LIGHT

6.5-6.6
THE SUN

 The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System

 The Sun is a star which makes up over 99% of the mass
of the solar system
 The fact that most of the mass of the Solar System is
concentrated in the Sun is the reason the smaller
planets orbit the Sun.
Remember, the bigger the mass, the greater gravitational
field strength.
 The gravitational pull of the Sun on the planets keeps
them in orbit
 The Sun is a medium sized star consisting of mainly
hydrogen and helium
 OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
 The Solar System consists of:
❑ The Sun
❑ Eight planets- Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
❑ Natural and artificial satellites
Artificial satellites are man-made and can orbit The International Space
any object in space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the
Earth and is an example of an artificial satellite
Some planets have moons which orbit them
Moons are an example of natural satellites
❑ Dwarf planets
❑ Asteroids and comets
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
ASTEROIDS

 An asteroid is a small rocky object which orbits the

Sun
 The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter
 The asteroid belt is a region of space between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter where most of the
asteroids in our Solar System are found orbiting the
Sun. The asteroid belt probably contains millions of
asteroids. Asteroid belt
ASTEROIDS WE HAVE SEEN

 Ceres is the largest asteroid we have seen

Eris is another asteroid similar to Ceres,
so far but smaller.
 It is also classified as a dwarf planet as of It is the largest asteroid/ dwarf planet
after Ceres
now.
 It has a crust, mantle and core like
planets but it is way smaller than the
planets
 They are covered in craters. a large bowl-
shaped cavity in the ground or on a
celestial object
ORBITS

 Asteroids and planets alike have elliptical orbits.

This means its orbit isn’t completely circular, but
oval.
 But there can be different levels of how oval they
are.
WHY ASTEROIDS IMPACT EARTH

The diagram shows the orbits of 3

asteroids: Amor, Apollo and aten
• Earth’s gravitational field pulls objects
near it such as asteroids in an orbit
around Earth.
• The orbits of the asteroids intersect
with the orbit of Earth.
• If the asteroid and Earth come around
to the same point, The asteroids can hit
the Earth.
GALAXIES
 Galaxies are made up of billions of
stars
 The Universe is made up of many
different galaxies
 The Sun is one of billions of stars in a
galaxy called the Milky Way
 Other stars in the Milky Way galaxy are
much further away from Earth than
the Sun is
 Some of these stars also have planets
which orbit them

Galaxies can have different shapes.

1. Spiral 2. Elliptical 3. Irregular
Our galaxy is a spiral galaxy
WHAT ARE GALAXIES MADE OF?

 Galaxies are made of interstellar gases and dust. The particles of these gases
and dust are attracted to each other by gravity and form stars, planets, solar
systems.
 These include gases such as hydrogen and helium.
 There might be some heavier elements found in galaxies from the explosion
of massive stars.
 Astronomical distances such as the distances between stars and galaxies, are
so large that physicists use a special unit to measure them called the light-
year
 Light year, however, is not time. One light year is:
The distance travelled by light through (the vacuum of) space in one year
QUESTIONS

1. List the 3 different shapes of galaxies

Ans Spiral, Irregular and elliptical
2. Which of these are found in a galaxy?
Planet star universe stellar gas
Ans: stellar gas, star, planet
3. Name the force that holds parts of a galaxy together.
Ans: Gravity
4. Explain why most of the stars we see in the night sky are from our own galaxy and not
from other galaxies.
Ans: Other galaxies are millions of light years away from us and would not be visible to
the naked eye.
5. Suggest why scientists can only estimate the number os stars in the Milky Way and not
know the number accurately
Ans: The Milky Way is very vast, so it would be impossible to count every star in it
6. A plane mirror is a type of mirror. Write the word from the list which describes the meaning of plane.
Flat irregular round smooth
Ans: flat
7. The angle of reflection is _____________ to the angle of ________________
Ans: equal, incidence
8. Complete the sentences using words from the list.
Dispersion, prism, colours, spectrum, orange, violet, blue, reflection
a. White light can be split into its component colours. This is called dispersion and can be done with a prism. The range of
colours is called a spectrum. The range stars with red and end with violet.
9. A theatre uses coloured light to make objects appear different. Write the colour that each of these objects will appear.
a. A red book in white light- Red
b. A green door in white light- Green
c. A white shirt in blue light- Black
d. A blue ball in green light- Black
10. List 4 things that make up a galaxy.
Ans: Stellar dust, gas,stars, solar systems
11. State 2 features of asteroids that make them different from planets
Ans: They are much smaller then planets.Their gravitational field strength is very weak