World Geography
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WORLD GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSE The Universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. While the spatial size of the entire Universe is unknown, it is possible to measure the size of the observable universe, which is currently estimated to be 93 billion light years in diameter. In various multiverse hypotheses, a universe is one of many causally disconnected constituent parts of a larger multiverse, which itself comprises all of space and time and its contents. SOLAR SYSTEM The System comprises the Sun and its eight planets, which are believed to have been developed from the condensation of gases and other lesser bodies. MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM The Sun and the collection of all of its companions that travel through space together along with it is known as the Solar System. There are a variety of objects in the Solar System. Planets: There are ten planets in the Solar System. Five of them are visible from Earth without using a telescope. Historically, the Sun, Moon and the five visible planets were used as the sources for the names for the seven days of the week. Satellites: Most of the planets have satellites. The satellite that revolves around the Earth is called the Moon. Mars has two satellites. Even some asteroids have satellites. Asteriods: Asteriods are smaller than planets. They are located mainly in the asteroid belt which which is found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Comets: Comets are objects consisting of frozen molecules of gases and other solid materials. The period of a comet refers to how long it takes the comet to revolve around the Sun. Some comets have very, very long periods. Halley's Comet has a period of about 76 years. Meteoroids: A meteoroid is an interplanetary particle in the Solar System. When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere it heats up and evaporates producing a streak of light called a meteor. Sometimes they come in groups called meteor showers. If a meteor reaches the ground then it is called a meteorite. Some really large meteors have impacted the Earth. One produced the Meteor Crater in Arizona. Dust: The inner Solar System contains a vast cloud of very small dust particles. On a really clear night it can be seen as a glow in the west just at the end of twilight, provided there are not too many street lights around. PLANETS The planets are the major components of the Solar System. The table below gives the approximate mass of each body in comparison to the mass of the Earth. Solar System Object Mass (in relation to Earth) Sun more than 300,000 times heavier than the Earth Mercury 1/18 of the mass of the Earth Venus 1/1.22 (80%) of the mass of the Earth Earth 1 Moon 1/81 of the mass of the Earth Mars 1/9 of the mass of the Earth Jupiter 318 times the mass of the Earth Saturn 95 times the mass of the Earth Uranus 15 times the mass of the Earth Neptune 17 times the mass of the Earth Pluto 1/400 of the mass of the Earth Sedna ? The Sun is more than 300,000 times as massive as the Earth. It is the largest and most massive object in the Solar System. Pluto has 1/400 of the mass of the Earth. It is the least massive of the planets. THE PLANETS IN SEQUENCE One of the important skill areas in K-4 for Standard 11 is that the students should be able to make a model showing the planets in correct sequence. The planets are briefly described below in the sequence in which they are found in the Solar System. Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. The mass of Mercury is much smaller than that of the Earth. Mercury has about 1/9 of the mass of the Earth. Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. The mass of Venus is almost the same as that of the Earth. Venus has about 82% of the mass of the Earth. Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth has one satellite called the Moon. The mass of the Moon is 1/81 of the mass of the Earth. Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The mass of Mars is about 1/9 of the mass of the Earth. Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. Jupiter is the largest planet. Its mass is 318 times the mass of the Earth. Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. The mass of Saturn is 95 times the mass of the Earth. Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. The mass of Uranus is about 15 times the mass of the Earth. Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Earth. The mass of Neptune is about 17 times the mass of the Earth. Pluto Pluto is the ninth planet from the Earth. Pluto is very tiny. It has the smallest mass of any of the planets. It is about 1/400 of the mass of the Earth. Sedna Sedna was discovered photographically in 2003 and announced in 2005. ORIGIN OF EARTH Earth, along with the other planets, is believed to have been born 4.5 billion years ago as a solidified cloud of dust and gases left over from the creation of the Sun. For perhaps 500 million years, the interior of Earth stayed solid and relatively cool, perhaps 2,000°F. The main ingredients, according to the best available evidence, were iron and silicates, with small amounts of other elements, some of them radioactive. As millions of years passed, energy released by radioactive decay—mostly of uranium, thorium, and potassium—gradually heated Earth, melting some of its constituents. The iron melted before the silicates, and, being heavier, sank toward the center. This forced up the silicates that it found there. After many years, the iron reached the center, almost 4,000 mi deep, and began to accumulate. No eyes were around at that time to view the turmoil that must have taken place on the face of Earth—gigantic heaves and bubblings on the surface, exploding volcanoes, and flowing lava covering everything in sight. Finally, the iron in the center accumulated as the core. Around it, a thin but fairly stable crust of solid rock formed as Earth cooled. Depressions in the crust were natural basins in which water, rising from the interior of the planet through volcanoes and fissures, collected to form the oceans. Slowly, Earth acquired its present appearance. SUN The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 1.39 million kilometers (864,000 miles), or 109 times that of Earth, and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth. It accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. Roughly three quarters of the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen (~73%); the rest is mostly helium (~25%), with much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron. The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V) based on its spectral class. As such, it is informally and not completely accurately referred to as a yellow dwarf (its light is closer to white than yellow). It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core. It is thought that almost all stars form by this process. EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes are caused by the movement of the earth's tectonic plates. Earthquakes occur where the earth's plates meet along plate boundaries (see plate tectonics page for more information on this).For example as two plates move towards each other, one can be pushed down under the other one into the mantle. If this plate gets stuck it causes a lot of pressure on surrounding rocks. When this pressure is released it produces shock waves. These are called seismic waves. This is an earthquake. The waves spread out from the point where the earthquake started - the focus. More damage is done near the focus. The point on the earth's surface directly above the focus is the epicentre. Effects of Earthquakes The effects of earthquakes vary. This is a result of a variety of factors such as the strength of the earthquake, the level of population in an area and the level of economic development of the area struck. Measuring Earthquakes The magnitude (size) of an earthquake is measured using a seismometer. This is a machine that measures movements in the earth's surface. The Richter Scale measures earthquakes on a logarithmic scale - this means that an earthquake of 6 is ten times more powerful than one with a score of 5. ROCKS A rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition and the way in which it is formed. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: I.