SOME IMPORTANT GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS:- • You can see the full moon only once in about a month’s time. It is Full moon night or Poornima. A fortnight later, you cannot see it at all. It is a New moon night or Amavasya. • The sun, the moon and all those objects shining in the night sky are called celestial bodies. • Some celestial bodies are very big and hot. They are made up of gases. They have their own heat and light, which they emit in large amounts. These celestial bodies are called stars. The sun is a star. • Various patterns formed by different groups of stars. These are called constellations. • The North star indicates the north direction. It is also called the Pole Star. • Some celestial bodies do not have their own heat and light. They are lit by the light of the stars. Such bodies are called planets. • Till recently (August 2006), Pluto was also considered a planet. However, in a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, a decision was taken that Pluto like other celestial objects (Ceres, 2003 UB313) discovered in recent past may be called ‘dwarf planets.” • The earth is the third nearest planet to the sun. In size, it is the fifth largest planet. It is slightly flattened at the poles. That is why, its shape is described as a Geoid. Geoid means an earth-like shape. • From the outer space, the earth appears blue because its two-thirds surface is covered by water. It is, therefore, called a blue planet. • The small pieces of rocks which move around the sun are called meteoroids. • Apart from the stars, planets and satellites, there are numerous tiny bodies which also move around the sun. These bodies are called asteroids. They are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter • A Human-made Satellite is an artificial body. It is designed by scientists to gather information about the universe or for communication. It is carried by a rocket and placed in the orbit around the earth. Some of the Indian satellites in space are INSAT, IRS, EDUSAT, etc. • Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus have rings around them. These are belts of small debris. These rings may be seen from the earth with the help of powerful telescopes.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 23:35:27 +0000
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