it has
already moved slightly away from the North
axis of earth.
33
4.5.3 Change of seasons:
The equinox and solstice points which
mark the changing period of seasons on earth
are fixed in space on the ecliptic. But as the axis
itself wobbles, the whole setting of earth in
space itself starts wobbling and the ecliptic also
shifts minutely. With these the Equinox/
Solstice points will move and the timing of the
seasons is gradually changing as recorded
through the centuries by astronomers.
4.5.5 Apsidal precession cycle: As the earth
moves around the sun in orbit, once a year it is
closet to the Sun and this point of its orbit is
called Perihelion. Similarly, once a year the
earth is also furthest from the Sun and that point
is called aphelion.

4.5.4 Shifting of star positions:

Although the earth rotates and revolves
continuously, the stars appear fixed in the sky.
This is because we know that the earth moves on
its axis, but we think that the axis never moves.
But now we have discovered that the stars are
also very slowly shifting from their fixed
Fig 4.7
positions as the axis wobbles like a top due to
precession and our entire orientation and
alignment in space is moving with respect to Now these two points also do not remain
fixed stars. This is because of the wobbling of fixed but slowly move as the Earths orbit itself
the axis, so when we think that the Earth's axis makes a strange dance around the Sun spinning
“never” moves, we are actually wrong. The axis back and forth. This one movement of the entire
does move but so slowly that we can't notice the orbit of the earth is called The Apsidal
changes it causes. Gradually the famous Precession cycle. One such cycle takes 1,12,000
constellation shapes that we are familiar with years.
now will be changed due to this. But this will
take thousands of years to be noticeable.

B) Orbital Eccentricity cycles: the earth's

elliptical orbit keeps slightly expanding and
contracting continuously. This is called orbital
Eccentricity. It has two main cycles, one cycle
with an average of 100,000 years and a longer
cycle with an approximate of 410,000 years.

Fig 4.8

Fig 4.6
34
 By now you know:
a) The sky that we see above us is called the celestial sphere and it appears round because our
view point earth, is round
b) The equator of earth projected in Earth is called the celestial equator and divides the sky into
North celestial hemisphere and south celestial hemisphere.
c) If you mark the Suns path in the sky, that straight line is called Ecliptic.
d) The Poles of earth projected into the sky are called Celestial north and celestial south poles.
e) Earth's North Pole makes a circle traveling 1° every 72 years and completes one full circle in
26000 years. This movement is called precession.
f) The earth's elliptical orbit keeps slightly expanding and contracting continuously. This is called
orbital Eccentricity
g) When Earth is closest to the Sun, the point is perihelion and when it is farthest is called
Aphelion. The movement of these 2 orbital points of Earth is called Apsidal precession.

I) Answer in one sentence

1) What is a celestial sphere?
2) What is a celestial equator?
3) What is ecliptic?
4) What is a celestial pole?
5) Name the different motions of the Earth?
6) What is eccentricity?
7) What is eccentricity cycle?
8) What is apsidal Precession cycle
9) How long is the Apsidal precession cycle?
10) How many aphelion occurs in a year?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) Indian ancestors called Astronomy as ________________.
2) ____________ is the farthest object visible to human eye.
3) the highest point on your head and on the sky is called the _________.
4) ______ is the lowest point in the sky, exactly opposite to zenith.
5) One complete cycle of precession is of ____________ years.
6) The longer eccentricity cycle is of ________ years

III) Draw a neat diagram of celestial sphere and label:

Celestial Equator,
Ecliptic,
Celestial poles

35
IV) Answer in two or three sentences
1) What are the effects of precession seen on the Earth?
2) What is the celestial sphere?
3) Explain the Ecliptic.

V) Give reason
1) Why do we see sky as a sphere?
2) Why does the sun appears to move along the ecliptic and not the celestial equator?
3) Why is the Ecliptic and celestial equator are tilted to each other?

VI) State true or false

1) The point where the Earth is closest to the Sun is called Apehelion.
2) The earth's elliptical orbit keeps slightly expanding and contracting continuously.
3) Earth goes through one complete processional circle in a period of approximately
26,000 years.
4) The highest point above your head and on the sky is called the Nadir.
5) All the stars that we see on the celestial sphere are at same distances.

36

ASTRONOMY OF THE SEASONS
“Mother Nature never tiring ,As she works through sun and rain. Never does she err in
judgment; No mistakes she ever makes, As she plans each season's schedule; Never any glory takes!
A season is a division of the year
marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the
amount of daylight. On Earth, seasons are the
result of Earth's orbit around the Sun and Earth's
axial tilt (23.5º).
5.1 Cosmic Reason for Seasons:
The tilt of the earth and the apparent
position of the Sun at various points on the
ecliptic cause different portions of the earth to
get unequal proportions of heat from the Sun
and this is the main reason for seasons on earth.
The changes in the seasons are marked by
definite points on the ecliptic with regards to the
movement of the Sun called equinox and
solstice points. It is when the Sun reaches these
points in its apparent motion around the Earth
that the changes are felt in our climate.
5.2 Equinox
You know that the equator of the earth
projected into space is the celestial equator and
the path of the sun across the sky is called the
ecliptic. The two Equinox points are the points
in space where the plane of the celestial equator
intersects with the ecliptic. (Fig 5.1)
The word Equinox is derived from the
Latin aequinoctium, from aequus (equal) and
nox (night) meaning, the night (and day) of
equal period all over the planet. On this date the
night and day are equal.
5.3 Solstice:
Approximately three months after each
Equinox, as the sun appears to move forward on
the ecliptic, it touches the farthest north or south
points of the ecliptic. These two positions of the
sun on the ecliptic are called the Solstices.
Chapter 5
-Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, poet
The two Solstices are Summer Solstice and
Winter Solstice. (Fig: 5.1). The word Solstice is
derived from the Latin solstitium from sol, for
"sun" and “stit” for standing (still), meaning
Sun standing still. English speakers shortened it
to solstice in the 13th century. On this day, The
Sun appears to stop moving in the sky and
stands still at the Solstice point. Next day, the
Sun starts its journey back to the equinox point.
Fig 5.1: The Celestial Sphere showing the dissection
points of Ecliptic and Celestial equator. These Points
are called Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox
The Seasons and how they occur:
5.4 Vernal Equinox: On 21st March the Sun in
its apparent northward journey reaches the
intersection point of the ecliptic with the
celestial equator plane. This point is called the
Vernal Equinox point. What happens then? In
this position, the Sun is shining exactly on the
Equator as seen from Earth. (fig 5.2)
It marks the start of Summer in Northern
hemisphere. The Sun rays heat up the water
from the oceans at the equator and all this water
vapors forms clouds in the sky.
37

Fig 5.2: The Earth at Equinox
5.4.1 Astronomical significance of Vernal
Equinox:
Astronomically, the day of the Vernal
Equinox is called “THE FIRST POINT OF
ARIES”. Let us understand why, carefully. The
ancient astronomers observed that the Vernal
Equinox happened on the day when the Sun
entered the constellation Aries. Hence this was
the first contact point from which the Sun
entered into the Northern hemisphere from the
Southern hemisphere. Since the day it happened
was on 21st march, that day was called “The
First point of Aries.
Since the Sun entering Vernal Equinox
was considered extremely auspicious as it
marked the start of Summer in Northern
hemisphere, most ancient civilizations
observed this day or a day close to this day as
The New Year Day and a new Calendar cycle
started from this day.
5.4.2 Vernal Equinox in India:
Ancient Indians were accurate
calendar makers and time calculation became
important to The Vedic People because
festivals, rituals, agriculture, travel, etc had to
be started at proper times and people believed
that something started at the auspicious time
(Shubh Muhurat) would be successful. The
Equinox was called Vishuv and there are many
references to it in The Vedas.
In the Vedic times, the astronomers
observed that the Vernal Equinox happened
when the Sun entered the constellation Aries or
Mesha in the sky. Hence the Indian new year
started somewhere close to this day. Even today
The Hindu New Year for most parts of India
called Gudi padwa starts after the Vernal
Equinox. This is also the reason why Aries, the
ram is considered as the first constellation in the
sky.
DID YOU KNOW?
Astronomical connection of Easter: unlike
Christmas which always falls on 25th
December, the other major Christian festival,
Easter is celebrated after the date is
astronomically calculated. It always occurs on
the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs
after the vernal equinox, which signifies the
beginning of spring in the Northern
hemisphere. The church has decided to always
accept Vernal equinox as March 21. But if the
full moon itself falls on Sunday, then Easter is
celebrated on the next Sunday.
5.5 Summer Solstice: After the Vernal
Equinox, the Sun appears to move northward on
the Ecliptic and on 21st June reaches the highest
point on this line. On this day it is 23.5º N
above the Celestial Equator and exactly on the
Tropic of Cancer. This day, 21st June is called
the Summer Solstice. Though the Sun is directly
overhead on Indian subcontinent it is rainy
season in India. This rainy season (Monsoon) is
caused by the differential heating of the huge
south east Asian landmass and the surrounding
seas.
Also remember that at this point in time
the North pole receives 24 hours of light and
south pole is in darkness for 24 hours.
Fig 5.3: the Earth and Sun on 21st June, Summer
Solstice day.
38
5.6 Autumnal Equinox:
The Autumnal or September equinox
occurs the moment the Sun crosses the celestial
Equator and passes from the northern to
southern hemisphere. This mostly occurs on
September 22 every year. This occurrence is
exactly opposite of the Vernal Equinox.

Fig 5.5: Winter in the Northern hemisphere.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fig 5.4: how earth gets sunlight on Autumnal Equinox.
DID YOU KNOW?
Navaratri is a Hindu festival which lasts nine
days in the autumn. The festival honours the
mother Godess, Durga and is celebrated in
month Ashvin, which falls in the months of
September / October after the Autumnal
Equinox. This is the time that the harvest is
ready in the fields and this festival is a
thanksgiving to nature for the abundant grains
that have been harvested in the season.
The name of the festival itself is
“sharadiya Navratri” meaning the Autumnal
Navratri and is thus linked to the Equinox. The
people normally keep awake and celebrate in
the nights as these nights are pleasant and the
monsoon is just getting over. Many also have a
vegetarian diet during the festival and eat foods
that will give immunity to the body in
preparation for the coming winter and the
illnesses of the cold season. This is how our
ancestors linked astronomy to culture ,
celebration, seasons and health.
5.7 Winter Solstice:
After the Autumnal Equinox, Sun appears to
move southward on the Ecliptic and on 21st
December reaches the lowest point on this line.
Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival which
celebrates the arrival of The Sun in the Northern
hemisphere. It falls on January 14 or 15 each
year.
Makar means “constellation Capricorn” and
sankranti means “crossing into”. Hence on this
day the Sun would enter the constellation
Capricorn and also shine straight on The Tropic
of Capricorn. But this happened thousands of
years ago. Today due to the wobbling of the
earths axis, The Solstice points like the Equinox
points have also moved and the Sun shines on the
st
tropic of Capricorn on 21 December but enters
constellation Capricorn around January 19/20,.
Hence the two original phenomena which
marked the day of Sankranti festival have
seperated today.
Fig 5.6: Observe the shadows on Winter Solstice. South
Pole of the Earth, which is near Tropic of Capricorn gets
fully lit up, but the North pole is in complete darkness
on this day. Since the Sun directly shines on the Tropic
of Capricorn in the Southern hemisphere, in the
extreme North at The North Pole there is complete
darkness in this period.
39
 On this day it is 23.5ºS of the Celestial 5.8.1 How the tropics were named:
Equator and exactly on the Tropic of Capricorn. About 2000 years ago, the Sun appeared
This day is called the Winter Solstice. During at the highest point in the Northern hemisphere
this season of winter, days become short and on Summer Solstice and on this day the
nights become long in the northern hemisphere constellation it shone in, was cancer. Hence the
due to which it becomes cold and we have snow place which was 23.5º north of the equator,
fall in the northern part of northern hemisphere. where this happened was named as Tropic of
cancer. Similarly, Tropic of Capricorn was
5.8 Tropics of the Earth: named after the constellation Capricorn
The Tropics lie between Tropic of because it was the place on Earth 23.5º south of
Cancer (23.5ºN) and Tropic of Capricorn the equator, where the sun appeared, when it
(23.5ºS) of the equator. These regions receive was at the lowest point in the sky on Winter
maximum sunlight and also maximum rainfall solstice, 22nd December.
during the year. Since the apparent movement of
the sun occurs between the tropics, the people in 5.9 Shifting of Equinox and solstice points:
the regions beyond tropics can not see the sun This naming of the tropics took place
directly overhead about 2000 years ago, when the Sun appeared in
Cancer and Capricorn constellations on the
solstice days. But now due to precession of the
Earth's axis as we have
already studied, the Sun
appears to be in Taurus at the
June solstice and in
Sagittarius at the December
solstice.
N
Similarly, long ago the
Trop
23.5 0
vernal equinox happened
N ic o
f Ca when the Sun appeared in the
nce
00 r
constellation Aries which
Equ
ato was exactly on the equinox
r
CAPRICORN Tro
23.
p
5 0S
ic o
f Ca
point in March in the sky and
pric also the autumnal equinox
orn
happened when constellation
CANCER Libra was exactly on the
equinox point in September.
S But now due to precession,
these point too have shifted to
vernal equinox in Pieces and
autumnal equinox in Virgo.

Fig 5.7: The tropics of cancer and Capricorn and

their relations to the constellations in the sky.

40
 Effect of vernal equinox,
st
21 March:
a) As the Sun stands exactly on the centre of
the earth, it will shine exactly at the highest
point in the sky on the Equator on this day
b) As the Sun is now shining exactly at the
centre of the sky, the entire planet will get
equal sunlight at all places, hence only on this
day there will be equal day and night all over
earth approximately.
c) On this day, we have the 'No Shadow” day
at the Equator. If you stand exactly on the
Equator at 12 noon, you will cast no shadows
on this day!
d) On this day, the Sun moving from the
Southern hemisphere stands at the entrance
of the Northern hemisphere, meaning ,it will
now enter the Northern hemisphere thus
bringing the heat (summer season) with it.
Hence this day was regarded as the first day of
spring all over the Northern hemisphere and
also called the 'spring' equinox or vernal
equinox. The word 'vernal' means 'relating to
spring'.
e) After this day, the nights become shorter in
the Northern hemisphere and we have longer,
warmer, Sunnier days.
f) Consequently Vernal Equinox marks the
last day of summer for Southern hemisphere
countries.
g) After this day the sun starts rising more and
more towards the Northern side and reaches
extreme North east point in its orbit after
three months
Effect of Autumnal equinox,
nd
22 September:
a) As the Sun stands exactly on the centre of
the earth, it will shine exactly on the Equator
on this day similar to Vernal Equinox
b) As the Sun is now shining exactly at the
centre of the sky, the entire planet will get
equal sunlight at all places, hence similar to
Vernal Equinox, again on this day there will
be equal day and night all over earth
approximately.
c) The second 'No Shadow” day at the
Equator. If you stand exactly on the Equator
at 12 noon, you will cast no shadows on this
day too!
d) On this day, the Sun moving from the
Northern hemisphere stands at the entrance
of the southern hemisphere, meaning, it will
now enter the southern hemisphere thus
bringing the heat (summer season) with it.
Hence this day was regarded as the first day
of spring all over the southern hemisphere
.But in the Northern hemisphere this is
beginning of Autumn and thus it is known as
“Autumnal equinox” or “ Fall equinox”
( Fall= another name of Autumn as leaves”
fall” off the trees in this season) .
e) After this day, the nights become longer in
the Northern hemisphere and shorter nights
in the South.
f) Consequently Autumnal Equinox marks
the last day of winter for Southern
hemisphere countries.
g) After this day the sun starts rising more and
more towards the Southern side and reaches
extreme South east point in its orbit after
three months
41
 Effects of Winter Solstice on Earth: Effects of Summer Solstice on Earth:

a) As the Sun stands exactly on the
southernmost point on the Ecliptic, it will be
23.5 degrees below the Celestial Equator and
will shine exactly on top of the Tropic of
Capricorn as seen from Earth, on this day
a) As the Sun stands exactly on the
northernmost point on the Ecliptic, it will be
23.5 degrees above the Celestial Equator and
will shine exactly on top of the Tropic of
Cancer as seen from Earth, on this day

b) As the Sun is now shining exactly at the
lowermost point of its path in the sky, the
Southern hemisphere on which the Sun now
stands has the longest day and the Northern
hemisphere has the shortest day in the year.
b) As the Sun is now shining exactly at the
higher most point of its path in the sky, the
Northern hemisphere on which the Sun now
stands has the longest day and the Southern
hemisphere has the shortest day in the year.

c) On this day, if you stand exactly on the c) On this day, if you stand exactly on the
Tropic of Capricorn at 12 noon, you will cast Tropic of Cancer at 12 noon, you will cast no
no shadows! shadows!

d) North Pole is in complete darkness and d) South Pole is in complete darkness and
South Pole has a 24 hour day and no night. North Pole has a 24 hour day and no night.

By now you know:

a) A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of
daylight. Seasons occur because of the 23.5 degree tilt of our axis.
b) When the Sun, moving up from South reaches the dissection point of the ecliptic to the
celestial Equator , it touches both the Ecliptic and the celestial Equator. This point is called the
Vernal Equinox point and vice versa is the Autumnal equinox point.
c) The day of the Vernal Equinox is called “the first point of Aries” because on this day the Sun
appeared in Aries constellation.
d) The two extreme points when the Sun is furthest from the Equinox points are called as
Solstice points. When The Sun touches these points three months after each Equinox, we call the
phenomena as Solstice.
e) When the Sun shines exactly 23.5 degrees in the sky below the Celestial Equator, it will
naturally be visible right on top of the Tropic of Capricorn. This day is called the Winter
Solstice. The Summer Solstice is exactly opposite phenomena of the Winter Solstice
f) Tropic of Cancer was so named because the day the sun would directly shine on top of it, it was
visible in the constellation Cancer, the crab. This happened on the day of the summer solstice,
21st June. Likewise, the Tropic of Capricorn was so named because the day the sun was directly
st
on it, the sun would appear in the constellation Capricorn, the sea goat. This was 21 December,
the winter solstice.
g) Due to the shifting of the earth's axis gradually all the 4 equinox and solstice points of earth
have now changed from where they were located 2000 years ago.

42
 Activity:
Movement of Sun through Zodiac
Make twelve students stand in a big circle, they
are the Zodiac constellations. Name each as
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo,
Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn,
Aquarius and Pisces. A student will stand at the
center. He is the Sun. now a student who will be
earth will move between the sun and the
constellations, which themselves will not
move. Let earth start moving from Libra
anticlockwise, ie from left to right in a circle.
Observe:
When Earth is near Libra, Sun appears in front
of Aries. This is vernal equinox.
When earth reaches Capricorn, Sun appears in
front of Cancer. This is Summer Solstice.
When Earth reaches Aries, Sun appears in front
of Libra. This is Autumnal Equinox
When Earth reaches cancer, Sun appears in
front of Capricorn, this is winter solstice.
See how the Sun appears in different
constellations because the earth is moving.
DID YOU KNOW?
Equinox sunset at Holy Spirit Church,
Margao.
The Holy Spirit Church is located in the Old
Market Square of the town of Margao, Goa.
The present structure was the third to be
built on the site and was started in 1645 and
took 30 years to be completed. It was built
by the Jesuit priests who had a lot of
knowledge in Astronomy and many of their
structures still present in Goa have
astronomical instruments and alignments
done with astronomical dates in mind.
On the day of both the equinoxes
on 21st June and 22nd September, the rays
of the setting Sun fall directly through round
windows on the front side of the Church and
light up the three alters inside the church.
This phenomenon can still be observed
today.

DID YOU KNOW?

Zodiac pillars of Karnataka:
The Vidyashankara temple was built in the
year 1338 A.D at Sringeri in Karnataka during
the zenith of The Vijaynagara Empire. There
are 12 pillars in the temple with each sign of
the zodiac like Aries, Taurus, etc carved on the
pillars. The temple was so constructed that the
morning rays of the sun should fall on the pillar
representing the relevant zodiac constellation
for the month, for that entire month. We can till today observe the sunlight falling on the appropriate pillars
on The Equinox and Solstice days, which shows how expert in astronomy were our ancient Indians and how
they linked it to architecture .

43
I) Answer in one sentence
1) What is a Season?
2) What is the meaning of latin word solstitium?
3) When Sun shines on the tropic of Capricorn what season will be there in Southern
hemisphere?
4) When Sun shines on the tropic of Cancer what season will be there in Northern
hemisphere?
5) On which day there will be no shadow at 12 noon on Tropic of cancer?
6) On which day there will be no shadow at 12 noon on Tropic of capricorn?
7) What makes Sun's apparent vernal equinox position to shifts?
8) Who introduced the term first point of Aries?
9) In which constellation sun lies at Summer Solstice?
10) Which is the latitude in the northern hemisphere beyond which Sun cannot be
seen overhead?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) Vernal Equinox is also called ______ ____________.
2) After autumnal equinox Sun enters into _____________ hemisphere.
3) On the day of summer solstice ______ pole will be in complete darkness.
4) On the day of winter solstice ______ pole will have no sunset.
5) Autumnal Equinox marks the last day of winter for _______hemisphere countries.
6) ___________ marks the last day of summer for Southern hemisphere countries.
7) The Equinox was called ______ in Vedas.
8) Currently the vernal equinox point is in ______ constellation.
9) Sun is in _____ constellation on the day of winter solstice
10) _________ is the latitude in the Southern hemisphere beyond which Sun cannot
be seen overhead?

III) Match the pairs

Vernal Equinox Sun at 23 ½ ° South
Autumnal Equinox Sun at 23 ½ ° North
Winter solstice Southward journey of Sun
Summer slostice First point of Aries

IV) Answer in two or three sentences

1) What is the main reason why seasons occur in systematic cyclic pattern all over
the planet?
2) Why is Vernal Equinox is also called first point of Aries?
3) Why are the tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn named so?

44
4) Why Aries is considered the first constellation of the zodiac?
5) What are equinoctial points?
6) What are Solstice points?
7) State any four effects of Vernal equinox on the Earth?
8) State any four effects of Autumnal equinox on the Earth?
9) State any four effects of Summer Solstice on the Earth?
10) State any four effects of Winter Solstice on the Earth?

45
 Chapter 6
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
“When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just
from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system”
-Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut

6.1 Formation of the Solar System and Sun:
All Stars are born from clouds of gasses
abundantly composed of Hydrogen gas. These
clouds are gigantic and are located all over the
galaxy and are called 'Nebula'. There are
different theories of solar system formation. But
the most commonly accepted is its birth from a
Nebula.
This theory says that a large cloud of Gas
or Nebula was static for millions of years until,
probably a shockwave of another nearby
exploding star set it into motion and the cloud
began spinning around itself.
As the spin increased, gravity at the
centre pulled more and more material inwards.
Fig 6.1
Eventually the pressure in the core was so great
that hydrogen atoms began to combine and form
helium, releasing tremendous amounts of
energy. With that, our Sun was born, Matter
farther out in the disk was also clumping
together. These clumps smashed into one
another, forming larger and larger objects.
Some of them grew big enough for their gravity
to shape them into planets. The whole process of
solar system formation took millions of years
and the new born Sun and planets were created
about 4.5 billion years ago.
6.2 Formation of planets:
You now learnt about the formation of
the Solar system and The Sun. Now let us see in
brief how our planets formed the way they are.

Did you know? How the Solar System was born? Fig 6.1

46
 Activity 6.1
Paper solar system
This small activity will
help you to understand how the
planets are spaced in the Solar
System. AS you have learnt in
Chapter 2, the distances in Solar
System are measured in AU and
the distance from Sun to Pluto is
nearly 40 AU.
Now we begin with the
Activity. Take a very long strip of
paper around a meter or so.
longer the strip is better. let us
consider that the length of this
paper strip is 40 AU. Mark with
pen position of Pluto at the right
end of the paper and Sun to the
left. Now fold the strip exactly in
the middle as shown in fig. This
crease marks the position of
Uranus (20 AU). If we again fold
the portion between Uranus mark
and Pluto exactly in the middle,
we get position of Neptune (30
AU).
Now fold the other half
of the paper from Uranus mark to
the other end and we get position
of Saturn (10 AU). Again, fold in
the middle of the portion from
Saturn to Sun to get the position
of Jupiter (5 AU). One more fold
exactly in between Sun and
Jupiter will give the position of
Asteroid belt (2.5 AU).
Similarly, half of Asteroid belt to
Sun will give the position of Neptune
Mars(1.5AU). The inner planets
become bit difficult as very small
portion of paper is left. Fold the
remaining part of the paper into
half two times and you will get
the positions of Earth, Venus
and Mercury.
Although this activity is
based on approximations but
could be very efficient tool in understanding
and teaching the vastness of the Solar System.
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Asteroid belt
Jupiter
Fig 6.2: The young Sun was formed at the centre of a
huge cloud of gas and dust and the rocks and dust in the
cloud smashed together to form spherical balls called
planetoids which later evolved into our planets.
Our solar system formed from a dense
Saturn cloud of gas plus dust and at the centre our Sun
was born, and it eventually amassed more than
99 percent of the available matter. Matter
further out in the disk was also clumping
together. These clumps smashed into one
another, forming larger and larger objects.
Some of them grew big enough for their gravity
to shape them into spheres, becoming planets,
Uranus dwarf planets and moons.
The asteroid belt is made up of bits and
pieces of the early solar system that could never
clump together into a planet. The left-over
debris of this solar system formation is the
meteorites, and comets in the solar system.
Close to the Sun the temperature was
too high for gases like water and methane in the
nebula to condense, so only the materials with a
higher melting point (and higher density) were
able to form at this point. The inner planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are very small
and very close to the Sun. Hence, they are very
dense and solid. The outer four planets: Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune on the other hand
are called gas giants and formed far enough
Pluto
away from the Sun where the temperature was
low enough for volatile gases in the nebula to
condense, and form these huge, less dense and
gaseous planets.
47
 Did you know? 6.3 The Frost Line:
Approximately 965 million kms away
Planet names and around the Sun, there is an invisible
The Solar system object names that we know boundary called the Frost Line, which
today are derived from Roman mythology: astronomers consider as the border of the inner
Sun: from Sol or Apollo, God of archery, solar system. This frost line, snow line or ice
music, dance, light, truth, healing diseases line separates the solid planets from the gaseous
and life. ones. Inside this line only rocky material could
Mercury: Messenger of the Gods and God of withstand the heat when the solar system was
shopkeepers, merchants, doctors, travelers forming; hence the first four planets became
and transporters of goods, and thieves and
tricksters!
solid and rocky.
Venus: Venus, goddess of love, beauty,
fertility. Meanwhile, ice, liquid and leftover gas
Earth: from Gaia, goddess of the earth and settled in the outer regions of the Frost line.
mother of all life forms Gravity pulled these materials together, and that
Moon: from Luna, Goddess of hunting, is where we find gas giants Jupiter and Saturn
wild animals, moonlight, childbirth, children, and ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
and fertility.
Mars: God of war, combat, conflict, weapons,
bloodshed and also protector of agriculture.
Jupiter: King of the Gods, mighty ruler of
Mount Olympus, guardian of all, God of
thunder,
lightening, storms and Monsoon.
Saturn: God of agriculture, crops, time and
the universe, father of Jupiter.
Uranus: grandfather of Jupiter, God of the
sky.
Neptune: God of water, sea creatures, oceans
Fig 6.3: The young Sun was formed at the
Pluto: God of Underworld, death, wealth, centre and solid clumps of rock formed only
and darkness. 600 million miles from it up to The Frost Line.
Asteroids: named after figures from Roman/ Beyond this it was too cold for solid planet
Greek mythologies and also their discoverers. formation and that is the reason, the outer
Comets: named after their discoverers. four are gaseous

6.4 Kepler's Laws of planetary Motions:

Nicolas Copernicus was one of the first
Western astronomers to state that the planets
orbit the Sun, which is at the centre of the solar
system, in circular orbits, but it was Johannes
Kepler, the great German astronomer and
mathematician, who laid down the correct laws
of the planetary motion. He is a key figure in the
17th-century scientific revolution, best known
for his laws of planetary motion, and as the
author of a large number of astronomy books.
48
 An interesting incident accidentally they are called Focus (plural: Foci).
made him discover the biggest laws of planetary The Sun is never at the centre of a
Science. Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer planet's orbit as previously believed but is at one
collected huge amount of data from sky of the Focus of the elliptical orbit of the planet.
observation and wanted to prove that The This simply is the first law of planetary motion
Geocentric system was correct. But he was or Law of Ellipses.
confused with his own data which did not
appear to confirm this. So, thinking that more
accurate mathematical calculations were
needed, he employed mathematician Keppler to
use his data and calculate the results for him.
But Keppler discovered quite the opposite, that
all the data pointed to the fact that The Sun is the
centre of the solar system! Thus the laws of
planetary motion were born, giving a big blow
to the disappointed Tycho Brahe!
Kepler also drew the famous conclusion
that alike what Coppernicus claimed that
planets go around the Sun in a circular orbit,
they actually move in elliptical orbits.
Kepler's three famous laws of planetary Fig 6.5
motion simplify the solar system and the 6.4.2 Second law : law of equal areas
movement of the planets. Let us understand A radius vector joining a planet and the Sun
them one by one: sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals
of time.

Fig 6.4. Johannes Kepler Fig 6.6

6.4.1 First law: law of ellipses
The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun
at one of the two foci.
Keppler proved in his first law that they
revolve in an elliptical orbit. The Ellipse is like
an extended or stretched circle. Whereas the
circle has one centre, the ellipse has two and
During the revolution around the Sun, a
planet does not move at constant speed. The
speed varies at the distance of the planet from
the Sun. when the planet is nearer or at
Perihelion (closest approach) it will move faster
and when at Aphelion, (Farthest distance from
sun) it will move slower. Hence this means a
49
planet will move faster and cover wider distance This Law was formulated much later by
at Perihelion and it will cover lesser distances at Kepler after the first two were made. It looks
aphelion as it moves slower. Fig 6.6 clearly elaborate, but simply means that the time taken
explains this. Say the earth is at perihelion for one revolution of a planet around the sun is
traveling from P1 to P2 and the time taken is one directly proportional to its distance from the
month. Measure this area formed by the triangle sun. Meaning, the nearer the planet, the faster it
with Sun as one point and P1 and P2 as the other travels and vice versa. For ex. If the Earth at 150
two. After few months the Earth approaches million kms from Sun and takes 1 year for 1
Aphelion. Now observe the distance covered by revolution then Mars which is almost double the
earth in one month from P3 to P4. The distance distance away takes 2 years for one revolution.
will be lesser. But the area of the triangle formed
by The Sun and points P3 and P4 will be exactly Compare the distances of the planets
the same area as the area of the triangle formed from the Sun and their revolutionary periods in
previously. Fig 6.8. Kepler's Laws of motion appear simple
but it was a masterstroke discovery by Kepler.
Hence, it is easily deduced that The These Laws form the basis of planetary studies
Earth moves faster when closer to the Sun and and can be applied to natural objects like
vice versa. Why this happened was not planets, stars, or comets, as well as man-made
understood by Kepler but this very observation devices like rockets and satellites in orbit.
formed the basis of Newton's law of universal Although Kepler originally developed his laws
gravitation much later. in the context of planetary orbits, the results
hold true for any system with a radial force
6.4.3 Third law : Harmonic law obeying the inverse square law.
The square of the orbital period of a planet is
directly proportional to the cube of the semi-
major axis of its orbit. Average Period of
Distance revolution
Planet
From Sun (Earth days
(Km) or years)
Mercury 58,500,000 88.0 days
Venus 108,000,000 224.7 days
Earth 150,000,000 365.2 days
Mars 228,000,000 687.0 days
Jupiter 780,000,000 11.9 years
Saturn 1,431,000,000 29.5 years
Uranus 2,880,000,000 83.8 years
Neptune 4,510,500,000 163.8 years
Fig 6.8

As a tribute to him NASA named the

spacecraft designed to find planets outside our
solar system launched in 2009 as The Kepler
Mission.
Fig 6.7
50

Fig 6.9 NASA’s Kepler Mission, 2009
6.5 Is Pluto a planet?
24th August 2006 was be a landmark
day in the history of science, particularly
astronomy. Till this day Mercury to Pluto were
considered the 9 planets of the solar system. But
on this day, it was decided to consider only 8
planets Mercury to Neptune as the Solar system
planets. How did this happen? Let us see the
interesting story.
Our ancestors saw 5 moving planets in
the sky and named them Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn. Later we knew that our Earth
was a planet too. Astronomers discovered
Uranus in 1781 and Neptune in 1846. Pluto was
discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, an
American astronomer.
By 2006, technology became so
advanced that more and more powerful
telescopes were being created. With these,
astronomers could now see very far into the
edges of the solar system. Because of this,
several rocky bodies similar in size or larger
than Pluto started being discovered in our own
Solar system beyond Pluto!
As the findings grew a planet bigger
than Pluto with its own satellite in orbit around
the Sun, was discovered beyond Pluto and
named Eris. Now astronomers were confused,
Fig 6.10 Some new planets discovered outside the
orbit of Pluto by the year 2006 compared in size with
our earth.
were all the new planets to be included in the
Solar system? So, The International
Astronomer's Union, a body which takes the
key decisions in the field of astronomy decided
to call a conference at Prague (Czech Republic)
in 2006. At this meeting there was a surprising
realisation that till now, there was no definition
in science as to what a planet should be! Hence a
lot of resolutions were passed which are
landmark decisions and extremely important in
Astronomy. Some of them are:
6.5.1 Definition of Planet: A "planet" is defined
as a celestial body that:-
1) Orbits around the Sun,
2) Has sufficient mass for its gravity to
give it a nearly round shape.
3) Has cleared the neighbourhood around
its orbit. (Meaning there are no
asteroids, meteorites and debris in its
orbit around the Sun)
6.5.2 Pluto cannot be considered a planet:
Pluto does not fit into the definition pf a Planet
now because:
1) Pluto orbits around the Sun in an
extremely elliptical orbit which
sometimes rises high above the plane
of the solar system and sometimes
goes below this plane.
2) Pluto moves in a very erratic fashion
51
 and during its revolution comes for
some time between Uranus and
Neptune, thus sometimes Pluto is the
8th planet and sometimes the 9th!
3) There is a lot of rocky debris floating
in the path of Pluto's orbit and Pluto
has not managed to clear its orbit from
this debris with its gravity.

6.5.3 New classification of solar system: The
Solar System now consists of four categories:
1) The Star: Sun,
2) The eight Planets: Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune.
Fig 6.11. New classified Solar System (2006)
1) The Sun, 2) The 8 Planets 3) Dwarf planets
4) Small Solar System Bodies made up of the
Asteroids, Comets, and Meteorites.
By now you know:

3) Dwarf Planets: new and different

class of objects which are very small
and orbit the Sun are called dwarf
planets. Some dwarf planets are Sedna,
Xena, Makemake, Varuna, Eris, Pluto,
Charon (Pluto's moon) etc. Hence
Pluto is now a Dwarf Planet.

4) Small Solar System Bodies: All the

remaining rocky material of the Solar
system not formed into Planets or
Dwarf planets is now classified under
this category:
a) Asteroids: rocky boulders from 1
meter across to almost 1000 km
located in the Asteroid belt between
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
b) Meteoroids: stones from minute dust
size to 100 meters across floating
randomly all over the solar system
c) Comets: Their average diameters
usually range from 750 meters or
less to about 20 kms. They are rocks
covered with ice and dust situated in
a huge belt beyond the orbit of Pluto
and form the edge of the Solar
System. They keep moving all
around the solar system.

52
I) Answer in one sentence
1) When was the Solar system formed?
2) What is a nebula?
3) What is a supernova?
4) Who was the first western astronomer to propose heliocentric model of solar
system?
5) What does the Kepler First law of planetary motion State?
6) What is an ellipse?
7) What does the Kepler Second law of planetary motion State?
8) What does the Kepler Third law of planetary motion State?
9) What is a dwarf planet?
10) Name some dwarf planets?
11) What are asteroids?
12) What are meteoroids?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) Our ancestors new about ______ planets visible in the Sky.
2) __________ discovered planet Pluto in 1930.
3) New classification of the solar system was made in 2006 by ________
4) Planet Uranus was discovered in the year __________.
5) Planet Neptune was discovered in the year __________.
6) Kepler Mission was launched to search ___________.
7) Kepler's third law is also known as law of ________

III) Match the pairs

Inner Planet Vesta
Gas Planet Mars
Dwarf Planet Neptune
Asteroid Ceres

IV) Answer in two or three sentences

1) Why are the inner planets dense and solid?
2) Why are outer planets gaseous?
3) What is a Frost line?
4) State any two characteristics of a Planet as per new classification of Solar system.
5) How was the Solar system formed?

V) Write a short note on each of the following

1. Explain formation of Solar system in 4 steps
2. Explain Kepler's second law of planetary motion with diagram
3. How was the Solar system categorised according to 2006 Prague conference.
4. Explain why some planets are solid, other gaseous.
53
VI) Give reasons
1) Why are the inner planets dense and solid?
2) Why are outer planets gaseous?
3) Give some reasons why Pluto is not considered as planet
4) Planets move slower at Aphelion.

VII) Arrange the following

1) Arrange the following according to their distance from the Sun in ascending order.
Venus, Comet hale, asteroid Vesta, Meteoroids

2) Arrange the following fastest to slowest in revolving around the Sun.

Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars

54
 Chapter 7
OUR LOCAL STAR: THE SUN
“If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.”
Napoleon Bonaparte , Emperor of France.

The Sun has been special for every

civilization in History. It has been worshipped,
adored respected and revered by all cultures in
the world as the giver of life and food. The Sun
is like just another star and many stars in the
universe are like our Sun. However, that does
not stop it from being a fascinating object to
study for the following reasons.
a) We cannot even dream of going
anywhere close to other stars with our
present technology and hence, the Sun
becomes the only star available to us to
study from close quarters.
b) The Sun is dynamic, continuously
undergoing change, balancing the Fig 7.1. The Sun’s size compared to the sizes
forces of nature to keep itself in of the planets in the Solar system
equilibrium and reveals something new
each time we observe it. that many of the atoms in it are ionized, that is,
c) The disturbances on The Sun, definitely stripped of one or more of their electrons. This
affect the Solar System and life on earth removal of electrons from their atoms means
and it is important to continuously study that there is a large quantity of free electrons and
and observe the solar phenomena for our positively charged ions in the Sun, making it an
own good. electrically charged body—quite different from
the neutral one in which you are reading this
7.1 Structure and composition of the sun: text. (Scientists call such hot ionized gas:
The Sun is not a ball of fire as is plasma.)
commonly said, like all stars it is an enormous
ball of extremely hot gas, shining with its own 7.3 The Sun's Inner structure: (The Layers of
energy powered by the reactions going on inside the Sun beneath the Visible Surface)
it. The Sun has enough volume to hold about 1.3 The Sun's layers are different from each
million Earths. The Sun does not have a solid other, and each play a part in producing the
surface or solid core. However, it does have a energy that the Sun ultimately emits. We will
definite structure and can be discussed as a begin with the core and work our way out
series of layers. through the layers.

7.2 What the Sun contains: 7.3.1 Core

Most of the elements found in the Sun
are in the form of atoms, with a small number of
molecules, all in the form of gases: The Sun is so
hot that no matter can survive as a liquid or a
solid. In fact, the Sun's heat is so tremendous
The Sun's core is extremely dense and is the
source of all of its energy. Inside the core,
nuclear energy is being produced and released.
The core has an approximate temperature of 15
million Kelvin, and pressure is approximately

55
265 billion bars making it the hottest part of the
Sun.
Fig 7.2 The Sun’s cross section with the main three
inner layers: Core, convective zone and radiative zone.
What happens to the hydrogen gas in the
core of the Sun? It gets squeezed together so
tightly due to the intense pressure that four
hydrogen nuclei combine to form one helium
atom. This is called nuclear fusion. In the
process some of the mass of the hydrogen atoms
is converted into energy in the form of light. Not
only helium but higher elements from the
periodic table up to iron are formed in the Sun.
P P P there is no way out. To get out from here, you
n n energy
P P P
1
4 H 1 He
4
Fig 7.3. How 4 Hydrogen atoms form one atom of
helium and energy in the core of the sun
7.3.2The Radiative Zone:
Above the core is a region
known as the radiative zone—named for the
primary mode of transporting energy across it.
The energy generated in the core radiates
outwards in this zone very slowly, since the high
density of matter in this region, means a photon
cannot travel too far without encountering
another particle which blocks its way, causing it
to change direction and lose some energy in a
process called the Random walk.
DID YOU KNOW? The Kelvin:
Temperature scale was the brainchild of
Belfast-born British inventor and scientist
William Thomson — also known as Lord
Kelvin. It is one of the three best-known scales
used to measure temperature, along with
Fahrenheit and Celsius.
7.3.3 The Random Walk:
The transportation of energy from the
Core to convective zone through the radiative
zone is called 'The Random Walk'. At the speed
of light, it would take 2.3 seconds for a photon
or particle of light to go straight from the centre
of the sun to its surface. But you will be
surprised to know that in an average, it takes a
photon up to 30,000 years to random walk from
the centre of the sun to the surface of the sun!
Let us see why this happens with a common
example.
Imagine you are an exceptionally
famous celebrity and all your fans have
collected in a football field to shake hands with
you. The ground is so packed with people that
have to squeeze yourself out. At every step you
meet a new fan who wants to shake hands with
you and at this rate you can only move in a very
slow zigzag movement pushed from one fan to
another till you reach outside the football field.
This is exactly how packed with atoms
the inner area of Sun is and a particle of energy
produced at the core will take huge amounts of
time to press itself out from this dense packed
surrounding. But once out of The Sun, the
photon takes only 8 minutes to reach our
earth.
56
 minute traces of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and a
few other elements. The atmosphere of the sun
itself is composed of several layers, mainly:

7.4.1 The photosphere: This is the Sun's

outermost surface layer. It is about 500
kilometers thick. This layer is where the sun's
energy is released as light. Because of the
distance from the sun to Earth, light reaches our
planet in about eight minutes. “Photon” means
quantum of light and hence the 'Photo' sphere is
the portion from where the Sun's light is
released.
The photosphere has different features
which fascinate astronomers like:

Fig 7.4. Random Walk How photons produced at the

centre of The Sun move out to the surface

7.3.4 The convective zone:

As a pot of water boils, the heat from the
fire below the pot is transferred to the water at
the bottom, the hot water rises and the heat is
transferred to the water at the top. This is exactly
how the convective zone, the outermost layer of
the solar interior works, carrying the energy
between the radiative zone to the outer surface
of the Sun. The plasma at the bottom of the Fig 7.5 The three layers of the Sun’s atmosphere with
convective zone is extremely hot, and it bubbles their temperatures.
to the surface where it loses its heat to space.
Once the plasma cools, it sinks back to the a) Granulation: The photosphere is not
bottom of the convective zone. smooth but marked by bright, bubbling grains
of Sun's surface material called plasma. This
After the interior structure of the Sun, fantastic granulated surface has almost the look
we will embark on a journey outward into the of a dried tree bark!
solar atmosphere through the visible layers of
the Sun.

7.4 The Sun's Atmosphere:

Let's begin by asking what the solar
atmosphere is made up of. It contains the same
elements as Earth but not in the same
propertion. Whereas Earths atmosphere
contains an abundance of Nitrogen, the Suns
atmosphere is almost fully made up of
Hydrogen with a little of Helium and extremely Fig 7.6 Close up of the photosphere, with patches or
grains of plasma called granulation.
57
b) Sunspots: The Sun's surface is almost 6000
K in heat. Some areas or rather patches, show a
slight drop in temperature and hence appear
darker, these dark spots have a temperature of
around 4000 Kelvin and are called the Sunspots.
The fascinating part of Sunspot study is
that anybody can see them through even a
simple telescope, but wait a minute. It is
extremely hazardous and dangerous to look at
the Sun through any telescope, binoculars or
such observation devices because you can
completely loose your eyesight.
Fig 7.7 The Photosphere, with dark patches which are
called Sunspots.
We use devices called solar filters fixed
on telescopes for a safe viewing of The Sun's
surface. But you can also use a pinhole camera
or any projection device and look at the Sun's
reflected image, which is the safest way of
Sunspot observation.
c) Eruptions: The Interior of the Sun releases
so much energy that the surface is almost like a
non stop volcano. There are helium and
hydrogen eruptions almost everywhere and
they are named according to their sizes. These
are closely monitored via satellites. Solar flares
produce bursts of X-rays, ultraviolet radiation,
electromagnetic radiation and radio waves.
Look at fig 7.8: A, is a common solar flare,
prominence or eruption, B, is a bigger elbow
prominence, C, is an image of comparatively
smaller surface disturbances called spicules and
D, is a massive coronal loop. See the tiny image
of the Earth in D! It is the size of our planet
actually compared to a solar eruption in actual
scale. You will instantly realize how small and
tiny our planet is compared to our massive
energetic star.
Fig 7.8 Different type of eruptions on the Sun’s surface.
7.4.2 The chromosphere: The next layer is the
chromosphere. The chromosphere emits a
reddish glow as super-heated hydrogen burns
off. But the red rim can only be seen during a
total solar eclipse. At other times, light from the
chromosphere is usually too weak to be seen
against the brighter photosphere. 'Chroma'
means colour and the chromosphere is the layer
which gives the characteristic whitish,
yellowish colour to our star.
58

Fig 7.9. The magnificent Chromosphere of The Sun
exposed during a total solar eclipse. It is only visible
during this time because the moon completely masks
the Suns surface as seen from earth blocking the
dazzling photosphere.
Activity 7.1: Observing the photosphere:
Below is a picture of people using a solar
viewer. Put it on like a goggle and observe the
Sun directly through it. This device has
specially been made for solar observation and
is safe to view a solar eclipse. What do you
see through it?
1) Do you See the Sun?
2) What colour is the Sun as seen through this
goggle?
3) Can you see the landscape around you
through this gadget?
(CAUTION: never touch the silver film on
the goggle. It is a substance called as
“Mylar” and it filters 99.99% of the Sun's
radiations from your eyes. Touching this
can damage the device permanently and
make it dangerous for solar observation)
DID YOU KNOW?
Next Total Solar Eclipse in India:
20 March 2034 is the day that the next total Solar
Eclipse will be visible in India. This will be seen
total only in remote North India in Ladakh and
will not be total in Goa. Here we will see only
31.07% (partial eclipse). Would you like to go
and see it in Ladakh ? How old will you be then?
7.4.3 The corona: The third layer of the sun's
atmosphere is the corona. This too can only be
seen during a total solar eclipse. It appears as
white streamers or plumes of gas that flow
outward. Temperatures in the corona can be as
high as 2 million Kelvin as compared to the
other layers of the Solar atmosphere which are
hardly 6000 Kelvin. The reason for this is still
being researched.
Fig 7.10. The Sun's Corona exposed during a total
solar eclipse. “Corona” means a crown and this
outermost layer is like the Sun's crown. It is a source
of powerful Ultra Violet radiation which is in many
ways dangerous to humans. If viewed unscientifically
during an eclipse, UV radiation from the Sun's corona
can lead to permanent damage to your eyes.
7.5 Solar wind
One of the most remarkable discoveries
about the Sun's atmosphere is that it produces a
stream of charged particles (mainly protons and
electrons) that we call the solar wind. These
particles flow outward from the Sun at a speed
of about 400 kilometres per second! The solar
wind exists because the gases in the corona are
59
are so hot and moving so rapidly that they
cannot be held back by solar gravity.
The Solar wind has charged particles, so
it can be dangerous if it enters earth's
atmosphere. But luckily earth has a large
protective magnetic shield around it called
magnetosphere which deflects the Solar wind
from entering earth except above the Earth's
Polar Regions.
Fig 7.11. The Solar wind deflected by Earth's
magnetosphere and prevented from entering our
st
1 Solar Observation through telescope:
It was Galileo who first saw the Sun through
his self made telescope and was amazed with
the sight of the sunspots. He thought that they
were holes on the Sun's surface that you could
travel through and reach the other side of the
Sun! But in his later years Galileo lost his
eyesight, no wonder due to the unprotected
solar observation that he had unknowingly
conducted. After a thorough study in later
times, Astronomers saw that these sunspots
were slowly moving ahead on the Sun's
surface and that is how rotation of the Sun
was discovered.
7.6 Unique Characteristics of our Sun:
7.6.1 Rotation: Sun rotates on its axis with a
rotation period of approximately 1month in a
west-to-east direction. The Sun, however, is a
gas body and does not to rotate the way a solid
body like Earth does. Different parts of The Sun
rotate at different speeds! The rotation period is
about 25 days at the equator, 28 days at latitude
40°, and 36 days at latitude 80°. We call this
behaviour differential rotation.
Fig 7.12. The Solar rotation is faster at the poles
than its equatorial area.
DID YOU KNOW?
The rotation of the Sun
was deduced from the systematic observation
of sunspots in the early 17th century. Galileo
was the first to observe them in 1610 but the
first time he wrote that down was in a letter
from 1613. He was followed by Harriot in
1611. But the first to conclude that the Sun was
rotating based on proof of systematic study was
Johannes Fabritius, also in 1611.
60
7.6.2 Revolution: (Galactic Year)
The sun revolves around the centre of
the Milky Way galaxy completing one
revolution every 225 to 250 million years and
the period is a galactic year, also known as a
cosmic year. The Sun is travelling at an average
speed of 240 km/s, pulling along with it the
entire solar system in space (fig 7.14)
Fig 7.16
Fig 7.17
Fig 7.13: The Sun's revolution around the centre of the
Milky Way galaxy.
Fig 7.14: The Solar system's movement in the galaxy
as the Sun revolves around the Galactic centre.
7. 7The Sunspot Cycle (Maxima/ Minima)
Sunspots on the Sun increase and
decrease in a 22-year cycle called Sunspot
minima and maxima. During 11 years of
maxima, more than 100 spots can often be seen
and during 11 years of minima, very less or
sometimes no spots are visible.
7. 8 Magnetism:
Sun's magnetic field is generated by
electrical currents acting as a magnetic dynamo
inside the Sun. These electrical currents are
generated by the flow of hot, ionized gases in the
Sun's convection zone. It has a 22-year cycle.
During the first half of the cycle, the Sun's
magnetic north pole is in the northern
hemisphere while the magnetic south pole is in
the southern hemisphere. Right around the peak
of the sunspot cycle (solar maximum), the
magnetic poles flip so that magnetic north is
now located in the southern hemisphere.
Magnetism is the main cause of eruptions on the
Sun.
Fig 7.15. The Sunspots occur in pairs and are
magnetically charged. The Sun behaves like a massive
magnet due to its uneven differential rotation.
7.9 Space weather
Activity on the Sun's surface creates a
type of condition in the Solar system called
space weather. The Sun is always shooting out
gas and charged particles into space. The solar
wind carries these particles towards Earth at up
to a million miles per hour!.
Can space weather be harmful? Yes!
Sometimes magnetic activity within the Sun
causes huge solar explosions called Coronal
Mass Ejections sending tons of energy whizzing
through space at the speed of light. All the extra
radiation from bad space weather can cause a lot
of problems for us:
61
 Did you know?
S O H O:
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, is a
space telescope designed to study the sun. It
was launched on December 2, 1995 jointly
by NASA and ESA (European Space
Agency). Its
chief discoveries include finding
complicated gas currents below the sun's
visible surface, as well as tracking frequent
changes in magnetic fields. SOHO is in
orbit between the Earth and the Sun. It is
about 92 million miles from the Sun and
three times farther than the moon.

Fig 7.16. Dangerous Space weather :This photo taken

on 8 January 2002 and shows a widely spreading coronal
mass ejection (CME) as it blasts more than a billion tons
of matter out into space at millions of kilometres per
hour.

1) It can damage the communications and

navigation satellites.
2) It can induce electrical currents at
ground level that can destroy electrical
power distribution causing power Activity 7.2
cutoffs.
3) The radiation can be dangerous for SOHO Website: visit the SOHO website
astronauts in space causing health https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov you can
problems. check out various exciting things about The
4) The solar storms affect long-distance Sun on this like (a) how the Sun looks today
radio signals and Global Position live (b) sunspots present on the Sun today (c)
an interesting Speed gauge (milometer)
Systems (GPS).
showing the speed of the Solar wind in space
5) Strong magnetic fields caused by bad
live! There is also an exciting < classroom>
space weather disrupt magnetic
section on this website which gives an
equipment and telegraphs.
overview of The Sun to students like you and
6) It can even cause homing birds like also informs about different educative
pigeons to forget direction and go astray.
7) It can even increase corrosion in metal
pipelines.

NASA and other agencies operate a

collection of instruments and satellites that keep
an eye on the Sun and space weather and can
warn us so that scientists can be prepared for
such an event.

62
 By now you know:
a) We study the Sun because it is the only star available for close proximity studies, it is
continuously changing and its changes affect the Earth.
b) The Sun heat is so tremendous that many of the atoms in it are ionized, that is, stripped of one or
more of their electrons from their atoms thus making it an electrically charged body.
c) At the interior of the Sun, the core produces all its energy through the process of nuclear fusion.
d) The next area, Radiative zone is so dense that energy produced in it passes through it very slowly
through a phenomenon called The Random Walk.
e) The uppermost section of The Sun's interior, The Convective zone releases the Core's energy to
the surface.
f) The photosphere is the surface of the Sun which has a granulated appearance, displays dark
Sunspots and produces different type of explosions which release the solar energy.
g) The outermost surfaces of the Sun: Chromosphere, gives the characteristic colour to the Sun and
the Corona releases ultra violet radiations. Both are visible to us only in a Total Solar Eclipse.
h) The Sun rotates on its axis in a process called differential rotation and revolves around the centre
of The Milky Way galaxy.
i) Flow of hot, ionized gases in the Sun's convection zone makes the Sun a highly magnetic body
and magnetism rises and falls in a 22-year cycle made up of one minima and one maxima.
j) Although the Sun supports life on earth, sometimes the Sun's activity is very powerful and
energetic and can cause severe effects to us; hence satellites in space like SOHO continuously
monitor The Sun's activity and behaviour.

I) Answer in one sentence

1) What are the three layers of the sun beneath visible layer?
2) What is the visible layer of the Sun known as?
3) What is the mode of energy transport across radiative zone?
4) What are different layers of atmosphere of the Sun?
5) What is the composition of the solar atmosphere?
6) What are the major features of photosphere?
7) What is a granulation?
8) What are Sunspots?
9) What is the outermost layer of the Sun known as?
10) What are different types of eruptions on photosphere?

II) Fill in the blanks

1) Energy produced in the core of the Sun is by _________ reaction .
2) The rotation of the Sun is called __________ rotation.
3) ___________ is a layer where the sun's energy is released as light.
4) Light from the sun takes ____ minutes to reach the Earth
5) Chromosphere is visible only during __________.
6) The revolution of the Sun around the Galactic centre is called ________year.
7) The solar system is travelling at a average speed of ________ km/s
8) The sunspot cycle occurs at an average interval of __________ years.
63
III) Answer in two or three sentences
1) What does Sun contain?
2) What is nuclear fusion reaction?
3) How convection works?
4) What are effects of coronal mass ejection on humans on earth
5) What are effects of coronal mass ejection on our space missions
6) What are effects of coronal mass ejection on the birds
7) What is the solar wind?

IV) Explain the following

1) Explain random walk of photon
2) Explain magnetism of Sun
3) Explain Coronal Mass Ejection
4) Explain how should we see the sun during an Eclipse?
5) Sun's rotation
6) Core of the Sun
7) how does the Sun appear during a total Solar eclipse?

V) Give reasons
1) Why are the sunspots darker than the surroundings?
2) Why the rotation of the sun is called differential rotation?
3) Why does solar wind exist?
4) Why the Sun behaves like a magnet.

64
 Chapter 8
ASTRONOMY IN GOA
(Non evaluative lesson)
All ancient humans looked up at the sky
and were awed by its wonder. Their recording of
celestial phenomena all over the world give us
knowledge of this fact. Goa too has a few of
these vestiges no doubt, but let us start the story
of Goan astronomy from the year 1510 AD from
when there is a properly maintained record of
happenings. The Portuguese were a seafaring
power and one of the most important
requirements for navigation was the knowledge
of astronomy. In fact the School of Navigation
set up at Sagres in Portugal by Prince Henry the
Navigator had trained experts to teach the
subject of astronomy. Thus we can say that with
the Portuguese, western astronomy came to
Goa.
DID YOU KNOW?
Astro Navigation
Or the use of astronomy in sea travel is
beautifully depicted at The ASI Museum at
Old Goa where models of a ship along with
depictions of medieval astronomical
instruments used for navigation and sky 8
observations are depicted in the navigation
gallery of the museum. Have you seen it?

When The Portuguese conquered Goa,

Christian missionaries from Europe under
different groups called orders started coming to
Goa. One of the orders known as the Jesuits,
also settled in Goa and built many churches and
seminaries around the state. During the
sixteenth century, many of the Jesuits were
scientifically oriented and trained in
mathematics, geography, astronomy, etc and
they carried the latest developments in
European science to their missions worldwide.
In Goa, most of the Jesuit centers taught
Astronomy besides other subjects. The Jesuit's
love for astronomy is evident from various
Sundials and instruments they constructed at
various places in Goa.
The year 1618 in astronomy was a
unique one in that it presented three bright
cometary apparitions in quick succession. The
comets created a sensation and were recorded
by Father Venceslaus Kirwitzer and fellow
Jesuits, who observed these comets from Goa
with an European refrector telescope, and their
first observations also correspond to the
discovery dates of the comets. Fr. Kirwitzer
published these observations in 1620 in a short
treatise where he states that he also viewed these
comets with a ‘tubo optico'. This is the first
recorded use of a telescope in India and this
happened in Goa at the Diwar Island and at The
Rachol Seminary.
65
 Some churches in Goa,especially Jesuit
churces were also constructed keeping
astronomy in mind and alligned to various
astronomical phenomena. a famous example is
the Holy Spirit Church in margao built in such a
way as to receive the suns setting rays on the
equinoxes. (see page 43) Association of Friends
of Astronomy (Goa)
In the early 70s, Percival Noronha, a
great history and astronomy enthusiast from
Goa was once travelling in Lisbon, Portugal and
met a group of youngsters with a small portable
telescope enthusiastically waiting at a railway
station. “Are you astronomers?” he asked. “No”
they replied, “somos amigos da astronomia”,
we are 'Friends of Astronomy'. They young
amateur sky observers were going to the
countryside at the weekend to observe the clear
skies away from the city light pollution of
Lisbon. This incident struck a chord in
Percival's mind and much later when he retired,
he founded an group in December 1982 to
pursue the hobby of astronomy and Association
of Friends of Astronomy(Goa) or AFA (Goa)
was born.
Fig 8.2 Percival Noronha (1923-2019)
The year 1986: The Halley 's Comet
appeared in the skies. Under the leadership of
Mr Percival Noronha , the group procured a
small refracting telescope and arranged a public
viewing of the appearance. The idea soon
caught on and slowly and steadily dedicated
astronomy buffs started coming together and the
name of AFA (Goa) started strengthening.
Today AFA (Goa) is a greatly respected NGO,
known and acclaimed all over India for its
contribution towards the dissemination of
Astronomy as a hobby. The Association opens
its arms to all individuals who are mesmerized
by the awesome universe and are curious to
know more. Activities like workshops, sky
observations, lectures, film screenings,
exhibitions etc are regularly organized all over
Goa for the popularization of science and
astronomy among students and general public.
Fig 8.3 AFA (Goa) team with the president of India Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam during the President’s visit to Goa
in 2004. left to right: AFA (Goa) members Govind
Potekar, Satish Nayak, Atul Naik, Hon President of
India, Dr. APJ Kalam, Percival Noronha and Shrikant
Nagvekar.
Any individual regardless of age and
education is welcome to join the Association
and enrich his life with the beautiful and
timeless hobby of appreciating astronomy.
AFA (Goa) mostly conducts programs like:
I) School Programmes: On the
request of Schools, Astronomy power point
presentations and night sky observations all
over Goa at Schools, Colleges, Camps, Events,
Etc are held free of cost.
ii) Public astronomy: public observation
programs at beaches, temple fairs and public.
66
iii)Academic programmes: seminars,
lectures, workshops and science events.

The Association's activities are grouped

into seven clubs:

1) AFA Observers Club.

Dedicated to promote amateur observational
astronomy, Members are privileged to learn,
practice and perfect Constellation
Identification, Special Events like eclipses,
comets, meteor showers, occultations, transits,
conjunctions, blue moon, Super moon and
many more. Solar/Lunar and Planetary
observation, Meteor Shower Observation, Fig 8.5 Astrokids club members on a learning trip
to an industry in Goa
Observing Comets, Positional Astronomy,
Variable star observation, Software astronomy,
Cell phone astronomy are also encouraged, 3) AFA Science Forum:
Is a platform for conducting many
Annual Star Party to observe the sky from
science based activities in disciplines allied to,
remote and unpolluted locations like Sankhli
but different from Astronomy like Science
Surla ghat plateau are regularly organised.
Workshops, Earth Sciences programs, Science
picnics, Lectures by in-house and invited
resource persons from scientific fields.

Fig 8.6 Earth Science lecture by Dr Ramesh Kumar,

Chief Scientist, NIO.

Fig 8.4 Sky Observation with telescope at Panjim

4) AFA Literary Club:

2) AFA Astrokids Club:
A fun science club to give enjoyable and hands
on experience of Science and Astronomy to
students below 15years of age through activities
like Slide shows, Astro Fun Nights, Astro
Safari, Model making, Competitions, Field
trips, Character building programs every
Saturday evening at 07:00pm at the Panjim
observatory.
Promotes the much needed and fast
diminishing hobby of reading and is a club
dedicated to appreciate the scientific literary
field. The Association's small but well equipped
library at Panjim is enriched with books,
volumes, articles, magazines, journals, CDs,
Films, documentaries and poster sets pertaining
to astronomy, astrophysics, space, earth

67
sciences, and allied subjects and is available to
all for reference, free of cost.
Fig 8.7 Members reading at AFA (Goa) astro library
at Junta house, Panjim.
5) AFA Thinking Caps:
Is a club actively dedicated to quizzing,
brain storming and increasing knowledge
through inquiry and thought. Activities
conducted are Quizzing, Debate, discussion
forums, Seminars, talks and Lectures by
renowned scientists from astronomy and other.
Fig 8.8 Debate being conducted on the topic “How
much should India involve in Space reaserch?’’
6) AFA photography Club:
Anybody wanting to pair the thrilling
hobby of photography to astronomy is welcome
to join the astrophotography team and venture
into many new forms of scientific photography
l i k e S o l a r P h o t o g r a p h y, L a n d s c a p e
astrophotography, Planetary photography,
photographing planets ,Deep sky Photography,
Special Events Photography, Star trails, Time
Lapse, Hyper lapse, all of which require highly
sophisticated optics and tracking mounts.
Fig 8.9 A time-lapse astro photograph of St. Augustine
tower at Old Goa showing the movement of stars in the
sky. (pic by Aseem Shelke)
7) Saturday Star Screen:
Is the film club of AF A (Goa). Regular
screenings of astronomy and space
documentaries, short films, sci-fi films,
Astronomy film festivals, etc are held. Films
pertaining to other sciences are also frequently
screened.
PUBLIC ASTRONOMICAL
OBSERVATORY (Under Department of
Science & Technology, Govt. of Goa) on the
Terrace of Junta House, Panjim Goa. As of
2016, AFA (Goa) has 9 Centres in Goa, marking
Goa as the state with the most number of
amateur astronomy facilities.
The observatory at Panjim was set up by
AFA (Goa) in 1990 and is supported and funded
by the Department of Science & Technology,
Govt. of Goa It is the first public observatory to
be set up in India and is voluntarily managed by
the members of AFA(Goa).
Another Public Astronomical
Observatory was instituted in Margao in 2003
68
and 3rd one came up in 2010 at Mapusa. The
Vasco observatory (Founded: 2013) Canacona
observatory (Founded: 2013) & Porvorim
Observatory (Founded :2016) were setup with
the assistance of educational institutions.
Similarly the Rural Astronomy centres of
Morjim, Borim & Sanquelim are also setup. At
all these centres, general public can view the
Cosmos free of cost. If you are thrilled and
amazed when you look up at the star studded
sky, were always inquisitive of space, wanted to
become an astronaut when you were a kid!! or
wanted to know more about the universe, but
never had the time ... then AFA( Goa) is the
group that will thrill you and change your life !
8
Other facilities:
Apart from AFAGoa's facilities, the
state also has a few more centres where the
interest in astronomy can be perceived. Many
schools and institutions possess telescopes and
the Goa Science Centre at Miramar also has a
planetarium and observation facilities. A few
educational institutions at Ponda, Margao and
other places also have setup their own
observation facilities. It must be said the state of
Goa although very small has a lot of interest and
exposure among the people towards the love of
amateur astronomy. It is not surprising that with
this text book Goa gets acclaimed as the first
state in the country to introduce astronomy as a
full-fledged subject in the secondary school
curriculum.
1) Panjim Observatory: Open every day
from 10.00am to 5.00pm and from 7.00pm to
9.00pm for sky observation during the period
of 14th November to 31st May.
2) Margao Observatory: Open on
Saturdays & Sundays from 7.00 to 9.00 Pm,
Ravindra Bhavan, Margao during the period
of 14th November to 31st May.
3) Mapusa Centre: Open on Fridays from
7.00 to 9.00 pm, at Purushottom Walawalkar
Higher Secondary School, (Saraswat
Vidyalaya) Khorlim, Mapusa, during the
period of 14th November to 31st May.
4) Vasco Center: presently located at
Ravindra Bhavan,baina and open from
7.00pm to 9.00pm on Sundays during the
period of 14th November to 31st May.
5) Porvorim Center: at L D Samant
memorial High school (Vidya Prabhodini)
open from 7.00pm to 9.00pm on Tuesdays
during the period of 14th November to 31st
May and at other times for selective
programs.
6) Canacona Centre: at Mallikarjun
Vidhyalaya Char Rasta open for selective
events and programs.
7) Rural Astronomy Centre Borim:
Vivekanand Vidhyalaya, Shirshire Borim,
open for selective events and programs.
8)Rural Astronomy Centre Morjim:
Vidhyaprasarak High School, open for
selective events and programs.
9) Rural Astronomy Centre Sanquelim:
presently located at Ravindra Bhavan, and
open for selective programs and events.
69
 References & Image Credits

Fig 1.1 : Jim’s Astrolog Fig 7.21: soho website

Fig 1.2: Medicalexpress Fig 8.1: Tublr.com
Fig 1.3: pixbay.com
Fig 1.4: danscamera.com Fig 8.7: Pinterest.com
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Fig 2.6: Thunder clap
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