Revealing the unknown world of facts! BPI INDIA PVT LTD Introduction Space is the vast expanse that includes the universe and all its components. It is the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy. Since ancient times, the universe has attracted the attention of astronomers and ordinary people alike. With the development of technology, man has even reached space and landed on moon. ‘Our Space’ imparts information about everything that is a part of space. Beginning with the origin of the universe, the book includes information about its expansion, the formation of planets and other celestial bodies, the phenomena that occur in space, space shuttles and humans in space. Young learners will get answers to all their queries related to space and its components. The book is packed with colourful illustrations and relevant information to make it an interesting read for children. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or •••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •• • • •••• • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ISBN : 978817693877-8 © BPI INDIA PVT LTD, 2011 Published by BPI INDIA PVT LTD F-213/A, Ground Floor, Old Mehrauli Badarpur Road, Lado Sarai, New Delhi- 110030 (India) Tel: +91-11-43394300-99 e-mail: [email protected] Contents 1. Universe 4 2. Origin of the Universe 8 3. Constellations 10 4. Stars 12 5. Nebula 15 6. Black Hole 17 7. Galaxy 19 8. Milky Way 21 9. Our Solar System 23 10. Sun 25 11. Planets 27 12. Mercury 28 13. Venus 31 14. Earth 33 15. Moon 38 16. Mars 41 17. Jupiter 44 18. Saturn 47 19. Uranus 50 20. Neptune 53 21. Asteroids 56 22. Meteoroids 58 23. Comets 60 24. Eclipse 62 25. Astronomy 65 26. Telescopes 67 27. Astronomers 68 28. Astronauts 70 29. Space Shuttle 73 30. Measurement Units 77 31. Index 80 Universe The universe includes all matter and energy that exists. It includes the Earth and all the other planets, stars, galaxies and all that they contain. The entire cosmos, from the smallest particles on Earth, to the longest galaxies in space is the Universe. &RORXURI2XU8QLYHUVH The colour of the 8QLYHUVHZDVLGHQWLÀHG by astronomers at the John Hopkins 8QLYHUVLW\86$$WÀUVWWKHFRORXUZDV thought to be greenish-white but later it z ZDVFRQÀUPHGDVEHLJH &RPSRVLWLRQ The Universe is composed of dark energy and dark matter. It consists of 73 per cent dark energy and 23 per cent dark matter. The remaining 4 per cent consists of atoms. 4 The Space Observe Look at the colour of the sky in the morning and compare it with the colour of the sky at night. (OHPHQWDO&RPSRVLWLRQ The elemental composition of the Universe is around 78 per cent hydrogen and 20 per cent helium. The remaining one per cent is composed of other chemical elements. 5 &RVPRORJ\ &RVPRORJ\LVWKHVFLHQWLÀF study of the origin, development and future of the Universe. It also deals with physical and metaphysical means of sustenance of the Universe. Milky Way Cosmology The word cosmology is derived from ‘cosmos’ meaning universe and ‘logy’ meaning study. 0XOWLYHUVH Multiverse is a hypothetical set of multiple possible universes. It includes our Universe along with everything that exists. The different universes within a multiverse are called parallel universes. Various Planets 6 2EVHUYDEOH8QLYHUVH Observable universe is a part of the Universe, which can be seen with the help of large telescopes. It has around 140 billion galaxies made up of billions RIVWDUV$FFRUGLQJWRLQÁDWLRQDU\FRVPRORJ\WKH observable universe is much smaller than the entire Universe. 'DUN0DWWHU Astronomers believe that 95 per cent of the mass of the Universe consists of dark matter. Dark matter is not visible to us because it emits no radiation and can be detected only by its gravitational pull on visible matter. A Part of the Universe 7 Origin of the Universe The Universe was created during a cosmic explosion called the Big Bang that occurred between 10 to 20 billion years ago. Before the Big Bang, all matter that exists in the present day Universe was condensed into a tiny area. After the explosion, the matter scattered as dust, cloud or mist all around. %LJ%DQJ7KHRU\ In 1927, Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian PDWKHPDWLFLDQDQG&DWKROLFSULHVWÀUVW proposed that the Universe had originated from the Big Bang explosion. In 1929, (GZLQ+XEEOHZDVWKHÀUVWWRREVHUYHWKDW the Universe was continuously expanding. This observation provided the foundation for the Big Bang Theory. Big Bang Explosion $JHRIWKH8QLYHUVH The age of the Universe refers to the time 8 that has elapsed since the Big Bang explosion. ~ ~ Â6WHDG\6WDWH7KHRU\ 7KH6WHDG\6WDWHWKHRU\ÀOOVWKHJDSVOHIWLQWKHBig Bang Theory. Fred Hoyle, Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold proposed the Steady-State Theory in 1948. The theory states that matter is being created continuously at the rate of hundreds of atoms per year. It also states that although the universe is expanding, its appearance and density does not change. Fred Hoyle 3XOVDWLQJ7KHRU\ The Pulsating theory states that the universe is pulsating or expanding and contracting alternately. According to this theory, the current expansion of the universe will stop at a certain point of time by gravitational pull. Once the expansion stops, it will start contracting again. After contracting to a certain size, an explosion will occur and the universe will start expanding again. 9 Orion - A Constellation Constellations A constellation is a group of stars that are FRQQHFWHGWRHDFKRWKHUWRPDNHDÀJXUH There are 88 constellations in the sky. All the 88 constellations are not visible throughout the year. Some can only be seen during certain seasons depending on the Earth’s annual revolution around the Sun. Look Look at the sky at night and look for a pattern of stars that ϐǤ 10 N Cassiopeia 1DPLQJD&RQVWHOODWLRQQ Polaris Cepheus Ursa Ursa Lynx Major Most constellations were Pegasus Minor Deneb named in Greek and Latin Cygnus by the ancient Greeks and Vega Hercules E Leo Lyra Altair Great W the Romans. Ptolemy, the triangle of summer great astronomer from Aquila Virgo Egypt, named 48 of the 50 Capricomus Celestial equator Corvus constellations known duringg Ecliptic Spica Sagittarius Libra his time. The constellations Hydra Scorpius were generally named after Centaurus Lupus animals and mythological characters.haracters. S Constellation Map 1DPHVRI&RQVWHOODWLRQV Constellations have fascinated human beings over the ages. Some of the famous constellations are Orion, Leo, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Crux. &RQVWHOODWLRQVRIWKH=RGLDF Every year, the Sun passes through an imaginary ring of 12 constellations. This ring of constellations is known as the Zodiac. Ptolemy named the constellations of the Zodiac in the 2nd century BC. 11 Stars in the Sky Stars Stars are extremely large gaseous bodies found in the Universe. They produce enormous amounts of light and other forms of energy through nuclear fusion. The Sun is the star closest to the Earth. Binary Stars Binary stars are a pair of starsrs that move around a common centre of mass. They are also known as double stars. Binary Star Pair 12 %LUWKRI6WDUV Stars are born from huge clouds of dust and hydrogen, helium and Red Supergiant Explosive Outbursts traces of other heavier Main Sequence Star Supernova elements. These clouds collapse under gravitational forces and the gravitational Black Hole attraction between the atoms increases which adds Recycled Chemicals more atoms to the centre. Neutron Star/Pulsar Finally, the centre gets hotter and the star begins to shine. Star Forming Nebula Interstellar Medium Life Cycle of a Star 6L]HRIWKH6WDUV Stars vary in their shape and size. The neutron stars have a radius of only about 10 kilometres, while the Pistol Star is 100 times bigger than the Sun. 9DULDEOH6WDUV Some stars keep on changing their brightness. Such stars are known as variable stars. Intrinsic and extrinsic variable stars are the two types of variable stars. Intrinsic variable stars change in brightness because of the change in their physical properties. Extrinsic variable stars change in brightness because of external properties, such as rotation or eclipses. 13 :KLWH'ZDUIV White dwarfs are dying stars that emit a white glow. Most white dwarfs are formed after a red giant has burned all its original hydrogen and helium. Such stars expel most of their outer material creating a planetary nebula. The hot core keeps glowing until it cools down, which takes almost a billion years or so. 1HXWURQ6WDUV Neutron stars are very dense stars composed of neutrons. Neutron stars are the endpoint stars, which are four to eight times as massive as the Sun. When these huge VWDUVÀQLVKEXUQLQJWKHLU nuclear fuel, they undergo a supernova explosion. This explosion blows off the outer layers of the star and the central region collapses under gravity. Exploding Supernova 14 Our Space 20% OFF Publisher : SChand Publications ISBN : 9788176938778 Author : BPI Type the URL : http://www.kopykitab.com/product/18431 Get this eBook.