Chapter 1 The Earth and the Universe Exploring the Universe ight night wh udded wit On a fine b ou look up at the sky Little do you ger than the ¢ that ea he far bi have been estimated to be many million’ of times the he eafth. These stars are not. scattered better Each galaxy may (00 million stars. tis believed Milky Way) alone illion sta that the earth’s own galaxy (the tains as many as 100,04 The stars appear small to us even through ecause they are so far away. The rom the nearest star travelling at the speed of light (ie. 186,000 miles per second) takes something like four years (0 reach us. A ray of light from the sun akes about akes onl eight minutes to reach the earth. Lig The Solar System The solar planets (Fig developed from the condensation of gases and other All the planets revolve. round the Sun Like the light of the sun which are sd to have been lesser bodie i orbits arth, they shine only The Sun t (10,800°F.). and million’F.) in the increases to 20 million’C. (36 The Solar System —t leap up in whirls of glowing flames lik ize, the Sun is almost unim the earth! janets, Mescur only 36 million miles away in eruption. In It is about 300,000 times as bi Amongst the nine is the smallest and closest to the sun Tethus completes its orbit in a much shorter space of time than does Earth, in_Mercury is only 88 days. Venus, twice the distance he sun Ii.is often cov- way from is the HeXT closest plane Earth’s_pw proximity in size, m sidered "as heir_close But no which ‘Qveight) and density parable to Ear has life and all the living things we other planet is in any way igs we see around us. Like many other planets, the Earth has a natural that revolves which ‘and is believed by satellite, the Moon, 238,900 miles away. astward around the Earth once The fourth planet hhas dark patches on its surface rom the sun is Mi most professional astronomers to be the next planet, after Earth to have the possibility of some plant fe, Much attention has been focused on Mars explore the possibilities of extending man’s influence 0 it, Next comes the largest planet in the ar system. Its surface is made up of many gases en, helium, and methane. Tt is dis- ts circular light ve satellites that circle ore than 48: shed dark bands, As itis planets by and the t ound i 7 million miles from ts surface is very cold (130°C). Sun and the nine PlanetsAnother unique planet is which has three rings and nine satellites around it. In size, itis the second largest after Jupiter. It is so far from the Sun that it takes 297 years to complete its orbit The seveiith planet, was not known to astronomers until the late eighteenth century when giant plane 50 times larger than Earth and 15 times as heavy Unlike other planets, Uranus orbits around the sur ing clockwise direction from east to west with five The {wo outermost planets in the solar system Neptune and Ealeulations on their irregular gravitational effects on neighbouring plinetary bodies. close sembles Uranus, except that it has only wo know satellites_and is probably much colder. Pluto is smaller than Earth, As the orbits of the planets are not circular but elliptical, the distance of Pluto from the Sun during perihelion (ie. when it is closest to the Sun) is 2,766 million miles, and at aphelion (i.e, when it is farthest from the Sun) is 4.566 million miles. A year in is no less than 247 years on rth! Due to their very recent discovery and their xtreme remoteness from the earth. very little isso far known about these last two pla The Shape of the Earth in the olden days, sailors feared to venture far into se they thou a table, They t d the distant ocean be ne earth cached the edge of the earth, they would slip down and perish in the bottomless ocean. This is, of se, not true, From years of accumulated know experience and observations in different parts of the world, we know that the earth is round. Its established fact, pr by all. There has been so much research on earth science that its various dimen accurately found, It has an S~andiis_polar_c cumferenceis_tess_by 83_miles. Its equatorial diameter is 7,926 miles and its polar diameter is horter by il simply shows that, the earth is not a perfect sphere, It is a little flattened both ends like an orange. It can, in fact. be th-shaped’). The spherical shape Evidence of the Earth’s Sphericity There are many ways to prove that the earth i spherical. The following are some of them 1. Circum-navigation of the earth. ‘The first voyag around the world by Ferdinand Magellan and his he earth is spherical. No traveller going round the land or se ver encountered an abrupt edge, over which he would fall. Modern air routes and ocean navigation are based on the assumption Fig. 2 (a) Citcumnavigation of the earth (>) Abrupt drop at the edge of a tablesike earth horizon. The distant horizo a ship at sea, or from a cli on land is always and everywhere circular in shay. This circular horizon widens with increasing altiwud and could only be seen on a spherical t T illustrated in Fig 3. Ship's visibility. When a ship appe distant horizon, the top of the m he hullIncreasing altitude widens the circular hor zon. Viewed from Y the horizon would be ‘AB but from a higher viewpoint (X) a wider horizon (C, D) would be seen Fig. 3 (a) of altitude. If the earth were flat the horizon seen from either Y or X would be dual. Ifthe earth were flat, the entire ship wot be seen or obscured all at once. This is appar from Fig. 4 the hull Fig. 4 (b) A flat earth, the entire ship is seen at once ona flat surface 4. Sunrise different time: rowates Tor sunset. The sun rises and sets. a in_differe s. AS ‘aish_ places. in-th the _earih sune jan those in the west. If the earth were flat, the whole world would have sunrise and sunset at_the same time. But we know this is not so Fig. 5 illustrates this.5. The lunar eclipse, The earth on the moon during the lunar eclipse is always circular. It takes the outline of an arc of a circle Only a sphere can cast such a circular shadow. 6. Planetary bodies are spherical. All observations from telescopes reveal that the planetary bodies, the Sun, Moon, satellites and stars have circular outlines from whichever angle you see them. They are strictly spheres. Earth, by analogy, cannot be the only exception, 7. Driving poles on level ground on a curved earth. Engineers when driving poles of equal length at regular intervals on the ground have found that they do not give a perfect horizontal level, The centre pole normally projects slightly above the poles at ther end because of the curvature of the earth, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Surveyors and field engineers therefore have to make tions for this nevitable curvature, i.e. 8 inches to the mile, shadow cast by the Fiy, 6 (a) Tho contre pole projects well above the poles at either end on a curved surface The Earth's Movement t ] | Man is always conscious of the ‘apparent movement of the sun’ and little realizes that the earth on which he stands is constantly m motion, When the sun 1 disappears, he says that the sun sets and when i emerges, he says that the sun rises. He is not th least aware that the sun, in fact, does not rise or set ed itis ‘we who rise and we who set’! The earth moves ot in space in two distinct ways on its own a GEIR a ea ncake ve Glaruical hough axis from west to east once in every 24 hours, causing on a Het surface day and night; it also found the sun in an orbit once in every 36: } 8 Aerial photographs. Pictures taken from high and the year | altitudes by rockets and satellites show clearly the curved edge of the earth. This is perhaps the most Day and Night convincing and the most up-to-date proof of the When the earth rofares on its awn axis only one Jing the seasons carth’s sphericity portion of the rih's surface comss inta the cays olThe earth viewed from the moon, The picture was taken on the Apollo B mission of 19% which prepared the way for the moon landing Camera Press The other portion which 1s away from the sun's rays will be in As the earth rotates from west to east, every part of the earth's surlace wil be brought under the sun t some tume or other. A part of the earth’s surface hat emerges from darkness into the sun’s rays experiences Later, when it is gradually bscured from the sun's beams it experiences The sun is, in fact, stationary and itis the earth which actly the same as when we The trees and houses and we feel that the explains th of day and night. The illusion is ex ravel in a fast-me stationary. Fi otation and the cau The Earth’s Revolution When round the sun, st spins on he earth revolve T of 18.5 miles per second Fig. 7 (a) Kuala Lumpur emerges from darkness into daylight at sun rise when the earth (b) The sun is directly overhead at Kuala Lumpur or midday ) Kuala Lumpur passes from daylight into darkness at sunset when the earth rotates away from the sun Kuala Lumpur is directly away from the sun at mid-night, or 66,600 mp.h. One evolution takes As it is not possible to show a quarter of a day in the calendar, a normal year is day is added 365} days or a year taken to be 365 days, and an ext every four years as a Leap Year 1. Varying Lengths of Day and Night axis of the earth is inclined to the plane of the (ihe plane in which the earth orbits round fe sunlat an anale of 663°, giving rise 1o different seasons and varying lengths of day and night (Fig. 8). If the axis were perpendicular to this plane, all parts the globe would have equal days and nights “at all times of the year, but we know this 1s not so. inthe in (December) as We go northwards, the hours of darkness steadily increase. At_the Arctic Circle (664°N.), the sun never “rises” and there is darkness for the whole day in mid-winter on 22 December. Beyond the Arctic Cie the number of days with complete dark increases, until _we reach the North Pole @0°N.) when half the year wilfhave darkness. In the sumnre (June) conditions are exactly reversed. Daylight nereases de. At the Arctic Circle, ihe sun never “sets” at mid-summer (I June) and there is a complete 2hOur period” of continuous daylight, In summer the region north of the Arctic Scale i popelady selerral tocae Tam Of eee At the North Pole, there will be six The We go porewa night Sun ‘months of continuous daylight. Fig. 8(a) illustrates the revolutionof the earth and its inclination to the plane of the ecliptic which cause the variation in the length of day and night at different times ofFig.8 (a) The revolution of the earth and its effects on seasons and the varia tions of lengths of day and night (©) A simplified diagram showing the annual movement of the sun and the causes of the seasons In the the same process takes place: When i southern continents will summer at the North Pole wil South Pole 2. The Altitude of the Midday Sun the ea xcept that the conditions are reve is summer in the northern hemisphere, the jence winter. Mid- fer at the In the course of a yea! fs revolution round 0 th ude of the the sun with its axis inclined at 663 the ecliptic changes. the midday sun. The sun on two March and 2 September though the date changes days each year. These are usual all parts of the wor is. Afler_the March ears (0 move north and is ve “7 Non because on these two day equinox AcaMly overhead at about 21 June when _the Tropic of Cance This is known as the . northern _hemisph ght. By verhead at the Tropic its Tongest_day and_shortest_p abou December, the sun. will be of Capricorn O38), T whieh the southem hemisphere will Rave its Ton day and shortest night. The Tropics thus mark the limits‘oF the overhead sun, for beyond these, the sun the year. Such changes is ‘at any time regions are marked by spring, autumn and winter. Beyond the Arctic Circle (664°N.) and the Antarctic Circle (66}°S.) where darkness lasts for 6 months and ight is continuous for the remaining half of the for even during the short Within the tropics, as the midday sun varies very little from its vertical noon dail almost indistinguishable, Ds ‘most equal all the year round. Fig. 8(b). 3 sonal Changes and their Effects on Temperature Summer is usually brightness and winter with cold and darkness. hould this be so year, it is always cold, the sun is never high in the sky Fi Why In summer, the sun is When the sur almost _vertically on_the ‘temperature its_rays_fall ts heat on a small area therefore rises_and In winter tt the atmosphere Tess directh heat absorbed b Sumimers_are_always warm, nd have much of their imosplicric impurities and wate The sun’s rays fal and spread ove and more heat is received over the longer dé duration. Nights are sharter_and less heat is los There is a im_tolal heal received and tem perature rises in summer. Shorter days and longe nights in winter account for the reverse-enCas Dawn and Twilight The brie! period between sunrise and full dayligh is called and that between nd complete darkness is termed This is caused by the fact_that during the-periads of dawn and twiligBut ia temperate I 7 oblique Path aNe'THe pe er still at the poles, Mathematical Location of Places on the Globe The earth's surface tis impossible t lines have been drawn on the globe. One set runing east and west, parallel to the equator, are called lines of The other set runs north and southy passing through the poles and are called lines of (Fig. 10). The of latitude Fig. 10 (a) Parallels of latitude (b) Meridians of longitude tude pin-points any place on the earth's surface, (Fig. Ile,). For example Delhi is 28°37 N. and 77°10’ E; London is 51°30’ N, and O°5'W, and Sydney is 33°55'S, and 151 12E. We shall examine more closely how latitud ind longitude are determined and the role they play in mathematical Latitude Latitude is the of a point on the earth's surface, measured in degrees from the centre of the earth as shown in Fig. 10{a). It is toa poles. These lines are therefore called parallels of smaller polewards. The eq presents 0° and the North and South Poles are 90°N. and 90°S, Between these points lines of latitude are drawn ai intervals of 1°. For precise k each «i minute into 60 seconds, T latitud (234°N), the Tropic of Capricorn (234°S.), the Arctic (66)°N.) and the Antarctic Circle (66}°S.). ied at the poles, the ation on a map, s sub-divided into 60 minutes and each he most important lines re the equator, the Tropic of Cancer distance of a degree of latitude at the pole is ttle Ton at the equator. For example the equator (0°) it is 68.704 miles, at 45° it is 69.054 miles and_at the poles it is 69.407 miles The average is taken as 69 mil sis @ useful figure and can be used for calculating distances to any place. Bombay is 18°55" N; it is therefore 18°55 69 or 1280 miles from the equator. With the aid of Your atlas Find the approximate distance of the following places from the equator: Singapore, Calcutta Paris, New York, Buenos Aires, and Auckland, sie |= ‘ Fig. 11 (a) The latitude of 38°N. is the ang distance of 2 point on the earth's surface north of the contre of the earth (bf The longitude of 136°W. is the angular distance west of the Prime Meridian () The precise location of place X is latitude 52°N. and longitude 27°W. where they intersect Longtitude Longitude is_an ._measured_in degrees along the equator east or west of the Prime (or First) Meridian, as. indicated in Fig. UI(b)- On the globe longitude is shown as a series of semi-circles that run from pole to pole passing through the equator, Such lines are also called Un like the equator which is centrally placed between the poles, any meridian could have been taken to begin the numbering of longitude. It was finally decided in 1884, by international agreement, to choose as the zero meridian the one which passes 8 through the Royal Astronomical Observatory at Greenwich, near London. This is the (0°) from which all other meridians radiate eastwa and westwards up to [80°. Since the earth is sphe and has a citcumfereace calculated st 25,000 miles, in linear distance each of the 360 degrees of longitude is 25,000:360 or 6:1 miles. As the parallels o latitude become shorter polewards, so the m of longitude, which enclose a narrower space. The degree of longitude therefore decreases in length. It is longest at the equator where it measures 69.172 miles. At miles, at 45° it is 49 miles, at 75° 18 miles and at the poles 0 mile, There the length of degrees of lon, that they are not use in the case of latitude. But they have one ver) important function, they in relation to G.M.T, ot Greenwich Mean Time, which is sometimes referred 10 as World Time is so much diffe gitude outside the tropics, calculating distances as termine Longitude and Time Local ‘Time. Since the earth makes one cor revolution of 360° in one day of 24 hours, it passe through 15° in one how or lin 4 minutes. The earth rotates from west 10 east, so every IS we go eastwards, local time is hour. Con: versely, if we go westwards, local time is by I hour. We may thus conclude that places east of Greenwich see the sun earlier and gain tim whereas places west of Greenwich sun lat and lose time. If we know G.M.T., to find ime, we merely have to add or subtract the difference in the number of hours from the given longitude as illustrated below. A simple memory aid for this will be Bast~Gain—Add (£.G.A.) and West~ Los Subtract (W.L.S.). You could coin your own rhymes for the abbreviations. Hence when it is noon, in London (Longitude 0°SW.), the local time for Madras (80°E,) will be 5 hours 20 minutes ahead of London or 5.20 p.m. But the local time for New York (74°W.) will be 4 hours 56 minute behind London or 7.04.m, Wecan put it in another way, when Londoners are having lunch, Indians will have dinner and New Yorkers will have breakfast Fig. 12). This is difficult to believe, but it is true The rotation of the earth round the sun means that at any point in time different places will experience a different time of day here are many ways of determining the lo of a place. The simplest way is to compare th ocal time with G.M.T. by listening to B.B.C. radiFig. 12 Longitude and time — whea itis noon in London, i i itis 5.20 p.m, in Madras i (0° E,) and 7.04 a.m. in New i York (14° W.) For example: the captain of a ship in the midst of — U.S.S.R. which have a great cast-west strete adopt several time zones for practical pu the ocean wants to find out in which longitude his ship lies, If G.M.T. is 8.0¢ R. the largest country, which extends through e local region, it means that he is four hours. almost 165° of longitude is divided into eleven time a zones. When it is 10.00 pam. on a Monday night His longitude is 4 = 15° or 60 F in Leningrad, it will be almost 7,00 a.m. the following Tuesday morning in Viadivostock. Travellers along Standard Time and Time Zones he Trans-Siberian R n.and it isnoonin US. head of Greenwich, and must be east of Gre jway have to adjust their If each town were to keep the time of itsown meridian, watches almost a dozen times before they reach there would be much difference in local time between their destination. Both Canada and U.S.A. have one town and the other. 10 a.m, in Georgetown, five time zones—the Atlantic, Eastern, Central Penang would be 10,10in Kota Bharu (adifference of _ Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. The difference 24° in longitude). In larger countries such as Canad, _between the local time of the Atlantic and Pacifie ULS.A., China, India and U.S.S.R. the confusion any five hours (Fig. 13), rising from the differences alone would drive the people mal ellers going from one end of the y country ier would have to keep changing Fig. 13. The five time zones of North America heir watches if they wanted to keep their appoint To avoid all these difficulties, a system of = is observed by all countries, Most countrie Jopt their standard time from the central meridi of their countries. The Indian ernment has ace ied the meridian of 82:5" east for the standard time WHIGHTEShrs.30mins.ghead f Greenwich Mean Time The whole world has tn Tuot Beea evident § Standard Time Zones} each of which difers fram { ¥ he next by TS” in Toa Most countries adhere to this division but due to fide oF one hour in time. peculiar shapes and locations of some countrie sonable deviations from the Standard Time Zones cannot be avoided (Fig. 13) Larger countries like U.S.A. Canada and sThe International Date Line A traveller goi ns time from Green wich until he 1 80°E will be 12 hours ahead of G.M.T. Similarly in going westwards, he loses 12 hours when he reaches ches the meridian when he 80°W. There is thus a total difference of 24 hours ora between the two sides of the 180 meridian. This is the International Date Line whi the date changes by exactly one day when itis crossed A travelle because of the loss in.time and while crossing the dateline from a day (because of the midnight (ered),—“Thus wher iis Asiatic side, by crossi a day; it will be midnight Thursday on the American side, ie. he experiences the same calendar date When Magellan's pain in 1522 after circumnavig from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and fhe International Date Line, the crew knew nothing about addin Friday on the he line eastwards, he gains ship eventually arrived home in = =f J Fig.e14 The international Date Lin they had missed. They thought they had arrived on the Sth of September. They were shocked to the date was 6th September. A modern aft leaving Wellington at 5.00 p.m. on Friday reaches Hawaii 4,101 2.00 pam. the same Friday. The same aircraft ney from Hawaii arrives at We .ington at | be told thai leaves at 6.00 p.m. on F 00 a.m. on Sunday. Can you explain this The International Di surves mal 180 Strait, Fiji er islands td confusion of day and date in some of the island ‘groups that are cut through by the meridian. Some of them keep Asiatic or New Zealand standard tim ational Date Line is Tonga and o prevent others fol American date and time. The shown in Fig. 14. QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 1. With the aid of anno 10 prove that the earth i ated diagrams, attemp! spherical. Give as Explain with the aid of fairly accurate dia grams, how the tilt of the earth's axis on it orbital plane around the sun causes b) the variations in the len night the altitude oft at different times midday sun to change 3. Explain th the following differences between any three of n and aphelion (b) parallels of latitude and meridians of th’s (4). solstice and equinox (e) Standard Time ani Tim 4. Explain any three « connected with the earth and ii, Pime Meridian ii. elliptical orbit International Date Lin 5. Either: Give (a) Daylight increases as we go polewards in summer in the (b) Thi period of twil Britain is han in Malaysia (©) A ship crossing the Inter Line at wards find on the American sid ational Date midnight on Wednesday east [Or: Work out the following a) Sydney (long. 151°E,) i, What is the approximate distance in a b) Chicago (long. 87°30'W.) straight line between Cairo (lat. 30° N (©) Bombay (long. 73°E jong. 31°5’E, and Durban (lat. 29°57'S, iii, The captain of a ship observed that it long. 30°59°E,)? was local noon, He turned on the radio ii, When itis 2.00 p.m, in Greenwich, what and listened to the 7.00 a.m. B.B.C is the local time news, What was his longitude? SELECTED QUESTIONS FROM CAMBRIDGE OVERSEAS SCHOOL CERTIFICATE PAPERS a) Explain the meaning of the terms ‘Equinox’ and ‘Solstice b). With the aid of diagrams, show how they are related to the movements of the Answer the followi rth. (1967) (a) Describe any shree experiments or observations which support the belief that the earth is roughly a sphere (b) Explain why mean temperatures for London are lowest in winter (©) Explain why the local clock time in the Samoa Islands (171°W.) was noon on Ist November when in the Fiji Islands (178°E.), it was 11,00 a.m, on 2nd November. (1966) Explain the following (a) Polar air routes follow great circles. (b) When it is noon. at Cairo (30°E.), the local time in New York (75°W.) is 5.00 a.m. (©) On 2st March at noon, it was observed that the shadow cast by a wall 4 ft. 8 ins. high pointed north- ward and was 7 in. long. The observer was able to calculate his latitude to be about 7°N. (1965) Select ‘wo of (a), (b), (c) and draw diagrams to illustrate your answers: (a) i. Calculate the longitude of the position ofa ship whose navigation officer observes that Greenwich Mean Time is 14.16 hours when the local time is noon. ii, Explain the ge aphical facts which enable you to make (b) Explain fully why 25th December in New Zealand may be one (©) Why must a traveller, when crossing North Am watch at special places.(1964) the hottest days of the year a from New York to the west coast, alter his With the aid of annotated dia (a) The apparent daily movement of the sun and its changes during the year as obsé at the Equator ii, ata place SON rams, explain the following (b) The relationship between latitude and the angle of elevation of the noonday sun.(1963) Explain the effect of (a) Latitude on temperature. (b) Latitude om the length of day and night. (©) Either: Altitude on temperature. Or: Longitude on time. (1961)