NTU RU LEY ee WHBsssssasssesess " sssesessseses: Al SoSoeeeseee: 33333 SS SBEEBSERESSBBBEBRBBEBRBBERBEBNE onaN i I Editorial 72_Effusive Magmatism or Volcanism =f ‘The Universe 73 _ Effusive Magmatism z Theories of Space 73 Volcanic Structures I The Space and Outer Space 77 Intrusive Magmatism or Plutonism = Modern Astronomy 79 Major Land Surface Types I Astronomical Terms 81 Deserts ‘The World of Sound 83_Islands I Galaxies 85 Gradation or Denudation i Our Home Galaxy : The Milky Way 85 Weathering ! ‘The Worldof Stars 88 Erosion Constellations 89 _Denudation and Accumulation Agents: Magnitudes 90 The Wind Life ofa Siar 90 Waters of the Surface Run-off The Solar System $2__Waters of the Sub-surface Flow Other Planetary Systems ©7_Snow and ice The Sun 100 Geographic Distribution of The Inner Planets Contemporary Glaciers The Outer Planets 104 The Hydrosphere Sacalliias. or bnocs 104 The World Ocoan : General The Earth's Moon 1 Si f Satellites Eloor ‘The Comets 110_The Temperature of the Sea Water ‘The Asteroids 111_ Salinity of Oceanic and Sea Waters Shooting Star or Meteoroids ‘The Earth The Origin of the Earth The Age of the Earth Movements of the Earth Spherical Coordinates of Earth 112 Chemical Composition of Seas and Oceans 113_Gases in Oceanic and Sea Waters 114 Organic Marine Lite 115 Sea Water Pressure and Density 115_The Mov f We The Time The Time Zones ee ‘The Internal Structure of the Earth 120 Ocean Currents — Lithosphere 121_General Information about Rivers Continental_Drift 123 Major Riverside Cities Plate Tectonics 124 The Longest Rivers of the World Landforms 125 Highest Waterfalls of the World I Exogenetic (Exogenic) Forces 128 Lakes 67 Uncontormity 136 Swamps and Their Geological I 68 Earthquakes ‘Significance i This one Ne me" TECTIA SDHJ-R93-W9OBX a139 The Atmosphere 208 The Pre-Cambrian Era 139 The Significance of our Atmosphere 209 Palaeozoic Era 140 Atmospheric Layers 209 Mesozoic Era 143. Atmospheric Elements 209 Caenozoic Era 143 Solar Energy 210 Quaternary Era 144 Heating of the Atmosphere 211 Geological and Biological Changes 145 The Heat Energy Budget 217 Human Geography 146 Air Temperature 220 Life in Tropical Deserts 147 Temperature of the Atmosphere 228 Tribes in india 148 Vertical Distribution of Temperature 220: Hasse of World 150 Horizontal Distribution of Temperature 28). Wand Popjiaton 152. Atmospheric Pressure 236 Population Problems i 7 237 Urban Settlements 152 Measurement of Air Pressure 350: Eeanomic Gacgraphy 154 Variations in Atmospheric Pressure 240 Agricuture ter Wed 253 Industries 188 The Wind Systems 258 Transport and Communication 162 Ait-Masses 263 Geography of india 167 Tropical Low Pressure Systems 264 Rivers 168 Special Winds 264 Main Rivers of India 171 Land and Sea Breezes 268 Climate 172 Some Other Winds 269 Vegetation 174 Humidity and Precipitation 271 Soils 174 Water-Vapour in the Atmosphere 272 Source of Irrigations 175 Instability 273 Multipurpose Projects in India. 177 Condensation 278 Agisfure i 179 Types of Fi 281 Mine 100 Clouds 283. Major Industries i 182 Rainfall 285 India's Population-2001 184 Types of Rainfall 286 Final Population Table of Census of fj 186 Other Forms of Precipitation India-2001 2 183 Climatic Typee. 288 Working and Non-working Population 189 Climatic Types of India Census-2001 : 196 Blosphere 289 Scheduled Casts and Scheduled 200 Ecology Tribe Population of India 204 Pollution Census-2001 206 Antipollution Measures 290 Some Special Facts on Population 207 Evolution 2001 207 Geological History 303 Objective Questions ‘The concurrence of the views ofthe Editor is not necessary for any ‘matter or figure published in Pratyogta Darpan. — Editor %. elt al ‘Geography / 6 fy on er DBE INFORMED; BUT...... The raft of knowledge feries the worst sinner to safety. (Bhagwad Gita) ‘Knowledge depends on informa- tion, ie, information is the basis of knowledge and the first step of know- Jedge, the mind, the giver and the store house of knowledge sees through a veil, a screen of illusions, conclusions, past associations, opini- ‘ens and 50 on. Information is the builder of all this. In other words, people tend to form opinions on the basis of the information and’ pro- judices, which they already have. For ‘example, if we show a camera to a child or to a primitive man, they might think that it was @ monster. What people need is information more often than they realise. That is why a well- informed man is called a wise man— information tums into knowledge, and ‘knowledge, when passes through the process of trial and error, becomes a ‘Part of the person concemed. In the name of education, infor- ‘mations are given or imparted to our young men and women. Different {types of informations play the major role at our examinations, and also in the personal interview. The expert advice is that a candidate going for interview or a viva-voce test, must be fully equipped with full and latest information on any and every subject and thing. General knowledge is nothing but a systematic collection of informations. With information and experience ‘man may. form better opinions and make .more reliable judgements, about people, things and ideas. The less information a person has, the Jess likely is to be his/her understand- ‘ing. Information is the foundation on Which the building of knowledge is erected. In the words of Baltasar Gracian, we live by information, not by sight. As a corollary, it follows, what Narbert Wiener writes—'To ive effectively, is to live with adequate information.” +: Geography /7 To have knowledge, we must develop objectivity and fear to have an unbiased mind where information is concemed. As we know, the infor- ‘mer of the giver of information adds ‘subjectivity to it, meaning thereby information mostly does not reach us as itis Even then, itis a very impor- tant part of our knowledge; we.must develop the sense of screening infor mation and looking at it with un- coloured glasses, because the more extensive is one’s domain of infor- ‘mation, the more profound will be his knowledge, which is essential for all- round development of personaly. By the time information reaches 4s, it 1oges its original form. We can see for ourselves that the same information is printed oF broadcast or telecast in different words by different media. It is not easy to pick up the uncoloured version of the information from amongst the various coloured versions. The reader is compelled to accept it as such. In this wob of ‘multicoloured informations, the reader feels lost, and is not in a position to reach tho correct source of informa- tion, At an interview, candidates replied a question in more than one way, and ach one of thom was pro- pared to quote the authencity of it. In ‘short, in this age of developed tech- nology, correct information is a casually at every step, and perhaps, ‘every moment as well. Even then, inlormation has come to stay as an indispensable part of our lives, we should develop an insight of aiseri- mination, and try to separate the grain from the husk. There is the other side of every inlormation also the darker one, which gives rise to bad ideas and ideals, stirs up emo- tions, and leads people astray. Wrong ‘and misleading informations often create frictions and give rise to un- necessary differences, and even riots ‘and wars. In their most modem form they create bad blood in a very subtle way. For example, when anything untoward happens to a member of the 50 called depressed class, the word Hanjan is added to show that they are atogether a different group ‘and not an inseparable part of the main stream. Such informations en- courage the antisocial elements and throw them in the background who lead life ir a peaceful and law-abiding ‘manner. The result is that the media ‘has taken it into their hands, whom to make respected and whorn'to make rejected, whom to make a leader and whom to throw away from the public and these media, specially the print ‘media, often indulge in rumour mon- goring and mud slinging for petty sums of money. They may suppress ‘the most heinous crime, and can also ‘make a mountain of a mole hill. They are capable of playing with the ‘honour and reputation of any person or individual. That is why aif persons, that matter, run their newspapers or. keep some journalists under their Patronage. Examples and ilustrations are too many to seek or to quote. The great warrior and general of all tim, ‘Napoleon, once said, ‘lam not afraid ofa thousand machine guns, but ! am atrald of three newspapers.” Our young readers, while reading or collecting news, wil do well not to be saustied with the one side of the news, but to look at both the sides, ‘and draw their own conclusions. In case otherwise, their future may be Jeopartised and success may sip out of their grip. They should read news, Papers more than one, and then try to reach the common factor, which may ‘be nearer to the original information. Jn the absence of informations, ‘one is incomplete in every respect. But at the same time, do not run the risk of your career or future by taking any information at its face value. All that you have to do is to be discrimi nating in this word of media and kaleidoscope like world of informa- tions, eeexpansion of the Universe. tis this expansion which is continuing even now. All theories of space (Universe) seek to explain the nature and consequences of this expansion. BIG-BANG THEORY Opposing cosmological theories, the first credit goes to a Belgian astronomer-priest, Abba Georges Lemaitre. He explained this process of expansion, in what is knqwn as ‘the evolutionary theory’ or ‘the bbig-bang theory’. He argued that billions of years ago, cosmic matter (Universe) was in an extremely compressed state, from which expansion started by @ primordial explosion. This explosion broke up the superdense ball and cast its fragments far out into space, where they are still travelling at thousands of miles per second. It is from these speeding fragments of matter that our galaxies have been formed. The formation of galaxies and stars has not halted the speed of expansion. ‘And, as it happens in all explosions, the farthest pieces are flying the fastest. ‘The primordial explosion is the hallmark of the big-bang theory. It also differs from other theories in two important respecis : (i) t disagrees with the Seady State claim, that new matter is being continuously created in me Universe, (\) It differs trom the Pulsating theory, in that, it does not admit, that matter wil revert to the original congestion point, from which the primordial explosion started. STEADY STATE THEORY This theory originally advanced by two astronomers, Hermann Boudi and Thomas Gold, has since received ‘support from the British astronomer of Cambridge University. According to this theory, which is also known as the Continuous Creation Theory, galaxies recede from one antoher but their spatial density remains constant. ‘The Universe everywhere remained relatively uniform, unchanged, without begining or end. Thatis to say, as old galaxies move apart new galaxies are being formed in the vacancies. These new galaxies are formed from new ‘matter which is being continuously Created to replace old matter that is being dispersed. This concept, desig- ned fo get around the philosophic Geography /9 hurdle of a Universe with tinite begining and end, is known as trie ‘Steady State Theory’. Later the big-bang theory was defined to clear the hardlo of finitenes, 10 : its advocates proposed ‘pulsating’ or ‘oscillating’ Universe that ‘periodically expands from the explosion of a primordial body, then contracts back and explodes again, over unmencely long cycles, ad infinitum. PULSATING (OSCILLATING) UNIVERSE THEORY According to this theory, advocated among others by Dr. Alan ‘Sandage, the Universe expands and contracts altemately between periods running into tens of billions of years. Dr. Sandage thinks that some 12 billion years ago a great explosion ‘occured in the Universe and that the Universe has been expanding eversince. It is likely to go on expanding for 29 billion years more, when gravitation will halt further ‘expansion. From then on, all matter wll begin to contract or collapse upon itself in a process known as ‘implosion’. This will go on for 41 billion years compressing matter into an extremely superdense state and then it will explode once again. This is the latest theory of the evolution of the Universe, ‘THE ANT-UNIVERSE Existence of anti-Universe, somewhere in the cosmos, with its characteristics reversed to those normally found in this Universe, ‘now considered a possibilty. This has caused a star in the scientific world today. Recent discoveries of pariiclas of anti-matter have led scientists to consider the possibility of tho existence of an anti-Universe somewhere in the cosmos. The highly abstruse theoretical physics dealing with the principles of Symmetry Laws suggested that processes, phenomena and events happening in this Universe must have their ‘counterparts in the reverse manner in another Universe which we may call ‘anti-universe’. If a fundamental Particle exists in this Universe, we must have a similar particle ‘somewhere in the cosmos but will be like one as seen by reflecting it in a mirror. The ‘time-event’ will also be ina reverse manner, that is, the reel of time will be functioning in tne reverse direction to that going on in ‘our Universe. The ‘future-events’ in the antl-Universe are perhaps the ‘past-events’ in this Universe. Itis still not quite clear how far this lett-right symmetry of the mirror- image reflexion is being followed in the anti-Universe in some types of physical phenomena results of investigations indicate that the exact situation is much more complax and ‘complicated. But still the scientists are becoming more and more convinced that a mirror-image-like anti-world, precisely identical to our world but as reflected in a mirror, exists somewhere in the Universe. ‘THE OPEN OR CLOSED UNIVERSE That the Universe is expanding is today considered established. A question that remains unsettled is whether the expansion will continue for ever or whether'the receding gelaxies will some day stop and then reverse theit motion, eventually faling together in a great collapse. The answer to this question determines the geometrical character of the Universe, that Is, It determines the nature of space and time. If the expansion continues perpetually the Universe is ‘open’ and infinite; fit wit some days stop and reverse ditection, the Universe is ‘closed’ and of infinite extent. THE SPACE AND OUTER SPACE The difference between space and outer space is that (i) the term ‘space’ is used to denote the entire ‘Universe’, that is, the Earth and its atmosphere, the Moon, the Sun and the rest of the Solar System with Its other planets and their satellites end all the stars and galaxies spread over the infinite skies; and (ji) the ‘outer space’ refers to the entire space except the Earth and its atmosphere the outer space begins ‘where the Earth’s atmosphere ends, and if extends in all directions from above the atmosphere of the Earth. Outer space is infinite. Our terrestrial units of measurementshardly suit its dimensions. So we have evolved new units of measurement like the ‘Light Year" and the ‘Astronomical Unit’. LIGHT YEAR. A Light Year Is the distance covered by light in on year in vacuum traveling at a speed of 299,792-5 Km per second or about 186,262 miles per second. (This velocity was accepted as one of the Astronomical Constants by the International Astronomie Union in 1968). A light year is thus 5-88 x 10° miles. ASTRONOMICAL UNIT (A. U.) ‘Anew unit in space dimensions has been evolved by radar astronomy. This unit is caled ‘Astronomical Unit (A. Uy. ‘The symbol ‘AU" Is recommended by the International Bureau of weights and measures. It Tepresents the mean distance bet- ween “the Sun and the Earth, calculated on the data supplied by ‘ars. This distance-the Astronomical Unit-has now become a kay constant in determining distances in the Solar System. Astronomical Unit in terestrial measurements is approximately 93 million (82,857,000) milas or 150 million (149,598,000) klometres.in terms of space dimensions, we may say that a Light Year is made up of about 63,241-1 astronomical units. The new technique is likely to revise our established ideas of space dimensions based on the speed of light. itis now known that the velocity of a radar pulse is acourate to one part in 100 million, whereas the velocity of light is known only to be accurate to one part in a million. This ‘means that tho error in radar reading is only one-hundredth of what it would be in ight measurements. ‘TRACKING OUTER SPACE Light and sound aro tho two Principal media through which we gather our impressions of the extemal World. Light is something wo ean soo (visible) and sound is something we can here (audible). This was considered an axiomatic truth till tho end of the 18th century. As the 19th century broke, this simple belief was shattorod. Astronomers and physicists learned that these are invisible lights and inaudible sounds. The first break came in 1800 when the British Geography /10 astronomer William Herschel (738~ 1822) discovered infrared radiation. ‘THE SOLAR SPECTRUM When sunlight (white light) is passed through a prism it is broken Up into rays of different colours, like those of the rainbow. Traditionally, seven colours are known, which are epitomised by the _ acronym VIBGYOR, that is, VIOLET, INDIGO, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, ORANGE and RED. This is called the Solar Spectrum, with the violet at one end and the red colour at the other end. In studying the heating effects of the Solar Spectrum, Herschel placed a thermometer in each of the colours of the spectrum and an extra thermo- meter outside the spectrum at the red end. The thermometer outside the spectrum (at the ted end) showed a higher degree of heat than any other inside the spectrum. He called these rays “infra-red” (below the red) rays. In 1801 the German physicist Johann Ritter (1776-1810) discove- ‘ed that the rays outside the spectrum at the violet end, broke down silver chloride more quickly than the rays within the visible spectrum. These came to be called ‘ultra-violet’ {beyond the violet) rays. it thus turned out that sunlight formed not only a sible spectrum but also an invisible one. ANGSTROM UNIT In 1803 Thomas Young (1773- 1829), a British physicist, chowed that light travelled in tiny waves of varying wavelengths. The waves were 100 * small fo be measured by conventional scales. So Anders Angstrom (1814— 1874), a Swecish physicist, evolved a new ecale to measure wavelengths. He chose a unit equal to ten-bilionths. of a metre. This has since become known as the ‘Angstrom Unit’. Ten Angstroms are equal to a milli- micrometre (a thousandth of a millionth of ametre) which in terms ‘of modem SI units is equal to a ‘nanometre’. ELECTRO-MAGNETIC SPECTRUM The invisible ultra-violet and infra-red radiations remained inexp! cable till James Clark Maxwell (1831— 1879), tho British physicist, came ‘out with his ELECTRO-MAGNETIC. THESIS in 1870. Maxwell argued that olectricity and magnetism were different aspects of a single dectro- ‘magnetic field. Periodical variations in The wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum in modem intemational units 1 Angstroms = Tnanometer 1000 nano 1 micromeve 1000 micro 1 milimetro 10 mit Y centimetre 10 centi I decinetre 10 dect = fmeue the olectro-magnetic field produced electro-magnetic radiations of varying lengths. The visible light is only one part and for that matter a vory small part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. He also postulated thet there can be ‘other invisible radiations of much shorter wavelength than the ultraviolet at one end and for longer than the wavelength of the infra-red at the other. ‘The maxwellian theory was vindieated when the German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857-1895) produced electro-magnetic radiations with wavelengths much longer than that of the infra-red rays. These radiations were at first called ‘Hertzian Waves’ but eventually came to ba know as ‘Radio Waves’. Then in 1895, another German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen (1845-1923) discovered what be called ‘X-ray radiation’. The “%ray’ was later found to be much shorter in wavelenath than the ultra- violet rays. In 1896, the French physicist Henri Becquerel (1852-1905) discovered the phenomenon of ‘Radio Activity’. Becquerel did not at that time know why or in what manner this radio activity took piace. Sub- ‘sequently it was found that this radio activity was caused by the atoms of the heavy metal ‘Uranium’ giving off ‘a constant emission of radiation and particles. It was further shown that this radio activity was also electro- ‘magnetic in nature. Ruthertordnamed it the ‘Gama Ray’. The gama ray hada wavelength even shorter than that ofthe X-ray. PHOTONS In 1905 Einstein showed that all forms of radiation travelled in wave packets, which acted like particles in some ways. He called these packets ‘Photons’. The energy of the photons ereasos as the wavelength decreases. The wavelength is related to frequency, that is to say, the number of vibrations or waves or ‘cycles per seconds. The shorter the wavelength, the higher is the frequency and the greater the energy. ‘Thus ‘gamma rays” with the shortest wavelength (below 0-01 nanometre) are the most energetic. The energy decreases as the wavelength increases, through X-ray (1 to 001 nanometra). ultra-vi nanos) visible light in all the colours of the spectrum (400 nanos to 700 nanos) infra-red (700 nanos to 1 milimetre) micro-waves (1 mitimetre jetres oF 50 centimetres) to radio waves which have the longest wavelengths (50 centimetres to 3000 centimetres or 30 metres) and the lowest energy content. ‘THERMAL RADIATION Every object which is at a temperature above ‘Absolute Zero’ (-273.16°C) radiates photons of all kinds. The average energy of the photons emitted increases with the temperature. We experience this heat during the peak period (noon) in visible light raciation. But even objects which are not hot enough to glow ike the sun still radiate Quantities of infrared radiation, for instance, our own bodies. Tha body temperature, that is, cool bodies, radiate micro waves and longer radio waves. These radions, called ‘ther- mal radiations’, can indicate the temperature levels of the objects emitting them. RADIO WAVES Radio waves are the radiations with the longest wavelengths, thal is from £0 centimetres to as much as:30 metres. Objects in outer space that emit such radiations are called “Radio Sources’. WINDOWS ON OUTER SPACE The atmosphere of the earth is like @ sieve which allows only some Geography/ 11 wavelengths trom outer space to reach us. Sunight forms one group of wavelengths which come down through the atmosphere. This inciu- des not only the visible light but also a port of the invisible light, namely, the near ultraviolet (400 to 300 nanos) and the near infrared (700 to 2500 nanos). This is one of the windows that opens out on outer space. MICRO-WAVE WINDOW ‘The other window is called the “micto-wave window”. This window covers all wavelengths from one millimetre to 30 metres. The existence of the microwave window was not particularly noticed or studied till 1932 when Karl Jansky of the Bell Telephones announced that he had received radio messages from outer space. Modern astronomy began with the Italian astronomer GALILEO 1564-1642. In 1609 Galileo heard of the telescope made by the Duchaman Hans Lippershey. Galileo improved upon it and constructed a similar instrument that could magnify upto thirty diameters. OPTICAL ASTRONOMY It was this thirty diameter instrument, known as ‘REFRACTOR: TELESCOPE’, that opened the field of optical astronomy. Galileo made several stasting discoveries. He found the Moon's surface to be rugged and the Pleiades to cont over 40 stars. He discovered four of Jupiter's moons and observed the sunspots. In 1688 NEWTON invented a now instrument ‘The REFLECTOR TELESCOPE’. In a refractor tele- scope light is gathered by a large objective lone. In a reflectortolescope, a large curved mirror is used for this, Purpose. Both these types of optical telescopes are stil in use. GROWTH OF MODERN ASTRO- NOMY The invention of the optical telescope was an epochal event the history of astronomy. The instrument so caught the fancy of the astronomer and the layman alike, that all advanced countries vied with one ‘another in building bigger and bigger telescopes. RADIO ASTRONOMY Radio Astronomy came into being in the most unexpected manner. In 1931, Karl Jansky, an US radio enginoor working with Boll Laboratory, noticed a steady stream of radiation coming in from outer space. It also attracted the attention of an amateur radio operator in US, Grote Reber, worked single, handed for nearly tan years, studying the sky and analysing radiations. In 1937, he built the world’s first Radio Tele- scope-a 31 feat § inches parabolic dish-and set it up in his backward at Wheaton ilinois. in 1940 be produced a radio map of the sky the first, of its kind in the world. Thus a new branch of astronomy was opened, Known as, Radio Astronomy, OTHER ASTRONOMIES Satellite technology took astro- nomical investigations farther afield in the sisties. Untill then astronomical studies were entirely ground based. Now satellites made It possible to study astral phenomena from above the atmosphere. Thus astronomy is studied from two levels, from the ground and from above the atmo- sphere. This has led to the eme gence of many specialised fields in astronomy, like—x-rays, Ultraviolet, Gamma tay and Infrared ray astronomy. ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY Utiraviolet astronomy is confined to wavelengths between 912A and about 3000 A. The fitst successful ‘observation in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum was made in 1946, when the Naval Research Laboratory, USA. flew a captured German V-2 rocket. The first successful dectection of far ultraviolt ractation outside the solar system was also made by the Naval Research Laboratory in 1955 with the help of an AEROBEE 25 rocket, Ultraviolet astronomy is ‘specially useful in very cases where ‘other tectiniques have failed to bring in any worthwhile information. Thus there ere many young massive stars, with effective surface temperature of 10,000 K which emit mostly in the ultraviolet region. These stars can beProperly studied by Ultraviolet Astronomy Only. GAMMA RAY ASTRONOMY Gamma rays have the shortest wavelengths and are the most energetic rays so far known, Because of their great penetrating power, they are not absorbed by the inter-stelar ‘matter and therefore reach us almost unchanged trom ail pans of the Universe. Gamma ray astronomy was bom in 1968 with the discovery of very hard gamma ray radiation from the central region of our galaxy, by a team of scientists at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, USA, who had flown a sophisticated gamma ray detection on board the Orbiting Solar Odservatory-3 satelite. Subsquent observations on celestial hard gamma rays {rom experiments ‘on the US Small Astronomy Satellite 2 and European COS-B satellite have established gamma ray astronomy 2s ‘an observational science. INFRA RED ASTRONOMY Infra red astronomy is important because it enables us to observe ASTRONOMICAL TERMS THE CELESTIAL SPHERE Is an imaginary sphere upon the surface of which al! the stars in the sky appear to be studded to an observer stationed at its centre. THE ZENITH is the intersection ofa verteal ine through the observers station with the upper parton of the celestal ‘sphere. It's the point onthe celestial sphere immediately above the observer's station. THE NADIR is the intersection of vartcal Ina through the ‘observer's station withthe lower portion ofthe celestial sphere. It is the point on the celestial sphere vertically below the ‘observers stations, THE CELESTIAL HORIZON (elso called TRUE or RATIONAL HORIZON) Is the great circle in which a plana at right angles to the Zenith and Nad ine and passing through the centr ofthe earth intersects the celestial sphere. The Zenit and Nadir aro the pales ofthe celestial horizon. ‘THE SENSIBLE HORIZON Is the circe in which a plane tangent to the earth's surtacs (or at ight angies to ne Zentn ‘and Nadi line)"and passing through the point of observation intersects the colestal sphere, The line of sight of an accurately lovaled telescope les in this plane. THE VISIBLE HORIZON is the cite of contacto the earth and the cone of visual rays passing through the point of observation. THE TERRESTRIAL EQUATOR (oF simply, EQUATOR) is 6 ‘great circle of the earth, the plane of which 1s perpendicular to the axis of rotation (polar axis) THE POLAR AXIS isthe dlamoter about which the earth spins. ‘The extreraities of the axis of rotation (polar axis) of the earth, are krown as the poles. they are distnguished as he NORTH POLE and the SOUTH POLE. THE CELESTIAL EQUATOR is the great circle in which ne plane ofthe equator cuts the celestial sphere. THE CELESTIAL POLES aro the points of intersastion of tho ‘axis of the earth (or the polar axis) when produced with te colestal sphere. THE CELESTIAL MERIDIAN io tho groat crcla in which the ‘pane passing hrough the celestial poles intersects the colestial ‘sphere. THE MERIDIAN of a place or an obsarver isthe great circle passing through the zenith, and nadir and te poles. THE ECLIPTIC is the great circle which the sun appears to trace on tho colastia! ephore with the earth as a contre in tho course of a yeer. The plane of the ectpfic isnot coincident with the plane of the equa, the angle between them being known 15 the OBLIQUITY OF THE ECLIPTIC. Its value is about 23° Zz The points of intersection ofthe eclptic with the equator are called the EQUINCCTIL POINTS. The point st which he fun's decination changes irom South to North (.e. the sun ‘passing trom South to North‘of the equator is known as the VERNAL EQUINOX or the FIRST POINT OF ARIES; while the ther ia called the AUTUMNAL EQUINOX or the FIST POINT OF LIBRA, The Vernal Equinox marks the beginning of spring, white tne ‘Autummal Equinox marks the commencement of AUTUMN. The ponts on the ecliptic at which the North or South Gectnaton of the sun Is maximum are known as the SOLSTICES, The sun is at the Vernal Equinox on March 21, and its declination and right ascension are each equsl to zero. On Juno 21 the sunis at the ectiptc at 90° rom the frst point of Aries, and, its dacination is maximum and equals 23°27" No and its tight ascension is 6 hours for 90°) THE VERTICAL CIRCLE isthe great circle passing through the Zenith aad nadit. The meridian of a place i, therefore, aso a verical crcte THE PRIME VERTICAL is the vertical cicla which passes through the east and west points of the horizon. itis at right angies tothe mercian of the place. THE LATITUDE of a place or station is the angular distance ‘maseured from the equator towards the nearer pole, along the ‘meridian of the place. The laitude is the decination of the zenth, THE CO-LATITUDE of a place is the angular distance from the Zenith to the pove. i is the complement of the latitude, ard is, inetetore, equal to 90"-latitvde. THE LONGITUDE of a place is the angular measure of the arc ‘of the equator between some primary mericlan and the meridian of pace. THE ALTITUDE of a heavenly body is its angular distance ‘above the horizen, measured on the vertical circle passing through the body. THE CO-ALTITUDE also called the Zenth Distance, is the angular distance of a heavenly wody trom the Zenith, It isthe complement ofthe altude and equals 90°—atitude. THE AZIMUTH cf a heavenly body is the angle between the observer's meridian and the vertical cle passing though the ooy. THE DECLINATION of a heavenly body is its angular distance ‘ram the equater, measured along the meridian, generally called the decination cicie, that is, fe great circle passing through the body and the cetestlal poles. THE CO-DECLINATION also iormed as the Polar Distance, is the anguter distance ofthe heavaniy body from the pol. It the ‘complement of te declinaon, and is equal to 80"-declinaton. THE HOUR ANGLE of a heavenly body is the angle between the observer's meridian and the decination circle passing through the body. THE RIGHT ASCENSION of a heavenly body is its equatorét angular distance measufed eastward irom the First Pont of Aves. Geography/ 12objects at temperatures between about 10K and 2,000 K, whether they are cool stars or dust cloud. Inthe: solar spectrum the region nearest to the visible red is called “near infrared”. A portion of this near infrared can be detected with special photographic plates, Hence this part of the infrared is called the Photo- graphic Infrared. Higher wavelengths ‘can be detected by olher methods. RADAR ASTRONOMY Radar Astronomy was born in 1940, when a Hungarian Physicist Zoltan Bay sent out a beam of micro waves to the moon end detected the retur echo. The basic principle is simple. Short pulses of high frequency radio energy are simed at a target, from which the pulses are reflected to the earth, where they are picked up by a sonsitive antenna receiver system. The time between the transmission and reception of radar pulses can be converted into a measure of distance by the speed at which these radar pulses travel. Since micro.waves can rightly be considered a part of the electro- magnetic spectrum, the Radar Astronomy is really a part of radio astronomy. In tecent years, the radar techniques have substantially added to the stock of our knowledge of astronomy. The surface of Venus, for the example, is covered by a thick layer of clouds against which our ‘optical telescopes were quite help- less. But microwaves have pierced through the clouds and have sounded the solid surface of Venus. The first readings showed a high mountain range. Subsequent readings have helped us to make a radar map of the surface. Various bits of information about other planets have been and ‘are still being collected by radar readings. SUPER TELESCOPE ‘Anew generation of Super Tele- ‘scopes’ is designed for mountaintops around the world ushered in a golden age of astronomy by the early rineties. Behind the spurt in jumbo telescopes are several radical new ideas on how to bulld them. Ever since the dedication of the 200 inch Geography/13 (6:08 metre) Hale Telescope-—still the world's premier optical device-etop California's Mount Palomar in 1948, astronomers thought that they had feached the technical and financial limits of big-telescope construction. THE WORLDOF SOUND Radio Telescopes have opened @ new world to the astronomer ‘A World of Sound, not of sight. The two worlds are fantastically different. THE MILKY WAY, for example, isa river of ight to the eyes but itis @ bissing mass to the ears. Radio Telescopes, in facts help us to listen in to stars o° galaxies that le far beyond the ken of the world’s largest telescopes. Radio Telescopes also enable us to study astral phenomena which are within the range of our Optical telescopes but which are not visible owig to the haze of cosmic dust. Sound is produced by the Vibrations of an object or mechanism and transmitted in the from of waves, —altemating Increase and decrease in pressures. It radiates outward through a material medium of molecules, more or less like the ripples spreading out on water after some heavy object has been thrown into it Two elements of sound are important—(i) the PITCH or FRE- QUENCY, and (ii) INTENSITY or LOUDNESS. () The PITCH or FREQUENCY refors to the rate of vibration of the sound and is measured in HERTZ (Hz) units, The frequency of sound is determined by the number of times the vibrating waves undulate per second. The slower the cycle the lower the pitch. The pitch becomes higher as the cycles increase in number or which is the same thing, as frequencies increase. (W) The INTENSITY or LOUD- NESS is measured in Decibels. A decibel (db) (one-tenth of a “Bel”) is a physical unit based on the weakest sound that can be detected by the human ear. tt is named after A. G. BELL, the inventor of the telephone. ‘The decibel scale is logarithmic, that is, an increase of 10 db means 10 times as much, an increase of 20 db means 100 times and 30 db 1000 times etc. A light whisper may be about 10 db, a quite conversation ‘sound 20 db, and normal talk 30 db. In comparison the electrically amplified beat music in a disco is a billion times Iouder than the sound of awhisper at 10 db. ULTRA-SONICS The human ear cannot generally bear sounds of frequencies higher ‘than 20,000 vibrations per second or in modren Intemational Units 20,000 Hz. Sounds of frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz which are inaudiole are called ULTRA SONIC. Bats produce vary high sound when they fly but they are at ultra-sonic frequencies from 20,000 to 100,000 Hz. So we cannot bear them. Ultra- ‘sonic waves are an important tool of research in physics. There are also many applied uses for ultra-sonic waves, like “Sub-marine echo sound: ing’, ‘detection of flaws in casting’ ‘diiling glasses and ceramic’, ‘emulsification’ etc. ‘SPEED OF SOUND The speed of sound varies according to the nature of the carer madia. When we speak of speed of sound, we ordinarily mean the speed at which sound travels in air at sea level. This is around 1088 feet per second. In water sound travels about 5 times faster than in air. n iron and steel itis even faster, about 3 times. faster than the speed of water. Speeds of sound through some selected media are indicated below : © Ice-cold water-1505 metre (4838 feel) per second © Brick-3542 metre (11620 fest) per second © Granite-395 metre (1296 fest) per second @ Hardwood-3847 metre (12620 feat) per second © Glass-5000 to 6000 metre (16410 to 19690 feet) per second SUPER-SONICS. Supersonic speed is speed greater than the speed of sound (in air at sea level, that is to eay, around 760 miles or 1216 kilometres per hour. Supersonic speed is measured in"MACH". This unit was worked out by the Czech-born German physicistERNST MACH and therefore named after his. Mach is the ratio of the ‘speed of flight to tho spood of cound, under the same conditions of pressure and density. When a plans moves at the speed of sound, it is Mach 1. When a plane moves at twice the speed of sound (super- sonic), it is Mach 2. When it is less than the speed of sound it is ‘Sub- sonic’ and therefore lesser than Mach 1. At half the speed of sound it |s Mach 1/2 (0.5), NOISE SCALE ‘Sounds are iny vibrations that can] travel through ait and other materials. The lousiness of a sound is measured| in “decibels” (db). Typical sound levels} in decibels aro 1. Breathing 100b 2. Wind in the trees 20 db| 3. Whisper (Quito conversation) 20-30 db 4. Tickng clock 30 db S.House ina quite stot 95 db| 6. Rado music 50°60 db 7. Loud Conversation 60 0b) 8. Office Neieo 60 ab 9. Chitiren Playing 60-80 db 10. Lawn Mover 60-80 ab 11. Vacuum Clasner 0 db] 12. Traitic Noise 60-90 db 13, Sports Car 80.95 db 14. Heavy Truck Trafie 90-100 ab 15, Loud Radio 100 ab) 16. Motor cycle 105 do] 17 Pneumatic Dail 110 do 18. Thunder Storm 110 00) 19, lock (Beat) Music (olectricaly ampliied) 120 db] 20. Aircraft Noise 90-120 ab] 21. Jettakeont {fat 100 m olstance) 120 ab) 22, Jet Engine (at25 m alstance) 140 ab} 23. Spece Vehicle launch (trom a shortalstance 140-170 db| Note-130 db above causes damage to| hear SOUND BARRIER Sound barrier is the point at which the speed of fight equals the speed of sound. When a plane flies fater than sound, it is said to cross the Sound Barrier. When the sound bariier is passed, the speed of the aircraft produces shock waves in the atmosphere, somewhat like the bow waves produced by fast moving ships. The shock waves in the Geography/ 14 atmosphere produce booms like thunder claps. These are called "Sonic Booms’. The sonic booms jar on the ears of the resident population in the areas over which the plane flies but they do not trouble the passengers or the crew because the plane goes faster than the shock waves which ara, in a manner of speaking, left behind. NOISE POLLUTION Sound is either music or noise- so goes an old saying. What is implied by this distinction is that whatever is pleasant to the ear is music while all that 1s unplesant is ‘noise’. Such phrases as ‘grating on the ears’ or ‘jarring on the nerves’ express the discomfort me feel on hearing unpleasant sounds. It is such unpleasant impacts of sound that are collectively described as NOISE POLLUTION. GALAXIES THE ORIGIN Galaxies are huge congregations of siars that hold together by force of gravity. They ere 20 big that they have sometimes been called ‘island Universes. Stucies of distant spaces with optical and radio toloscopes icate that there may be about 100 billion galaxies in the visble universe. Galaxies soom to bo scaitored in space. Galaxies tend to be grouped together into Clusters, and some Clusters appear to be grouped into ‘Super Clustars. When the expanding ‘material of the universe broke up in the first instance, bilions of islands of gaseous matter were formed in space. These gaseous isiands or ‘PROTO-GALAXIES" rotated, each with its own speed of rotation. Those with very low rotational speed assumed nearly spherical shapes. Others assumed elliptical forms, with varying degrees of elongation, depending on their rotational speed. Most of these gaseous islands, however, had such: high rotational ‘speed that their bodies were flattened ‘out into the shape of discs, from whose edges spiral arms streamed, The centre of the galactic discs was formed by a multitude of a “proto- stare” rotaiing on rogular circular orbits around the centre of the galaxy, whereas the spiral arms were formed by highly diluted, dusty gas streamers which wore caught in the goneral rotation and were twisted into the shape of spirals. The galaxies have thus come out in different shapes and sizes. ISLANDS OF THE UNIVERSE Stars ars giouped in space in Gigantic system, frequently of a spiral form. They are scattored, ike ‘elande’, {in the ocean of the Universe. “ISLANDS OF THE UNIVERSE” or “ISLAND UNIVERSES'— these are names often given to galaxies. in certain places, ‘such as in the constellation VIRGO, the ‘galaxies are grouped into "Clouds of Galaxies"-the islands of the Universe form an archipelago. As the gaseous islands were settling down, local condensations— PROTO-STARS (see box Onion Molecular Complex) developed at many points within the galaxy. These condensations began to contract under their own weight into dense gas spheres. As a result of this ‘contraction, the temperature of the gas spheres rose steadily and their heated surfaces began to emit heat waves and than the shorter wavelengths of visible light. As the central atmosphere of these contracting ‘proto-stars' reached the ignition point—say 10 milion degrees centigrade—contraction stopped thermonuclear reactions began and millions of bright burning globules of gas emerged-the stars. When the stars appeared, the originally cool and dark proto-galaxies were transformed into the “bright stellar galaxies” that they are today. STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF GALAXIES. A structural analysis of the known galaxies brings out three major forms—a first, simple classification of galaxies compiled by HUBBLE in 1920)- (i) Spiral, (i) Elliptical, and (ii) regular. Spiral galaxies have @ central nucleus with great spiral arms trailing round it. The “Milky Way” and the “Andromeda Galaxy” belong to this group. A special type of spiral galaxies is what are called “Barred Spirals” which have a conial bar as a nucleus. The spirals comprise someeighty per cent of the galaxies so far known. Elliptical galaxies show purely elliptical shapes without any spiral arms. has since become known as “Antennae” The antennae is about 60 milion light years from our galaxy, ‘among galaxies is not a great ©, ; M > “dé Sarred Spiral Galaxies Hubbie'e (1920) Classification of Types of G: It has been suggested that Irregular galaxies are youthful galaxies, while galaxies represent middle age and elliptical galaxies are of old age. The galaxy has no sharp boundary and its edges thin out gradually. One can assume that the Galaxy is about 100,000 light-years diametre and from 40 to 15 times ‘smaller in thickness. In the centre of the galaxy {les the nucleus, which must Icok like a somewhat flattened ellipsoid of revolution, whereas elsewhere in the galaxy Hydrogen in neutral and invisible, accounting for the bulk of the gas. The solar system is @ bit more than 25,000 light years away from the galaxy. PECULIAR GALAXIES Most of the galaxies show some ‘sont of regularity and symmetry that ‘enable us to classify them. But one or ‘two per cent stand out as Peculiar. ‘These galaxies, no doubt, can be counted as irregular galaxies as mentioned above. But their irregu- larties are so unique and their ‘eccentiicities so bizzare that it is best to classily them as “Peculiar Galaxies". The first peculiar galaxy we noticed in 1917. It appeared to bea double nebula with long curving tails. In the New General Catalogoue (NGC) of 1888, they were numbered a8 nebulae 4038 and 4039. In 1921 when the photographs of these nebulae were scrutinised, it was found that they sent out long curving filaments which resembled the antennae of an insect. The system Geography/15 oo distance. Only about one thousand easily recognised galavies lie closer tocure. Another part resembling the antennae is NGC 4667 A and 4676 B, nicknamed the "Mice". One of the pair sends out 2 long straight tail and the other, a curved tall. Another welknown, pai is the ‘Whiripoof galaxy and its companion (M 51) N.G.C. 3921 is yet another peculiar galaxy, without any companion at all. It send out a number of streamers that look like long tails but no second galaxy has been noted anywhere in its vicinty. CLUSTER OR GALAXIES Most of the observable galaxies seem to be scattered in space mors or less at random but there are Aumerous cases of galaxies clustering into groups, which may contain as many as several hundred individual galaxis. Our own galaxy, the “Miky Way’, belongs to a cluster of some 24 galaxies called the “Loca! Group”. This group covers an area of about 3 million light years in diameter. The two nearest galaxies are the Large Magellanic Cloud and the ‘Small Magellanic Cloud, so called after the world navigator Magellan who first spotted them. The Large Cloud fs about 155,000 light years from us with a maximum diameter of ‘some 40,000 light years and contains some 5 to 10 billion stars. The Small Cloud has only a population of one to two billion stars. The two largest galaxies in the group are the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, both of the them spiral. Andromeds galaxy (M31) is of special interest to us, because it ‘appears that our galaxy and M 31 aro actually approaching each cther at a rather modest speeds, some 50 kilometre per second. NEBULOUS WORLD Nebula is the term assigned by astronomers to anything that is “nebulous” in the sky, regardiess of what it consits of, provided it occupies a fixed position in the sky among the slars. As the observational techniques improved, certain (actually most) of the visible nebulae have been found to be distant stellar systems, similar to our galaxy. Butin certain bright nebulae near or within the Milky Way itself astronomers have found spectra consisting of narrow bright lines against a dark background. It we are to define their physical nature, not only their appearance, we will have te call them "GASEOUS NABULAE”: Since they lie within our stellar system, the GALAXY, they are referred to as “GALACTIC NEBULAE™ to distinguish them from “Extragalactic Nebulae” that are essentially giant steller systems like ours and com monly themselves contain gascous and dusty nebulae. To clarify the picture, gaseous nebulae mainly consists of ‘ionized hydrogen’ Extensive regions of hot ionized hydrogen are called H Il (H is the chemical symbol of hydrogen) and the regions filled with cool, nominc- ed, invisible hydrogen ere called H | ‘Spectral lines show that gaseous nebulae consist of ‘hydrogen’, “helium’, ‘nitrogen’, ‘oxygen’, ‘carbon’ and certain other chemical elements. But the brightest spectral lines are ‘wo green lines that for more than haf century have been attributed to an unknown gas, since not one chemical element in the laboratory has revea- led these lines under ary conditions. ‘As the unknown gas on the Sun was called “SOLAR” or HELIUM" so the unknown gas of nebulae was called “NEBULAR” of “NEBULIUM’. Normally fairly fragmentary, gaseous diffuse nebulae concentrate near the galactic equator. They come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. The best known of them are the nebulae ORION, LAGOON, OMEGA, TRIFID, PELICAN, NORTHAMERICA. But there also exist more Clearly delineatad objects in which brightness grows towards the periphery (peripheric nebulae) such as the ROSETTE NEBULA. LOCAL GROUP The “Local Group" is a term loosely applied to indicate our galaxy and its nearby galaxies. The Group now numbers around two dozen. Some like the ‘MAFFEI’ are even suspected to be outside the group. e ‘Andromeda Nebuia 2,000,000 light-years ‘Our Galaxy. © Sculpior system @ Fomax system ‘The Local Group The latest known member of the group is a “Dwarf Galaxy" discovered by the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. It is in Carina and consists of a loose swarm of vory faint stars. In appreance it resembles the "Sculptor and the "Fornax system’. it is estimated to be about five hundred thousand light years away. The Dwarf Elliptic Galaxies are only several times larger and brighter than a typical globular cluster. The brightest and largest of the known galaxies are two elliptical galaxies in a the cluster virgo : NGC. 4486 (N87) and NGC 4472 (M 49) with diameter 22,000 and 31,000 parsecs, respectively. In our neighbourhood are only Dwarf Elliptic Galaxies, companions of the bpiral_ galaxy M 31 in ‘Andromeda. ‘EXTREME DWARFS’ are very faint. Belonging to this class are the faint spheroidal galaxie our neighbourhood-in FORNEX and SCULPTOR-and even more so the systems Leo | and Leo Il Geography | 16 Tersely, the galaxy lies within an isolated group called the “LOCAL GROUP" or “LOCAL SYSTEM OF GALAXIES". Two main groups with supergiants in each stand out in it. These are our galaxy and its compa: nies, the Magellanic Cloud end M 31 with its several elliptical companions, After the ‘extreme dwarfe"-sphoroidal galaxies of the sculptor type and other irregular galaxies-have been discovered, it tuned out that Dwarfs predominate in the Local System. There are two supergiant systems in each spiral of moderate size (M 31 in Triangulum), two ‘compact dwart elliptical galaxies” (NGC 205 and 221), two fairly tenuous (NGC 147 and 185), six extremely tenuous spheroidal (in Fornax, sculptor, Leo |, Leo Ii, Ursa Minor, Draco), irregular galaxies (Magellanic Clouds, NGC 6822, IC 1613, the Wolt-Lundmark system, three Holmberg's systems and may be three drawfs in the Saxtans, all of which are.as yet little studied). So, our Local System has two giant spirals one medium sized spitat and trom 17 to 20 Dwarts mostly Elliptical and Spheroidal. tt appeared that Dwaris dominate, and the average absolute size of galaxies is now strongly shifted towards low luminosities. The following table gives the names and/or numbers of these galaxies, with their apparent magni- tude, absolute magnitude, diameter and distance in “KILOPARSECS* (thousand parsecs~a parsec is equal 10 326 Light Years). OUR HOME GALAXY THE MILKY WAY The “MILKY WAY" is our home galaxy. A peculiar feature of this galaxy is @ bright band of light that ‘uns almost in a perfect circle through it. As seen from the earth this band looks like a river of light following through the sky. Actually it is made up of millions of scientilating stars which from this distance seems to be Placed in close proximity to one another. Modern westerners have called this river of fight the “MILKY WAY’. This name is now applied to the galaxy as a whole. The Milky Way had so fascinated our ancestors among all nations that they had given it pretty names and had woven fanciful fagends about it ‘The ‘Yakuts' of Central Asia called it the ‘FOOTPRINTS OF GOD’, and the ‘Eskimos’ the ‘PATH OF WHITE ‘ASHES’. The ancient ‘Greeks’ called it the "ROAD TO THE PALACE OF THE HEAVENS’, the ‘Chinese’ the “CELESTIAL RIVER" and the ‘Hebrews’, the ‘RIVER OF LIGHT’. The ancient Indian", not to be outdone, called it the “AKASH GANGA’ or the “CELESTIAL GANGES". AKASH GANGA Legend has tt, that in response to the insistant prayers of a devotes BHAGIARATHA, GOD _ SHIVA brought the AKASH GANGA down and allowed a trickle of ito fall on the Galaxies Galaxy Name | Veus!# | Distance | Diameter | Absolute ‘or Number magnitude | (kilopec) |_(kilopsc) | magnitude The Milky Way 2674 0 30 ‘Can Large Magallance Cloud 09 50 10 =177 ‘Small Magellance Cloud 25 80 8 165 Ursa Minor system 70 1 °) Sculptor system 80 83 22 -118 Draco system e 100 4 10) Fornax system a3 130 66 =133 Leo lt system 1204 230 16 -100 Leo I system 120 220 1s -104 N@c 6822 39 480 27 -148 Nec 147 973 570 3 -145 Nac 185, 4a 570 2a -148 NGC 205, 817 630 | 5 =165 Nac 221 (M32) 810 20 24 =165 Io-1613 961 630 5 ~147 ‘Andromeda galaxy 347 780 40 ~a2 NGC 598 (M33) 579 20 7 -189 Mattei 110 1000 _[ -190Earth. This trickle formed the earthly Ganga (River Ganges), which thus remains even today, sacred to HINDUS all over the wertd. The MILKY WAY is a spiral galaxy. The main body of the galaxy {is a disc 100,000 thousand light years across with a globular nucleus of about 16,000 light years in diameter, and far-stretching spiral arms (in one of which our solar system is located). The galaxy consists of over a hundred billion stars rotating about the centre in a stately average period of some 230 milion years. Scientific studies of the Milky Way and speculations about its structure contributed significantly to our understanding of the Universe. The farther from the plane of the Milky Way, the fewer faint stars are visible in these directions the smaller is the distance to which the stellar system extends. The solar system lies not in the centre of the Galaxy, which is visible from Earth in the direction of Sagitarius. Hence, the Milky Way is a picture seen by us {from inside the Galaxy, near its plane, but far from its conte. GLOBULAR CLUSTERS The stellar population of the Milky Way is made up of three categories of Stars—(i) there are the stars in the hub and spirals of the Milky Way. The Sun belongs to this group of stars. These groups are called “OPEN” or “GALACTIC CLUS- TERS". (ji) Beyond the disc and the ‘open clusters, io tho Halo stars. Many of these stars form miniature galaxies, containing tens of thousands of stars. These are called “GLOBULAR CLUSTERS” or "GLOBULAR STAR CLUSTERS”. They contain very old stars. (iii) Beyond the Globular Clusters there are several million indvidual stars, that run round raki- shly onthe out-skirts of the Milky Wey. Al these form part of the galaxy. One of the nearest Globular Cluster, the one in Hercules, is separated from us by 20,000 light years, its diameter being a hundred light ysats. The most distant star cluster lie 230,000 light years away from us, RE-SHUFFLING OF STARS ‘The stars in the Galaxy are being continually reshuffled. in the course Geography /17 of a milion years, two stars now close together but having a difference in velocity of one kilometre per second, will have separated by 3 light years. Therefore, in less than one COSMIC YEAR (250 million years), some groups of stars may disintigrate and new groups of stars may form. The physical make-up of the galaxy is also likely to change over intervals of the order of a cosmic year. GALACTIC NUCLEUS The centre or the nucleus of our galaxy is so completely obscured by dust clouds that we cannot leam anything about it through optical telescopes. What litle we know about the nucleus has been collected by rado-telescopes. Our Galactic Nucleus is about 32,000 light yeers away from the Sun. I appears to be a rotating disc of gas. In this rotating disc massive activities are going on. Dr. Joseph Weber of the University of Maryland thinks that a Black nole dominates the centre of our galaxy. One of his experiments showed powerful gravity waves emanding apparently from our galactic centre. Strong gravity waves are generally associated with Black holes. It is therefore quite possible that a Black hole is holding our galaxy in its murderous grip. THE WORLD OF STARS Stars aecount for $8.per cent of the matter in a galaxy. The rest 2 per cent consists of interstellar or galactic gas and dust in a very attenuated form. The normal gas-density between stars (interstellar gas) throughout the galaxy, is about one- tenth of @ hydrogen atom per cubic centimetre (cm?) volume. The atmosphere of stars and the Sun differ from the Earth’s primarily in that they are richer in hydrogen and helium, It has been found that the interiors of stars, at least most of them, also largely consists of hydrogen. The chemical composition “ot some stars deviates trom the average. For example, thare are stars that are somewhat richer in “neon” or “strontium”. Certain “cool stars” (with why low temperature 1000°C or may be even 700°C feature anomalously great abundances of a special form of “carbon”, a so-called heavy ‘isotope of carbon Stars tend to form groups. Lone stars traveling at their own are the ‘exception rather than the rule in the Universe. Single stars do not number more than 25 per cent of the stellar Population. Double stars account for some 33 per cent. The rest are muttiple stars. ANTARES in Scorpio is actually two stars. CAPELLA and ALPHA CENTAURI comprise three stars each, while CASTOR consists of six stars. STAR'S MEASURE The dimensions of the planets are easily computed fram their distances and their angular diameter of their visible disc. Since the stars radiate almost es an absolutely black body, the law of radiation of eneray by them is known in different parts of the spectrum. If the temperature of a star and its luminosity are known, itis Possible to compute the total energy emanating from the star. But fort, a8 a black body, theoretical Physics is able to compute the total energy emitted by one square centimetre of its surface. According to the Stefan—Boltzmann Jaw, it is proportional to the fourth power of temperature. If we divide the total energy emitted by the star, determined in this manner, by the ‘energy emitted by one square centimetre of its surlace, we obviously obtain the surface of the star, the star is a sphere and knowing is surface, its diameter can be computed easily. This, method, applicable only to the brightest stars with a disc of maximum angular diameter, was devised in 1920. STAR PAIRS OR BINARIES Stars which appear single to the nacked eye are sometimes found fo be “double stars” or “binaries” in the telescope. Also it happans, of course, that two stars are sometimes visible close to each other in a telescope, buts actuality in space they have no relationship to each other. These are so-called “optical binaries”. Actually, these are two stars revolving around a common centre of gravity. They are found in orbital motion round each other, in periods varying from aboutone year to many thousands of years. This revolution around a common centre of mass was discovered for the first time by Herschel in England, Very close pairs do not reveal their nature, even in a telescope. The pair looks like a single star, but ‘Spectral analysis comes to our aid. The penultimate star in ine handle of the ‘Big Dipper’ is "Mizar", second-magnitude star. Next.to it, Separated by 11', there lies a naked- eye star noticed even by the ancient Arabs and called Alcr, which le tbe Arabic or “horseman”. It is seen through a smal telescope that Mizer itself consists of two f stars separated by 14" and Alcor appears to be very far from them. “Mizar” is a so-called visual Binary Star. Many other double stars of this type, called “ECLIPSING BINARIES" a "ALGOLS", have also discovered, RED GIANTS When the hydrogen in a star is depleted, its outer regions swell and tedden. This is the first sign of age. “Such stars are called “RED GIANTS". Our star, the SUN, is expected to turn into in red star of this type in another five billion years. Red Giants are appropriately named, they have gigantic dimen- sions. ‘BETELGEUSE’, for example, thas anactual diameter of 480,000,000 kilometre (360 milions miles), about 350 times the diameter of the Sun. The bright red Betegeuse star in the constellation Orion was the first star, whose diameter was measured in 1920 directly by an interferometer. Mira, another red giant, has a diametre of 640,000,000 kilometres (400,000,000 miles). One of the largest among the known stars is the “Star wW inthe constellation Cepheus. {tis larger in diametre than the Sun at least 1800 times. “DEVIL” STAR The first Devil Star was discovered by Arabs. This was “B PERSET, which they called simply “the Devit” (El-Gul). It surprised them, being usually a star of about the 2nd ‘magnitude, it suddenly weakened to almost the 4th magnitude. it changed in Heaven, considered unchangeable. What could such a star be if not a “devil star’, or the "Devil" himself! Geography/18 After a long train of historical events and the emergence of new centres of culture, several conturias later, a change in the brightness of B per, Ei Gul, renamed “Algor by the Europeans, was observed in 1669 in Europe. e008 es ‘arctrus Some stars shown to scale A century and a half later, the ameteur astronomer Goocricke who was deaf-and-durib from birth, covered a periedicity in the brightness vatation of Algol. iis period is 2 days 20 hours and 49 minutes. But during this period it retains a constant brightness tor 2 days and 11 hours and then in the course of 5 hours it loses two-third of its brightness, so that 5 hours later it again returns to ts former brightness. The strange and stubborn behaviour of the Devil Star was attributed to be fact that in reality there-were two stars, one being far brighter than the other. They revolve around each other in orbit in such a way that from time to time the dimmer star partially conceals the brighter one from our view, producing periogic eclipses. VARIABLE STARS These ate stars that show varying degrees of Luminosity. Luminosity function covers the stars irrespective of their spectral class and colour. Periodic variations of brightness are inherent not only in the algols, but also in other stars called Variables’. Of these, the hardest nut not to crack were the “Cepheids’, which were so called after their typical representative, “d Cephei’ Delta cephei, the tirst of this type of stars, has noticed in 1784 by the deat-and-dumb English Astronomer John Goodriche. He fcund the Delta Cephei had a regular fluctuation of brightness every 5-days 9 nour. Strictly periodically (a period of 5 days 10 hours 48 minutes), its brightness first grows by 0-75 of a stellar magnitude, and then fades slowly. It has also been found later that as the star approaches its maximum brightness, its spectrum varies within the limits of an entire class, whereas the temperature varies within the limits of 800°C. Stars of fluctuating luminosity thus came to be called “Cepheid variables”. The cepheids seem to be unstable stars. The Cepheid RU Cam, first noted in 1899, has been changing its brightness by as much as a stellar magnitude with a period ‘of about 22 days. By 1966 its variability almost comlotely coased. Different Cepheids have periods from 1-5 hours to 45 days, and aftera Period of shorter than one day they sharply jump to a period of more than ten days. All the Cepheids are giant stars of high luminosity, but they show a remarkable relationship : “THE LARGER THE PERIOD OF BRIGHT- NESS VARIATION THE LARGER ITS LUMINOSITY". This biiliant discovery was mace by Miss Leavitt of the Harward College Observatory. ‘Among ‘epileptic’ stars, *T TAURI” stars are irregular variables, thoy aro not bed giants but stars of moderate or small luminosity, mostly of F or G spectral classes. T Tauri stars occur as sparce, widely dispersed groups. Many of them have been found in tenuous regions of clouds of gas and dust, named ‘diffuse nebulae’. These stars are regarded as one of the youngest. NOVAE AND SUPERNOVAE These are stars, whose bright- ness increases suddenly by 10 to 20 magnitudes or more and then fades gradually into normal brightness. The distinction between the two types has not been precisely explained. it would appear that they differ in degree and not in kind. The sudden increase in brightness is attributed to a partial or outright explosion. In Novae, it seems that only the outer shell explodes,whereas in supernovae the entire slars explodes. Novae occur more freequently than supernovae. ‘SUPERNOVAE Supernovae are stars whose brightness increases to 20 magnitude ‘or moro. The whole structure of the star is blown to pieces it flares up in brilliance, so that its intrinsic luminosity for first thirty days following the explosion is equal to about one thousand million of our suns. ‘About one star in hundreds explodes like this. In our galaxy of some 100 billion stars a superovae explosion may occur once every hundred years. Some supemovae may leave a super dense core which rotates at high speed and may thus transform itself into a pulsar. Nearest stars Die |_Magnitu NamefNumber tance |Appa-] Abso ight | ront | tuto _ years) | Proxime Centauri 42 [1108| 165 ‘Apha (a) 49 | 001] 498 Centauri Bamaid'sStar 62 | 963| 1322 Lalande 2ties = 80 | 76 | 107 Wott 359 81 | 1344) 1665 Srius A a7 | 143) 147 Inne's Star 96 [117 | 104 BD.—12degrees 4523, ee | e5 | t4 Kapteyn's Star 102 | 8-84] 1087 Ross 248 to2 | 10-43] 1307 Tau Cet 1o2 | 349| 568 Procyon tos | 04a} 30 Eridian 1o5 | 38] 63 61 Cygni 107 | 56] 80 Laceile 9352112 | 74] 97 2398 113 | 68 | 14 Groombridge 3¢ 116 | 8-08] 1032 Epsilon inci 116 | 469/ 89 Kruger60A 125 | 9-79] 1176 vanwaanens 128 | 123 | 143 Sar Four supernovae had been indentified in historical times, all before the invention of the telescope. ‘They were noted in 1006, 1054, 1572 and 1804. The 1006 supemovae appeared towards the ond of April 1006, in tho constellation of Lupus. Initially, the star was as bright as VENUS. It continued to be visible at night, for Geography /19 longer than a year. Although no visible remnant of this supemavae is traceable, radio emissions from its remnant were identified in 1965. ‘The supernovae of 1572 and 1604 were noted by two EUROPEAN astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. According to Tycho, the 1572 supernovae was brighter than any other fixed star and ‘even brighter than venus and Jupiter. ‘The remnant of this supernovae was not traced untill 1952. Later, the remnant was located as strong sources of X-rays. ‘The most recent supernovae explosion in our galaxy took place in 1700 in the consielation of Cassiopeia. Strangely enough, this explosion had not been noticed by any astronomer. This supemovae has identified in 1948 from its relic, an intense radio souce named Cassiopeia~A. The name SUPERNOVA has first been applied to stars that exploded in some other stellar system. not in the galaxy. The cause of a supernova explosion is still in dispute. But most astronomers attribute it to the instabiities in the structure of the star, when the supply Of nucteat fuel in the core of a star is exhausted. CONSTELLATIONS Constellations have been named alter legendary heroes or called after familiar forms and animals. Some names like Corona Borealis (the Nothern Crown), Cygnus (the Swan) and the seven siars in Ursa Major, known as the Plough, bear some semblance to the figures of things they are suppose to represent. Many others call for a highly extended imagination in order to connect their shapes with their names. STAR CLUSTERS There are two types of star groups : (i) the first group called OPEN or GALACTIC CLUSTERS-are groups of up to two or three hundred stars which are found in the spirals of the MILKY WAY. The open clusters visible to the naked eye are the PLEIADES, the HYADES and the PRAESEPE. Of these, the finest spectacle is the ploiades which glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid. The Pleiades consist of some 200 stars, of which we can see some 12 or 14 without the aid of Mechanical devices. (i) The second group, called GLOBULAR CLUSTERS, contains ‘over one hundred thousand stars and represents the outer stellar population of Milky Way. RECOGNISED CONSTELLATIONS Constellations Latin Name and English Version ‘Abbreviation ‘Andromeda and Chained Maiden’ Anta ‘Ant Air Pump ‘Apuse ‘Aps Bird of Paradise Aquarus Aql Water Bearer Aquila Aq Eagle Art Ai Alter Aios Ai Ram Auriga ‘Aur Chatioteer Bootes Boo Herdsman Caetum Cae Chisel CamelOpardalis Cam Giratte Cancer Cre Crab Canis Venatici CVN Hunting Dog Canis Major CMia_Great Dog Canis Minor = CMI Small Dog Capricamus Cap Sea Got Carina’ Car Kee! Cassiopeia Cas Lady in Chair Centaurus" Gen Centaur Cepheus Cep King Cetus Cet Whale Chameleon Cha Chameleon (Ciicnus® Cir Compasses ‘Columba Col Dove ‘Coma Borenioes Com Boronice’s Hair ‘Corona Australis CiA Souther Crown Corona Borealis CiB Northen Crown Corvus CW Crow “Crater Ct Cup Cnuz* Cu Southem Cross ‘Cygnus Cyg Swan Delphinus Del Dolphin Dorado" Dor Swordfish Draco Ora Dragon Equuleus qu Little Horse Endanus Ef River Eridanus Fomax For Furnace Gemini Gem Twins Guus" Gru Crane Hercules Her Hercules Horologum" Hor Cloak Hydra Hya Sea Serpent Hydrust Hyl Water Snake Indua” fd indian Lacerta Lac Lizard Leo Leo Won Leo Minor LMI Smail Lion Lepus Lep Hare bra Ub ScalesLupus* Lup Wot Lynx Lyn Lyne tyra ur tyre Mensa” Men Table (Mountain) Nicroscopum Mic Microscope Monoceros. Non Unicorn Musca" Mus Fly Norma Nor Square Octars Oct Octant Ophiuchus Oph Serpent Bearer Orion Ft Orlon (Hunter) Pavo? Pav Pessock Pegasus Peg Pegasus Perseus Fer Perseus (Champion) Phoenix” Phe Phoonix Pletor Fic Painter's Easol Plecoe? Peo Fichos Fiscis Austinus PsA Southem Fish Puppis Pup Poop (Stern) Pie Pyx Compass Peticulum’ Ret Net Sagitta Sge Arrow Sogtterius Sgr Archar Scorpius co Scorpion Sculpior Sol Scuptor Seutum Sct Shield Serpons Ser Serpent Sextans Sex Sexiant Taurus Tau Bull Telescopium* Tel Telescope Tiianguum = Tri Triangle iianguium ‘Austiale’ = TIA Southern Tangle Tucarat Tue Touran Ursa Major UMa_ Great Bear Ursa Minor = UM! Small Bear Vola” Vel Sails virgo vir Virgin Volans* Vol Flying Fish Vuipesula Mul Fox = Those marked with en asterisk are not visible from mid nother latitudes. MAGNITUDES Magnitudes represent a measure of brightness. APPARENT magnitude | the measure of brightness (visual magnitude) which is observed from the earth. ABSOLUTE magnituce is the brightness which a star would have at 10 parsec’s distance. (A pparsec is equal to 3-26 light years). Classification of stare by magni- tudes or by a scale of brightness was first made by HIPPARCHUS, a Grook, in the second BC. He divided stars into six groups according to degrees of brightness, observed by the naked oy. The brightest stat Geography /20 belonged to the first magnitude and faintest to the sixth. This scale of brightness, as perceived by the human eye, worked out at a ratio of 25 between magnitudes, that is to ‘say, stars of the first magnitude were 2.5 times brighter than stars of the second magnitude and so on. ‘The star ALDEBARAN was taken as representing a brightness of 1.0 magnitude. The magnitudes of other calestial bodies were measured in terms of this unit. The magnitude of stars, brighter than Aldebaran, were indicated by the minus sign and stars of lesser magnitudes by the plis sign. ‘Thus, the higher the negative number (minus sign) the brighter the star, and the higher the positive number (plus, 'sign) the fainter the star. We have to be on our guard against judging the true brighiness of stars by their apparent brightness. RELATION BETWEEN MAGNITUDE AND BRIGHTNESS: Difference in Magnitude Ratio of Light 1 16 25 63 100 10,900 100,000,000 10,000,000,000 1 parsec = 3.26 light-years = 206265 astronomical units = 3.083-109 kilometre ‘Thus our Sun appears to be about 40 milion times brighter than Aldebaran. But the Sun is only a few minutes away (8 min. 16-6 sec. in terms of the light year) while Aldebaran is 63 light years away and is actually a hundred times brighter than the Sun. Or two ‘other stars, SIFIUS in CANIS MAJOR and CANOPUS in CARINA. To the naked eye, SIRIUS appears to be twice as bright ac CANOPUS. But SIRIUS 1s as bright as CANOPUS. But Sirius is only 8-7 light years distant, while canopus is 100 light years away. This means that Canopus shines many times more brightly than Sirius. LIFE OF ASTAR ‘THE BIRTH OF STARS Stars are formed by gravitational contraction from vast clouds of galac- tic gas and dust. Star-forming clouds are thousands of times denser than the normal intarsellar gas. They have a density going up to 1000 hydrogen atoms per cubic centimetre. Many such pre-star clouds are visible in our ‘own galany, the nebula in Orion, being ‘One (Orion Molecular Complex). Regarding the origin of stars— “Narrow and long filaments, often arranged as rectangular inks on the branches of spiral arms in spiral stellar systems, are the most likely clouds where hot giants and other stars in spiral galaxy are bom. Here tens and hundreds of giants envoloped by the gascous nebulae produced by the giants, are arranged ‘as bunches of grapes. Most of open clusters must be born base. Tho newborn giants and other stars tend to spread out, having different volocties at birth. As a rosult, narrow and bright spiral arms gradually turn into large clouds consisting, in parti cular, of hot giants, into the clouds whose spiral arrangement becomes less obvious. In the process, giants and other stars continue to be born both in formar places and, as an exception, in detached fragments of spiral arms" ‘THE LIFE OF STARS ‘The current theory of evolution, ie. life, of stars is based on the theory of their internal structure and sources of stellar energy. It is also, based on physical theories, such as, thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, nuclear physics, radiation transfer theory, ete., and it requires advanced mathematics to arrive at numerical results. The life of a star is spread over a bilions of years. Stars start life as condensing masses of gas. As condensation progresses, invidual atoms are drawn towards the centre by force of gravity. They pick up speed as the fall to tho contro. According to the speed of the fall, they increase their energy which tends to heat the hydrogen atoms. The nuclear reaction in a star is called “Nuclear Fusion” which goes on in all stars, all tha time.‘THE DEATH OF STARS When the hydrogen in a star is converted into heavier atoms like helium, the density of the star increaes manifold and the staris well nigh dead. Tho core of a dying star contains the densest matter in the Universe (see box). The utimate donsity of a star, according to present theories, is that it will tum into one of three things according to its mass— () WHITE OWARES, (i) NEUTRONS STARS or PULSARS, and (ii) BLACK HOLES. If the star is about the mass of the Sun ot tess than that, it will turn into White Dwarfs. MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE, Constituents of matter are a function of density. At density beyond 10 grams cm? (10° is million and 10? és milion milion) electrons becomes so ‘energetic, that combine with protons in fruciel to form neutrons. Beyond 3 x 10"? grams cin? the nuclei begin to Ibetate neutrons. At around 3 * 10 grams cm*, nuclei break up into Separate protons and neutrons and so on. It the star is bigger than the Sun but no! more than twice as big, it will tum into a Neutron staror Pulsar. If the star is many times bigger then the Sun, it wil turn into what is called a Black hole WHITE DWARFS, Stars lighter than 1-2 solar mass tend to die as WHITE DWARFS. The Whito Dwarfs aro no bigger than tho Earth (around 6000 km radius) but their central density is so great that it can reach 108 grame per cubic cénti metre. NEUTRON STARS OR PULSARS Stars whose mass is between 1.2 times and something less than 2 mes the mass of the Sun, tum into Neutron stars or Pulsars. Neutron ‘Stars are so-called, because they ero made up, almost entirely, of atomic particles called NEUTRONS. in a Neutron Star, matter is compressed untill it approaches the density of ‘matter within an atomic nucleus about 410! grams per cubic centimetre. A teaspoon of Neutron’ Star matter would weigh a billion tons. This is a density, a billion times greater than the density of WHITE DWARFS. Geography/21 THE FASTEST ROTATING PULSAR The fastest rotating pulsar, which retatos 600 timos per socond, or more than twenty times faster inan any other known pulsar, nas teen discovered by a team of astronmers led by Dr. Donald ©. Baker of the Radio Astronomy Laboratory of the University of Califomia, Berkeley. The team incudes ‘an indan graduate student, Shrinivas Kutkari The newly identited Pulser, lated about 5000 light years trom the Earth in the constetation VULPECULA, may be only tree or five kilometre in diameter. But, its mass could be two to three times that of the Sun. The energy output of the new pulsar may be 10 to ‘hundred nition times that of the sun, but no the knows how most of that ‘energy is dissipated. = Science Tocay, June 1983 Calculations show that an object as dense as a Neutron Star must also have a prodigious gravitational power-a hundred billion times that of the earth. So strong is the gravi- tational puil that a mountain on the surface of a Neutron Star would not rise higher than an inch. All the energy that a man can put out in a lifetime would not be enough to climb that one-inch mountain. Its estimated that as many as 100 milion of the 100 bilion stars in our galaxy, must have burt themselves out and collapsed into Neutron Stars. BLACK HOLES Black Holes is a misteading term because what they represent are not “holes” at all. On the contrary, they are stars, which have contracted so much thal they have developed super density 101° grams por cubic ‘centimetre. This represents a density greater than the ultra-density of White Dwarfs (10? grams cm9) and Neutron Stars (10% grams cm’), The Black Hole is the density of all stars, whose mass is considerably greater than the mass of the Sun. They are so ‘compact and their gravitational pull so ‘strong, that even light of radiations produced by them cannot escape them. So they cannot be seen by optical telescopes. A Black Hole is the smallest and the densest coject In Universe. ts gravitational power is incredible. It can swallow up every thing near it {and nothing that gets into it can ever ‘escape from it. It can neither crack nor split nor decrease in size. It can ‘only grow and nothing in the Universe can stop it from growing. This is foreboding prospect. The Black Hole is a collapsed star or as some would call it a COLLAPSAR. The collapse of the ‘star or its transformation into a BLACK HOLE is quick and invisible. The star merely winks out and is never seen again. But although invisible, it exerts @ terrific influence ‘over everything around it. Itis not known that what is inside ‘a Black Hole of what goes on within its bowels. It is, however, believed that a Black Hole has a perfectly smooth surface without any ups of downs. A Black Hole cannot be by ary direct means. inci- rect evidence is, however, available. itis its enormous gravitational power thal gives it away. CYGNUS X-1 One such Black Hole, recenty indentifed, is a powerful but invisibie X-ray object, called CYGNUS ¥-1. It hhas been spotted by satellites which cartied x-ray telescopes. Cygnus X-1 is paired with a super-star, (HDE 226868) which is visible. The unseen Cygnus X-1 is drawing out a stream of gases from its visibla companion. The stream of gas spirals around the Black Hole. One end of the spiral ultimately cisappears into the Black Hole. What is happening is that Cygnus X-1 Is bleeding Its comp: niion, a big blue star, to death. As the gases spiral in towards the Black Hole, they collide, compress, heat up high temperatures and sent out intense x-rays. It is these x-rays that have indicated the presence of a Black Hole in the vicinity. This Black Hole is estimated to be about the size of three Suns. On the faco of it, thie appoars to be a small size for a Black Hole which is capable of swallowing up whole galaxies. But this size is the ‘Schwareschild size. When our Sun is reduced to the Schwarzschild sze, it will have ‘a radius of about two miles only. Cygnus X-1 has Schwarzschild radius tree times the present radius of the Sun, This is big enough to absorb galaxies.,The SOLAR SYSTEM is the name given to the collection of heavenly bodies that encircle round the Sun. The Solar System is centred on the Sun, Solar System consists of a star called the Sun and all the objects (heavenly bodies) that travel around it, The Solar System inclu- des— (Eight Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) alongwith the satellite (not less than 163 moons accompanying the Planets) that travel around most cf them; Planets like objects called ASTEROIDS (hundreds of Asteroids): ‘Chunks of iron and stone called METEORS; Bodies of the dust and foreign gases called COMETS (thou- ‘sands of Comets), and Drifting particlos called INTER. PLANETARY DUST and electri- cally charged gascalled PLASMA that together make up the interplanetary medium. However, the entire Solar System is a mere speck when compared with the vastness of the Universe. ‘The Solar System is tucked away in a comer of the Milky Way at a (i) (i) w ™) distance of about 30,000 to 33,000 light years from the centre of the galaxy. ‘The Solar System oriented in a primitive solar nebula a rotating disc of gas and dust. Itis from this rotating disc that the planets and the rest of the Solar System evolved. ‘THE PLANETS The term PLANETS Is derived from the Greek word “PLANATES’, meaning wanderers, but the planets do not wander in any direction in space. Each has its own fixed path or obit and period of revolution unlike the siars, which are visible in their fixed position in the sky always, the planets shift their position and ‘sometimes even disappear from view. Therefore they came to be called PLANETS or wanderers. iter Panes { Superior Planots ‘The relative sizes of the eight planets and the Sun is shown Mercury Venus Earth Mars The Asteroids super Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto THE SOLAR SYSTEM The first known planets were named after the Roman Gods— Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The other planets, which were discovered later, were also named according to the old pattem—Uranus, Nepture and Pluto, The planets are divided into () the Inner Planets, and (i) the Outer Planets, ‘THE INNER PLANETS The inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.The Earth is the largest of the inner planets and the densest of all planets. All the inner planets are dense rocky bodies and are collectively called TERRESTRIAL PLANETS (earh- like). They appear to chiefly consists of iron and rock. Mercury and Venus are termed as INFERIOR PLANETS, Inner Planets Outer Planets: since they are closer to the Sun than the earth, whereas, the SUPERIOR PLANETS have their orbit outeide the Earth’s orbit. ‘THE OUTER PLANETS The Outer Planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are very big (sometimes called G/ANT PLANETS), with large setellite families. They are composed mostly of hydrogen, helium, ammonia and methane. These planets are called JOVIAN, after Jove, the Greek name for Jupiter, because they resemble Jupiter in’ many things. The two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn send out radiation. Jupiter's radio waves are so strong thet they can be picked up on arth by radio ‘As per discussion in |A.U. (Iniernational Astronomical Union) held at Prague (Czech Republic) in Aug. 2008. Pluto alongwith ‘Cheron, Ceres, and Xena have been removed from thelist of Planets as per new defintion. + Dwart Planet Geography /22Solar System—Pianets—Comparative Data* Jupiter Mercury, 879 ‘Vent Mars ‘Saturn ‘Mean Dist. from the Sun (milion km) 1082 22797831427 = (29S Mean Dist. from the Sun 0387 0-723 1254 520388391918 (Astronomial Units (Earth = 1) Period of Revolution 88 2247 96528 6871186 «2946 840116482877 vays days days. days-years years. «years years. «years Period of Rotation 88646 +243 «23h, th 9, 10h, 10he 18h, 6 days days days 56m. 37m. 50m dm 450 48m 9h. 4. Oss. zem. Inclination of Axis (degrees) 28 3 o 19 8613s 8 18 172 Equatorial Diameter (km) 48794 121036 12755 6794 142984 120536 «51118 49528-2002 Mass (Earth =1) 0055 82 1 0108 31745 e214 58 176 003 Volume (Earth 005 0-90 1 045 1350-800 53 4 008 Density (Water = 1) 5427524055 412185068 1:75 22 20 Surface Gravity (Earth = 1) 04 087 1 098285014104 142 0067 Satelites known ° 0 1 2 83 6 7 18 1 telescopes. All of them rotate furiously, have dense atmosphere and consist of far lighter elements (contain little iron and rock) than the earth-ike or terrestrial inner planets. The outermost planet Pluto is in a class by itself. It is supposed to be dense planet like the inner planets, although It is the farthest of the outer planets. All the outer planets, rotating on thelr own axis, revolve round the Sun in tong elliptical orbit. OTHER PLANETARY SYSTEMS A question that has intrigued ‘astronomers and laymen “Is there are ‘other planetary systems’, like the Solar System, in the universe. Many astronomers answer in affirmative. ‘The Sun is an ordinary star, and has been formed in much the same way as other stars have been formed. It therefore stands to reason, that if tho ‘Sun has planets, many other stars must have them too. ‘The difficulty has been togathor ‘optical or radio evidence to sub- stantiate this theoretical essumption. For, the nearest stars are many light years distant. Their planets, if they have any, will be far too smail for our most powerful telescopes. And planets, as a rule, are not radio sources. However, indirect evidence is available to show that at least 3 stars out of the 12 nearest to the Sun have some sort of planetary system. * Based on American Encyclopaedia (Venus and Uranus have a retrograde rotation) ** As per new definition of the Planets, Pluto has become the Dwart Planet. Geography /23 The following is a list of sters, near to the Sun, which are suppose to posses planetary systems tke our OTHER PLANETARY SYSTEMS Distance] _ Planet Star (mition| (Mass— Light] Jupiter Years) =1) Barnard's Star 2 15 Lalande 21,185 | 79 10 61 Oygni 1136 8 BD+Sdegrees| 124 | 2012) 1868 Cl 2354 184 20(7) BD +20 155 20 (2) degrees 2465 5D +43 187 | 2017) egress 4305 CIN 2347 255 I 20 (2) BARNARD'S STAR Barard's Star, some 6 million light years from the earth, is one of the first stars noted by the astro- Romers, as being likely to have a planetary system like our own. In 1974 two Canadian scientists, Oliver Jensen and Tadenz Ulrich claimed in the ‘Astronomical Journal’ that Barared's Star has five planets orbiting it. They have masses ranging from 0-7 to 16 times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. Orbiting distances from Barnarc's Starare calculated between 0:95 end 4-7 times the Astronomical Unit, Barnard’s star is a feeble dwart ‘only 1/6 the mass of the Sun and it shines but faintly on its planets. This is also known as a “flying star’, for its noticeable motion. It “flies” through the sky is an are of 10 seconds in a year, that is, moves by the apparent Mocn's diameter (half degree) in 200 years. However, in comparison with other stars this actually a "FLYING STAR". It looks fike the Milky Way, with its hundred thousand million stars, and has several million pianets too. And this goes for other galaxies as well, STAR GROUPS The earth revolving around the Sun passes through many groups of stars. The shapes of the star groups are different. People have named them according to their flight of ima- gination.A star group that looks like @ fish is called PISCES, are looking ike ‘balance is called LIBRA end another looking like a Scorpion is called ‘SCORPIO. These are known as signs of zodiat in Astrology and are twelve in number as given below— Signs of ZodiacThe earth takes about a month in crossing each of the twelve star- groups. The star-groups appear to change their place, but the relative distance between them do not change. As the earth rotates from West to East, the star-groups appoar to travel from East to West. These star-groups will not appear at its ‘same placo noxt day but will appear at the same place 4 minutes earier. ‘The reason is that the earth besides rotating about its axis is also revolving around the Sun. This is why the star-groups appear displaced. ' Pole Star * Polar ‘and the Grest Bear ‘Some star always appear at the same place. There is some another feason for this phenomenon. The earth while orbitting round tho Sun ‘always keeps its axis pointed towards the POLE-STAR, so that the Pole- Star appears at the same place. The star close to it is observed in the same position relative to the Pole- star. The Pole-Star can be easily located with the help of THE GREAT BEAR “ar afi” star-group. The {ine joining the “Beta” and “Alpha” stars of this stat-group when ‘extended further passes close to the POLE-STAR “9a ara”. COSMIC YEAR The Sun is one of more than 100 billion stars in the giant spiral galaxy called the Milky Way. The Sun is the centre of the Solar System. Its mass is about 740 times as much as that of all the planets combined. The huge mass of the Sun creates the gravi- tation that keeps the other objects travelling around it in an orderly manner. Modem estimates place the ‘Sun at a distance of about 32,000 light years from the centre of the galaxy. Geography /24 ‘The Sun continuously gives off energy in several forms—visible light", “invisible infra-red", “ultra- violet", *X-rays" and “gamma rays”, ‘cosmic rays", “radio waves” and “plasma”. The Sun and the neighbouring stars generally move in almost circular orbits around the galactic Centre at an average speed of about 250 km per second. The Sun at this rate takes 250 million years to complete one revo- lution round the centre. This pertod is Row called a COSMIC YEAR. ARED GIANT Liko all other stars, the Sun is ‘composed mainly of hydrogen. Its energy is generated by nuclear collisions in its interior. It ie esloulated that the Sun consumes about a trillion pounds of hydrogen every second. A this rate, itis expected to burt out its stock of hydrogen in about § billion years and tum into a RED GIANT. ‘Tho prospoct is frightening. When the Sun turns into a Red Giant, it would have swelled a hundred times in diameter and increased a thousand times in bright- ‘ness—"bright rec’. It will hen occupy ‘about 25 per cent of the horizon. The nearest plane's, Mercury and Venus, would melt. The oceans of the earth would eveporate and disappear. The earth would remain a barren rock, heated to melting point of lead. All life on earth would cease. The Sun will survive as a ‘red-giant’, for about a hundred million years more, slowly dissipating its enlarged outer shell leaving a finy core, This core will be a faint, white dwarf-sun no larger than the present planet Mars. Around this tiny star, the bumtout earth will continue to revolve. ‘STRUCTURE OF THE SUN The glowing surface of the Sun, which we see (or the visible part of the Sun's surlace), is called PHOTOSPHERE. Above the photo- sphere, is the CHROMOSPHERE, so called because of its reddish colour. The reddish colour being due to emission by hydrogen, is the most important component of the chromo- sphere. The different chemical ele- ments making up the chromosphere are observed to different heights. The highest one (upto 14,000 kilometres) is ionized calcium, although it is heavier than hydrogen. Beyond this layer (chromo- sphere) is the magnificent CORONA of the Sun which is visible during eclipses only, as @ remarkable silver pearly radient glow around the Sun. The inner part of the Corona which is the brightest, gives a continuous spectrum on which there are super- imposed bright fines. Between the chromosphere and the Corona, spectroscopic investi- gations have identified a distinct, very arrow boundary zone known as the transition region. The temperature of the photesphere is about 6000" celius, that of the chromosphere about 32,400" celsius, that of the transition region about 324,000° ‘celsius, and that of the Corona, which extends fat into. space, about 2,700,000" celsius hot enough to emit x-rays. (the density of the gas in each layer decreases with increasing altitude, just as the earth's atmos- phere thins with height. The corona, accordingly, is the least dense of the Sun's layer). It is sometimes said for short that 6,000° celsius is the temperature of the Sun, although the temperature and density of the gases ofthe Sun vary with depth, At the core of the Sun where thermonuclear reactions take place the temperature level Is around 15, milion degrees K. The density of the core is estimated at a hundred times that of water. Outside the core is the convection zone. Here, like the boiling water in a kettle, turbulent motions of gases transport the energy that is generated in the core towards the photosphere. The visible while light of the corona is made up of a continuum of colours, such as violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. ‘Superimposed on this continuum are hundreds of dark tines called the FRAUNHOFER LINES. Each line indicates some element present In the eclar atmosphere. Tho intensity and width of the lines reveal the temperature and density of the ‘oloment. PROMINENCES AND FLARES During total solar eclipses it is possible to see, even with naked eye,gigantic fountains of hot gas surging from the atmosphere, these are In addition to the atoms of many elements, in the solar atmosphere, TN ae Solar prominences. called PROMINENCES. The Sun is constantly emitting streams of its substance (mainly hydrogen) as protons {nuclei of hydrogen ators) in ali directions. Sometimes these ‘emissions are massive. They are then .seen as prominences which send nuge bouts of incandescent material upward from the Sun's surface. Sometimes these eruptions roll out of the atmosphere of the Sun for many miles, when they are seen as solar FLARES. ‘The solar flares are spectacular hot ionised gas rolling out as enormous clouds, 20 10 40 times the size of the Earth at speeds of arount 100 kilometre per second through the ‘cuter layer of the Sun's atmosphere, the corona. SOLAR CHEMISTRY The spectrum of the lower chromosphere, observed for one or two seconds during total eclipses (which is why it is called the ‘flash spectrum’), and the dark “Fraunhoter* lines in the ordinary: solar spectrum make it possible to determine the chemical composition of the solar atmosphere. It is, however, imposible to determine the chemical composi- tion of the Sun's interior from tho spectrum : we only see the spectrum of the atmosphere. ‘The solar spectrum lacks the lines of the majority of the heavier radioactive elements, rare earths, inert gases (except helium and neon) and halogens. but it does have the lines for technetium, a product of ‘nuclear reactions. Geography/25 predominantly in the region of spots (having a lower temperature) very simple molecules have been found : carbon, cyanogen, hydrogen com- Pounds and many others. Moreover within the spots these are titanium oxide, magnesium, almunium and calcium hydrides, alumunium and zirconium oxides, and other com- pounds. Study of the intensity of the solar spectral lines makes it possible not only to determine different elements in the solar atmosphere, but also to work out their quantities. “Thus, it has been established that the solar atmosphere contains— SOLAR CHEMISTRY Per cent, by volume 2 3 81.760 907 18-170 ot 003 0.09 002 a oot oot 0.006 - 0.003 0.05 0.0008 | 0-007 0.0003 | tess than 0.01 Neon = oor It follows that the Sun is more than 70 per cent hydrogen and 28 per cent helium by mass. It has been estimated, however, that the solar “interior” is poorer in hydrogen. SOLAR WIND A less spectacular but persistent stream of protons is blowing out of the corona and sweaping over the whole solar system. In 1958, the American physicist, Engene Norman Parker, called this outward stream of protons the SOLAR WIND. Recent SOLAR STATISTICS Distance trom the Earth™ 1498 milion km © Absolute Visual Magnitude 475 © Diamewr 1984000 Kilometre © Core Temperature 1000000 K ‘©. Photosphere Temperature 577K {© Rotation as seen trom the Earth 25:38 days (at the Equator) 33 cays (near the poles) 90 days at latitude 60") Chemica! Composition (by volume) Hycrogen 81:76 % Helium 18-17 % Ongeno0s% 7 999 ‘Magnesium 0.02 % trogen 0.01 36 Other Elements 001% @ Age ‘About 5 bition yoors Expected lietime ofa normal Star About 10 billon years @ Linear velocity (at Equator) 2 km per second * The mean distance trom te Earth to the Sun (150 milion kilometres) transiatod ino fing hours means that a jet aircraft capable of 1000 km per hour would need more than 17 years of non-stop flying time lo reach the Sun. Souree : Science Today, Feb. 1980; ard Essays about the Universe, moscow, 1985, p. 182-180.shown that the solar wind is made up of “PLASMA”, that Is, ionised gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, containing nearly an equal number of protons and electrons. ‘PLASMA is a fourth state matter (In adaition to solids, iquiés and gases) where the gases are ionised. An ION is: atom or group of atoms which has ‘gained or lost one or more electrones {and thus carries @ negative or positive charge. PROTON, the nucieus of the ‘hydrogen atom without its electron, is a HYDROGEN ION, ALPHA PARTICLE, the nucieus of the helium atom without its electrons, is HELIUM ION. ‘The surface of the Sun changes continuously. Bright spots called PLAGES and dark spots called SUNSPOT frequently form and disappear. Gases often short up vidently from the surface. ‘The solar wind distorts the shape of magnetosphere. The’ magneto- sphere extends to a distance of 64,000 kilometres above the Earth— ten times the radius of the Earth. On the part of the earth exposed to the Sun (the sunlit side), the solar wind sweeps along the magnetosphere past the earth. On the other side of the earth (the night side), the solar wind converges again and com- presses the- magnetic field into a plume or tail, more or less like what it does to comets. The tail thus formed ‘extends to over 6 million km on the night sido of tho Earth. Tho particlos of the solar wind and also those from. the deep space are trapped in the tail and travel back and forth endlessly ‘SUNSPOTS “Evon tho Sun is not without spots’, contemporaries of their discovery in the 17 century said with vexation. The Sun, it is true, does have spots, but not always. These are dark patches noticed on the surface of the Sun, They appear dark because they are cooler (around 1500° celsius) than the surface of the ‘Sun which has a temperature of ‘about 6000° celsius. The largest spot ever measured (April 1974) covered 18130 million square kilometre or approximately 0-7 per cent of the Sun's visible surface. The Ife periods of these spots also very. They may last a few hours to many weeks. Geography/25 ‘The sunspots show strong mag- netic fields and reach a maximum every eleven years. During the ‘maximum of sunspot period, the Sun shows marked activity in shorter “wave lengths” like x-tays and ultraviolet radiations. Frequent solar eruptions and solar flares occur. ‘These produce great reactions on the Earth and its atmosphere, such as, “ionospheric disturbances", “magnetic storms’, “interruptions of radio communications”, “unusual auroral displays’ and “a lowering of the average cosmic ray intensity” POLAR AURORAE Polar Aurorae are most commonly, almost every day, obser- ved in ting zones with a radius of 23° and the centre near the magnetic poles of the Earth. There are two types of AURORAE-(i) the AURORA BOREALIS or Northem Lights, and the (ii) AURORA AUSTRALIS or Southern Lights. These are lighis that ‘sweep across the sky in waves or streamers or folds. They are very often multi-coloured and provided one of the finest spectacles in nature They occur in the Arctic and Antartic regions. But the Norther Lights can be seen as far as New Orleans in ‘America and the Southern Lights as farnorth as Australia. The Aurorae are chiefly caused by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun. These atoms discharge olectrfiod particles into space. The Earth's ‘magnetic poles attract these particles. Consequently. the north and south poles are the radiating centres of these electromagnetic displays. The electrified particles from the Sun cause gases in the upper almosphere to vibrate in glow in colours peculiar to them, just as a neon sign glows When electric charges pass through it. ‘The casual relation between sunspots and Aurorae has been doubted, because the interval between the two wes always erratic and never uniform. This has now been ‘explained by the discovery of the MAGNETOSPHERE. MAGNETOSPHERE The magnetosphere is the earth's magnetic shield. It was at first called the “VAN ALLEN BELT” after the American physicist, James Van Allen who discovered them in 1959. Van Allen in analysing the data from the earlier Explorer and Pioneer rockets found two belts of high intensity radiation in the upper atmosphere. Pioneer 12 later showed that these belts were a part of a larger band of radiation called the MAGNETOSPHERE. ‘The Magnetosphere is extended far out to about 64000 kilometres from the earth’s surface. Here the protons and electrons that shot out from the Sun are caught and held by the “magnetism” of the earth. The Upper belt with its cents, some 2400 kilometre from the earth, does not touch the atmosphere. THE INNER PLANETS The inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. MERCURY Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun and the smallest. It rotates on its own axis in 58-65 days, while it takes 88 days to complete one revolution round the Sun. The result is that when Mercury is in a most favourable viewing position, we see nearly the same face with the same markings. This is how the mistaken motion arose that its period of rotation was the same as is period of revolution. Mercury from 950,000 kilometres (Wariner 10 in March 1974) According to Gerard Kupier, Mercury was probably twice as massive originally but the Sun evaporated away half its substancés.The Lighter, more volatile elements escaped, leaving a heavy planet, that isprobably about 30 per cent silicates or rock and 70 per cent metals. It is 5:25 times as dense as water. Even today Mercury bathes constantly in the ferocious heat of the Sun. When it is closest to the Sun, temperatures reach 345° celsius (650°F) on the equator though they probably drop during the long night to minus 800°F (© 150° celsius). MERCURY 4879-4 km None Diameter ‘Moons Average Distance tothe Sun 57.9 milion km Time to Orbit the Sun 88 Days Tiny Mercury slightly larger than Earth's. Moon, races along its celiptical orbit at 176000 kilometre (110000 miles) per hour. This speed Keops it from boing drawn into the ‘Sun's gravity fied, The cratered planet has no atmosphere : Days are scorching hot and Nights, rigid This is visible to the naked eye. it almost always lost in the Sun's glare. From the Earth, it can some- times be seen for a short time as an EVENING STAR just after sunset or as a MORNING STAR just before dawn. But the Earth’s thick haze-and- dust-flled atmosphere on the horizon often blots it out. It is doubtful if Mercury has an atmosphere. With low gravity (one- third of the Earth's) and high tempe- ratures, atoms and molecules of almost all gases must have escaped fo the interplanetary space leaving Mercury devoid of atmospheric gases. Life in such circumstances, is not possible on this planet. VENUS Venus, the closest planet to the Earth, is also the brightest planet in the Solar System, Named after the roman goddess of beauty, Venus is popularly known as a saras the EVENING STAR and the MORNING STAR. It is seen in the East in the morning and in the West in the ‘evening. It is not possible to see it all over the night. Venus is slightly smaller than the Earth, being some 480 kilometres. Geography /27 less in diameter. Venus, unlike most other planets, rotates backward Because of the combination of the slow backward motion and the 225 days it takes the planet to make one orbit round the Sun. Venus sees the Sun rising in the west every 117 days. Radar picture of Venus Many of the popular notions regarding Venus have been radically altered by the space probes of Venera 4 (Oct. 1967), Venera § and 6 (May 1969), Venera 11 and 12 (Dac. 1978), Mariner 2 (Dec. 1962) end Mariner 5 (Oct. 1967). These probes. have proved that Venus is a very hot planet possibly the hottest of planets. It’s temperature at the equator may {go as high as 500” ce'sius. At such a temperature, lead, tin and zink will malt and 2 number of compounds will vaporise. But at the top layers of Venusian clouds temperatures drop tominus 1:66° celsius. Here, we have a most interesting phenomenon—“a red hot planet wrapped in clouds of ice, with freezing temperatures above and boiling temperatures below”. VENUS © Diameter @ Moons © Average Distance tothe Sun —-108208milion km © Time to Orbit the Sun 225Days: @ Earth's twin in size and mass, searingly hot venus is prepetualy {Yield behind roflective sulphuric acd clouds. @ Probes and radar mapping have pierced the cloude and carbon dioxide environment to reveal flat, rocky plains and signs of volcanic activity. @ It's surtace temperature rises as high as 500” celsius. @ rotates about its axis “hn cpposie direction to hat ofthe other planets. 121086 km None A curious feature of. Venus discovered by the Russian Venera series 7 and 8 is that both the night and day temperatures are nearly the same. This means that heat is being transported from the day side to the night side. Strong winds in the higher atmosphere seem to be the carriers of heat. While the highest clouds on Earth seldom go above 16 km, Venus has a thick layer of clouds, about 57 kilometre high. They block much of the sunlight. The resuit, according to some scientists, may be a murky twilight on the surface of Venus, more ‘or less like living at the bottom of a dust storm or dense smog. The thick atmosphere does more than block the sunlight fraps the Sun's energy end builds up a furnace like heat. Th the wall known “GREEN HOUSE EFFECT”. Solar energy filtering through the clouds is absotbed by the surface and is re-radiated as longer wave-length infrared rays. But the cloudy atmosphere of Venus acts like the glass roof of a green house; it blocks the inftared re-radiation from ‘escaping into space. This is supposed to be one of the reasons why Venus has turned out to be a very hot planet. The surface of Venus appears to bbe pock-marked with craters, like that of the Moon or Mars. This was brought in an analysis made by the “Jet propulsion Laboratory (US)". An area, some 1450 kilometre wide near the oquater of Venus, is marked with a dozen or more craters. These are very large craters, with diameters ranging from 30 to 170 kilomotros. There might be smaller craters, but they are not visible. The area is basically flat, not more than 1000 metres in altitude, All the craters are shallow, compared to their area. The 160 kilometro crator is only a quator ofa kilometre deep. The atmosphere of Venus is also unique, consisting of carbon dioxide (90 to 95 per cent). It has a pressure of a hundred terrestrial atmospheres (100 times the pressure of the Earth's atmosphere). Venus has no satellites like Mercury, no rings like Satur and no Ice caps like Mars. It has a very weak ‘magnetic field, 3/10,000 of the Earth's‘magnetic field and has no radiation bett like VAN ALLEN BELT. EARTH (See the Earth) MARS Mars, named after the Roman god of war, is the fourth planet from the Sun. When Mars is favourably situated itis brighter than most of the stars and is definitely “ted”, which has earned for it the surname RED PLANET. Mars polar caps similar to those of the Earth and because of Martian axis is tited at almost the same angle as the Earth's, its polar tegions are exposed to sunlight in altemation, giving each hemisphere ‘summer and winter. The relative orbits of Mars and Earth bring them very close-a little more than 50 million kilometres—on two occasions about 2 years apart and then remove them far apart for another 15 years. In September 1956, Mars paid the second of the current series of close visits to the Earth and the third in 1971. Mars with its dark and light parts and “snow-covered” southern polar cap (Mariner) The pictures that Mariner 9 has. sent down show that Mars is internally alive and more like the earth than the moon, with voleances, greater than any on the earth, canyons and dusty basins, jumbled upiifts and fracturos. Mightiest of the Martian moun- tains is “NIX OLYMPICA" (the snow ‘of Olympus), a voleanic mountain that ‘embraces a vest caldera or crater 65 kilometre across. It is the highest point on Mars, standing some 24 kilometre above the plain, nearly three times as high as Mount Everest. Mars is marred by @ huge rift which cleaves the planet's equatorial zone for 3700 kilomete. It is 20,000 Geography / 28 feet deep and 120-240 kilometre wide. This huge rift proves that the Planet's interior is geologically alive. © Diameter 6794 km @ Moons 2 © Average Distance tote Sun 227-936 milion km © The viking probes faliod to find any ‘sign of tte. © Beneath its thin atmosphere, Mars is barren covered with pink sol and boulders. © Long ago it was more active the ‘surface ie marked with dormant voleanoss and deep chasms where water once freely flowed. Time to Orbt about the Sun once in (687 Earth-days (or 669 Mers-days). Mars is 1°5 times farther away from the Sun than the Earth, and it receives about half as much heat from it han the earth © In the warmest soason, the tempe- rature reaches 15°20" celsius, but by sunset it crops to freezing temperatures and at night it falls to 100° calsius or lower. Mars is a dusty planet, with the dust often in motion, driven hetterskelter by dust storms, which sometimes envelop the major portion. of the planet ina dusty haze. Mars must at one time have had meandering tivers like those on Earth, if the dry “river beds" are any indication. But today liquid water does not exist on the surface of Mars. ‘An ancient river-bed on Mars ABOUT LIFE ON MARS, the first attempt to search for extraterrestrial life was undertaken in 1976 by the ‘American landers VIKING=1 (July 20, 1976) and VIKING-2 (September 3, 1976). The experiments conducted by them have shown that those is no sott of life on Mars. It is also hard to expect finding higher plants on Mars. Clearly if plants are to be found these at all, they will only be some form of mosses and lichens. It is even more difficult to make assumptions about any form of animal life on Mars. especially intelligent life. Mars has two small satellites. These two satellites of Mars were found in 1877 and aftor the legendary attendants of the “god of war’, Mars, they were named “PHOBOS” (Fear) and “DEIMOS" (Terror). But, Terror is. teribly small, and Fearis smaller stil They are comparable in size to the lesser planets, the asteroids. it may well be that they indeed were asteroids taken prisoner by Mars. The Mariner of pictures. of PHOBOS show it to be 20-8 kilometre wide by 24-8 km long. Of tho 34 moons in the solar system, phcbos is the only one moving around its parent planet fastor than the planot itso. It completes three trips—11 hours each every Martian day (24 hours 40 minutes) Phobos also revolves very Near its master planet, 9400 kilometre from the surface. Therefore, during the Martian day phobos rises twice above the horizon and passes through all its phase, te Moon-like fashion. In doing so, it rises in the west and sets in the east, its revolution period bring only 7 hours 37 minutes. Phobos DEIMOS, with a diameter of only 8 kilometre requires only a few hours to revolve around Mars than what Mars take to rotate on its own axis. Deimos revolves near its master planet, 23500 km (from Mar's sur- face). As opposed to phobos. Deimosis a slow moon. Phobos would pass between Mars and the Sun about 1400 timos each year, while Deimos ‘passes only 130 times. As seen from Mars, phobos would appear to rise in tho wost and set in the oast whilo Deimos coes just the opposite. ‘Some observers have found that phobos’s revolution period is decreasing by one-millionth of a second per day. THE OUTER PLANETS ‘The four giant planets which come next in order of distance from the Sun-JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS and NEPTUNE called the “major planets” or the “outer planets”. JUPITER JUPITER is the giant among the Planets. Its mass is 71 per cent of the total mass of the planets. it has one and a half times the volume of all the ‘other planets combined. But its mean density is only one-fourth of the Earth's—a low value characteristic of all the Jovian planets. = ‘Jupiter from 2,500,000 kilometres with the shadow of lo (Pioneer 10) Much of Jupiter's mass is made up of atmosphere which is estimated to be some 40225 kilometre deep. ‘The atmosphere consists largely of hydrogen and helium which explain the low density of the planet—1:34, roughly one-fourth of the Earth's density. Methane and ammonia which are formed when hydrogen joins with ‘carbon and nitrogen respectively are also present in the amosphere. it is thought that Jupiter has the primordial atmosphere of the earth hydrogen, methane, ammonia and water from which life originated on Earth. tt is quite possible that a similar process of life will have been started on Jupiter. Geography /29 JUPITER * 142994-km es" @ Diameter (© Moons © Average Distance fothe Sup 778412 millon km © Time to Oroit the Sun 11:9 Years © Jupiter is 300 times more massive than the Earth © The lightest gases, hydrogen and ‘helium, account for up to 40 per cent of Jupiter's mass. © The temperature in the planet's centre may be as high 2s 100,000° Celsius. (estimated) © At the same tine, on the outside, ue to neat losses, Jupiter may De as cold as we observe it from the Earth-about minus 140° celsixs. © Jupiter rotation period Is 9 hours 50 minutes. © Jupiter radiates 25 more heat than it receives from the Sun. ‘The atmosphere of Jupiter is marked by a series of stripes which go round the planet. Astronomers have counted five bright stripes and four dark gray stripes. The bright stripes appear to be rising columns of air while the dark stripes represent descending columns. The atmosphere changes from gas to liquid at a depth of 1000 kilometre. This is Jupiter's surface, made up entirely of liquid hydrogen without any dectectable solid area, Jupiter is hot inside. Some astrophysicists have lately estimated that the lightest gases, hydrogen and helium, account for up to 90 per cent of Jupiter's mass and that the temperature in the planet's centre may be as high as 100,000° celsius. ‘At the same time, on the outside, due to heat losses, Jupiter may be as cold as we observe it from the Earth. Responsible for the picture is not so much the heavy chemical etements, as highly compressed hydrogen. When it became possible to measure planetary temperatures from their infrared emissions, Jupiter's temperature appeared to be about minus 140° celsius. ‘The core of Jupiter is made up of "SOLID HYDROGEN’. When pressure rises above a million earth atmos- pheres, hydrogen atoms are crushed in such a way that their electrons are separated from their nuclei. In this state hydrogen behaves like @ metal. It is denser than normal solid hydrogen and like most metals is a ‘good conducter of electricity. Jupiter's core is supposed to be made up of this extraordinary stuff-a metallic version of an element known on Earth as the lightest ofall gasses. ‘A possible structure of Jupiter 1. Water-vapour and ammonia clouds; 2. Gaseous hydrogen and helium; 3. Solid ‘nycrogen ‘The most conspicuous thing about Jupiter is its “GREAT RED ‘SPOT’. Itwas first noticed by Cassini In 1665 and observed continuously since 1872. It is an extensive area about 40000 km long and 10000 km wide. The investigation of Pioneer-10 and 11 seem to indicate that this “Great Red Spot” represents a huge storm—a super hurricane, existing for hundreds of years, without abating. This storm is probably powered by Jupiter's internal neat. Jupiter has 69 satellites—The biggest four satellites, Io, Europe, Ganymede and Callisto, were dis- covered in 1610, by Galileo. They are now collectively called “GALILEAN ‘SATELLITES’. ‘Amalthea and the four Galilean Satellites travel in circular orbits around Jupiter. The remaining satellites are much smaller and travel in irregular orbits. The four outermost satellites, curiously enough, revolve round Jupiter from east to west, countrary to the motions of the great majority of satellites in the solar system and to the revolution of the planets around the Sun. One explanation of the retrograde notion, of these satelites Is that they were originally asteroids moving about between the orbits Mars and Jupiter and that-Jupiter’s gravitational pull had drawn them up. This is quite possible when we consider Jupiter's gigantic mass.SATURN SATURN, nine times larger across than the Earth, is the outermost planet visibie to the naked eye. With a rocky core of the size of the Earth, Satum is the second largest planet (next to Jupiter) but the least distance. It has a density of only 0°89, loss than that of water. ‘The axial Inclination of Saturn Tho most spectacular feature of Saturn is its system of RINGS. This has mystified all astronomers from Galiloo downwards. The discoverios ‘of Voyager 1 have only deepened the mystery. The Voyager has upset practically all notions of Saturn previously accepted as correct. The Cassini Division, for example, noted by the Indian astronomer Cassini in 1676, has been regarded all these yearsas a clear zone between the SATURN © Diameter 120596 km @ Moons 61° ormore © Average Distance tothe Sun 1426:725milion km © Time to Orbit the Sun 29-5 Years © ‘Specific Gravity less than 1-0 (ita large ocean were available, Saturn would float nit). © The celebrated rings of the golden giant Saturn are composed of thousands of rippling, spiralling ‘bands just 100 feet thick. © All the bright Saturnian moons, wih the exception of Titan, revolve around it facing it with the same ‘ide. @ The most interesting Satun’s moons are PHOEBE, which moves in a retrograde senso, and TITAN, tho ‘only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere of its own-ft consists of methane with, perhaps, some ammonia © Saturn's rings vanishes every 15 years. Geography /30 Rings. Voyager has shown that far from being clear, the Division is crowded with ‘ringlets’. It is not found that trilions of particles ranging from minute pinhead’s of chunks as big ‘as our biggest buildings populate ‘Saturn's ring system. This is all that can be safely said about them, All the rest is a modioy of guesses, doubts and questions. ‘The different positions of Saturn’s rings This rings are today identified by letters ‘A’ to 'G’. These letters. themselves are confounding because the rings are not arranged in any alphabetical order. Thus D ring is closest to Saturn with C coming next, B third and A fourth. Then comes the F ring, following G. Last and outor- most is the E ring. The ting displays remarkably different characteristics. It is thought that these rings have been formed at ent times and shaped by diffe- rent forces and probably new ones are being still formed. The F ring is unique. It looks as if it has been braided, “kinked, clumped, spit and tied up in knots” as one astronomer puts it Satum's ring is so wide that the Earth, whose diameter (12756 kilometre) is five times smaller than the ring width, could comfortably slide along it. Of the three constituent rings, the middle one is the brightest and densest (Ring B), its width being 26000 kilometre. The Cassini division, which separates from it the outermost ring A, is 5000 kilometre wide, and Ring A is 16000 kilometre wide. The semi-transparent Ring C glows weakly and is transparent and is enough for the planet's surface to be seen through i; the width of this ting is 18000 kilometre. Now imagine, these enormously wide rings are only 1-5-3 kilometre thick. The satellite Janus discovered in 1966, the widest outer ring, named RING D. It is twice the size of the ring system known until then, Saturn has the second biggest family of Satellites (Moons and Mooniets)—a total of 61. Of these 10 were known by 2008. The others were identified by earth based telescopes and Voyagers 1 and 2 from 1979 to 1981 and NASA The newly discovered moons are rather small and irregular in shape. ‘Apparently they have been formed by the fragmentation of larger bodies. 1980 S 28 is the innermost moon of Saturn and lies at the outer edge A ting. 1980 $ 27 and S 28, called the “shepherd moons’, lie on either side the of F ring. 1980 S.1 and S 3 are co-orbital moons and come between the F and G rings. 1980 S 13 leads Tethys by about 60° degrees while 1980 S 25 trails Tethys by 60 degrees and 1980 S 6 leads Dione by 60 degrees. These three are callad “Lagrangian Moons" since they ‘occupy a position of stebilty predicted bythe French astronomer Lagrange‘The distances of Saturn's moons from the planet's centre, From left to right Janus, Mimé Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Japetus and Phoebe. in the 18th century. These are the firat known Lagrangian Moons. The shepherd moons are so- called because their main function appears to be herd together the straying particles of rings, just as a shepherd herds his sheep. These moons, big chunks of ice, hold in place milions and millions of ring particles spanning 63000 kilometre. Titan, Saturn's biggest satellite is known to have an atmosphere. But since Titan is covered up by dense clouds, it is not possible to see what its surface looks like. Titan’s atmo- spheric pressure is 1/6 times that of the Earth. Titan's diameter is also found to be only 5140 kilometre, much lower than the previous esti- mates. URANUS URANUS is not visible to the unaided eye, but may be seen through good field glasses. It has five satellites, ARIEL, UMBRIEL, TITANIA, OBERON and MIRANDA. All of them are comparatively small, and almost perpendicular to that of the planet. They revolve around Uranus in the same direction in which Uranus rotates (retrograde rotation) Uranus with its moons In 1977 astronomers aboard the Kupier Albom Observatory found * Moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were declared by NASA. Geography /31 that Uranus is surrounded by a system of five very faint narrow rings. These rings named ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, DELTA and EPSILON were at distances of 44830, 45790, 47740 and 48420 kilometre respectively from the centre of Uranus. The four inner lines—Alpha, Bota, Gamma and Delta are each about 13 kilometres wide while Epsilon is many times broader. A\l rings are well inside 64360 kilometre from Uranus, which is the Roche's limit for Uranus, that is, the limit within which a large satelite would be tom apart by tidal forces. URANUS 51118 km or © Diameter @ Moons © Average Distance tothe Sun 2870972 milion km @ Time toOrbt the Sun 84 Years. (@ Watery Uranus is the only planet that lies on its side; one pole, than the other, faces the Sun as it orbits. @ Voyager-2 found nine dark, compact rings around the planet and a cotkscrew-shape magnet field that stretches for milions of kibmetres. (© Otservations of ts radio emission at a wavelength of 1:9 centimetres Yielded an average temperature of =100°C and —170°C at 11 conii- metres. © Uranus's axis is inclined at 98° to is crtital plane, and 60 it rotates, ac it were, Iying on its side (@ The rotation period of Uranus is 10 hours 60 minutes. Uranus is titled 98° as compared to only 235 for Earth. The planet is lying on its side as it travels around the Sun. It takes 84 years for a rovolution, so that its south polar regions receive what-ever warmth the distant Sun provides for 42 years and thon the north pole gts its turn. Uranus was identified as a planet in 1781 by Wiliam Herschel and has completed only two revolutions round the Sun since its discovery. This chill methane planet is 14 1/2 times as massive as the Earth and has a temperature of about -170° celsius. Its day is 10 hours 50 minutes. Its donsity is 1-36 and it is fiteen times. heavier than the Earth. The clouds are arranged in obscure bands. Because of low tomperatures the ammonia in the hydrogen-helium atmosphere of Uranus has partially frozen out. NEPTUNE NEPTUNE, between 4600 and 4300 million kilometres from the Earth is also visible through good field glasses. NEPTUNE Diameter ‘Moons Average Distance tothe Sun 4498252 milion km Time to Orbt the Sun 165 Years ‘Neptune's atmosphere appears blue in colow It has ro ait and is very cold, dark and desolate. 49,529 km 13" Neptune was discovered in 1846 as a result of calculations made independently by two astronomers, ‘Adams in England and Le Verrier in France. These calculations gave the position of an unknown planet which was responsible for the perturbations in the motion of Uranus. Neptune was found on 23rd September, 1846 in the indicated neighbourhood by Gottfried Galle of the Berlin Obser- vatory. It appears to be pale green orb, no brighter than the 8th man- gitude star, Neptune is currently the most distant planot from the Sun (until 1999). It is denser and litle smaller than Uranus, Neptun’s atmosphere appear blue, with quickly changing white clouds often suspended high above an apparent surface. In that apparent surface were found features, one of which was remi niscent of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, even to the counterclockwise rotation expected in a high pressure system in the southern hemisphere. Atmosphere constituents aré mostlyhydrocarbon compounds. Neptune emits more energy than it receives from the Sun about 29 times andthe Aurora phenomena was noteed by voyaoer-2 vonoreanenag laos Paget seamaarayite tan it (wate “@ Neptune has only two satellites. TRITON and NEREID. Triton (Giameter 4000 kilometres) is known since 1848. A second satellite Noroid was discovered in 1949.Nereid is at the limits of the capacity of the strongest telescopes and appoars as an object of the 19°5 stellar magni- tude. It is 17 times farther away from tho planot than Triton and is only 300 kilometres in diameter. It is in direct motion, unlike Triton which is in retro- grade mation. Now it has 13 satol- lites. ‘Neptune takes 165 years in making one revolution around the Sun but it completes one rotation in 16 hours. The temperature of Neptune is -180" 7 Het 4 ppe7 U258 5 8 Het + Pp20e ‘Th?S? —> 6 Het + Pb%8 Geography /44 The decay is spontaneous and not affected by external forces. Gonerally the decay proceeds for a very long period of time. For instance, half of all the original atoms of thorium disintegrates over 1-4 x 107 years. A half of all uranium atoms decay over 7 x 108 years. Careful and dolicate analysis of a rock enables us to establish how many new atoms of lead or helium appeared in it since it was formed, how much undecayed radioactive elements it stil contains, and in this way to compute the age of the rock RADIOACTIVE DECAY METHOD © About 4 x 10° years have passed| ‘since the boginning of the Archean ra and 570 x 10° years since the Proterozoic. The age of the Earth as a planet is estimated at approximately 4-5 thousand million years (more exactly-at 4.56 + 0-03 thousand ‘milion years). The age of the Sun is estimated at 5.x 10°° yaars (Fity milion mition years), and lifetime of an average Star fincluding the Sun) at 2 x 10° years (18. Two thousand mition tition years). we assume that all the lead of average igneous rocks has been derived from uranium and thorium, since the formation of the Earth; we shall obtain an estimate of the age of the crust as a whole. The proportions of uranium, thorium and lead in average igneous rocks are given respectively as 6-15 and 7-5 paris in 2 milion. Ordinary lead consists mainly of three isotopes, of atomic weights 206, 207 and 208, in the Proportions 4:3: 7. But ifwe assume that it has, rocks contain 2-2 and 3-8 per million of uranium end thorium lead. Applying the method of these separately we get for the age of the Earth's crust : () According to thorium lead ratio, the age of the Earth time = 1.87 x 1010 15/299 + 3.8/208 15/032 48x 108 years years 4,800,000,000 years (i) According to uranium lead ratio, the age of the Earth time = 6-37 x 10° 6298 + 22/206 6/238 = 2.25% 109 years 2, 260,000,000 years NUCLEAR METHOD. Lately, of major importance have become the NUCLEAR METHODS of dating geological objects. The time intervals to which various methods of this type are applicable are as follows : With reference to carbon 14— {rom 2000 to 30,000 years; With reference to potassium. argon—10,000 and more years; By using the rubidium-strontium method—S and more million years; By that of uranium-lead—200 ‘and more milion years; With reference to uranium 236— 1 to 4 thousand million years; It was only about 200 years ago that scientific enquiries were started by geologists.. According to their deductions, based on the study of rocks, the age of the Earth is estimated to be around 4600 mi (4-6 billion) years. years MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH ‘The Earth has three basic movements : (i) Galactic movement, (ii) Rotation, and (ii) Revolution. GALACTIC MOVEMENT This is the movement of the Earth with the sun and the rest of the solar system in an orbit around the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. This ‘Movement has litle effect upon the changing environment of the Earth. ROTATION OF THE EARTH ‘The Earth rotates (spins) around its axis. The axis is an imaginary Ine passing through the centre of the Earth. Its two ends on the surface are called NORTH and SOUTH POLES. The Earth completes a rotation in 24 hours (29 hours, 56 minutes, 4.09 ‘seconds to the exect).The Earth rotates in an eastward direction opposite to the apparent movemert of the sun, moon and stars across the sky. Looking down on a globe from above the North Pole, the direction of rotation is counterclock- wise (anticlockwise direction). This eastward direction of rotation not only defines the movements of the zone of daylight on the Earth's surface but also helps define the circulatory movements of the atmosphere and oceans, The velccity of rotation on the Earth varies depending on the distance of a given place from the EQUATOR (the imaginary circle around the Earth halfway botwoon the two poles). The rotational velocity at the poles is nearly zero. The greatest velocity of rotation is found at the Equator where the distance travelled by a point in 24 hours is largest, the velocity is about 1700 km per hour. At 60 degree parallel, itis half of what itis at the Equator (850 km per hour). hm ‘soa Rotation accounts for our alternating days and rights, While one haif of the Earth receives the light and energy of solar radiation, the other half would have been in darkness. We ere unaware of the speed of] rotaton, however, beceuse— () the rate is constant for each place (on the Earth's suriace; (i) the atmosphere rotates with the Earth (ii) there are n0 nearty otjects, either stationary or moving at a diferent rate with respect to the Earth, to which wa can relate the Earth's movements. Thus, without references we are unable to perceive the speed of rotafon. Geography / 45 The line around the Earth saparating the light and dark halves is known as the CIRCLE OF ILLUMINATION. REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH Earth also revolves around the sun in an elliptical, almost circular, ‘obit at an average distance from the ‘sun of about 149,000,000 km. This motion is called REVOLUTION. The path on which the Earth describes its motion is called ORBIT. Because of the elliptical shape of the orbit the distance varies from time to time. About January 3 the Earth is closest to the Sun and is said to be at PERIHELION (from Greek : ‘per’ = close to; ‘helios = sun); its distance then from the sun is approximately 147 rriion km. ‘Around July 4 the Earth is about 152 million km from the sun. Itis then that the Earth has reached its turthest point irom the sun and is said fo be at APHELION (Greek : ‘ap’ = away; ‘helios’ = sun). Five milion km is insignificant in space and these varying distances from the Earth to the Sun do not materially aftect the receigt of eneray or Earth. ‘SPEED OF REVOLUTION ‘The mean speed of the Earth is its onbit is 107,000 km per hour. The speed comes to 28-72 km per second, The bullet from a gun travels with a speed of 9 km per second, ‘THE PERIOD OF REVOLUTION The period of time the Earth takes to make one revoltion around the Sun determines the length of one year. Earth takes to complete one revolution of the Sun in 365 days & 6 hours. Because the Earth makes 365 } rotations on its axis duting the time it takes to complete one revolution of the Sun, a year is said to have 3654 ays. Because of tne Aficurty of dealing wit a traction of a day. it has been decided that a year would have 365 days and that in every fourth year, called LEAP YEAR, an extra day would be added in February. PLANE OF ECLIPTIC, INCLINATION and PARALLELISM ‘The Earth in its orbit around the ‘sun moves in a constant place. This plane is called the PLANE OF THE ECLIPTIC. The plane of the Earth's ecuatr makes an ange of 294" wih the plane of the ecliptic. Thus the imaginary Earth axis, being perpendicular to the equator, has a constant ANGLE OF INCLINATION, esis eae, of 00" wih the pene ‘of the ecliptic. In addition to a constent angle of inclination, the Earth's axis maintains another characteristic called PARALLELISM. As the Earth revolves, around the -Sun, the Earth's axis remains parallel to its former position. That is, at evory position in tho Earth’s orbit the axis remains pointed towards the same spot in the sky. For tho North Polo that spot is closo to the star we call the NORTH STAR or POLAAIS. Thus, the Earth's axis is fixed with respect to the stars outside our solar system, but not with respect tothe Sun. SPHERICAL COORDINATES OF EARTH LOCATION ON THE EARTH Ifthe whole world was flat, the scheme of rectangular coordinates would serve all map purposes, but with @ globular world we have to develop a set of coordinates which fit it first as snugly and precisely as a gfid fsa fat, rectangular surface. ‘A globe begins nowhere and ends nowhere, but it moves. The Earth turns on its axis. It has poles, they are definite points. The most important point to locate other points and lines of reference is North Pole. ‘The opposite end of the axis is called South Pole. A line citcular in nature which is equidistant from the two poles (midway between the poles) is called EQUATOR, Equator is just the right name for it : it EQUATES the globe in North and South Halves. The plane passing through this circular line is called EQUATORIAL PLANE. The plane also passes through the centre of the Earth. Poles and Equator are needed for a frame of roference to build up a system of coordinates,PARALLELS AND LATITUDE Equator is the largest of a series of circles. Equator is called the parallel of 0° while the pole is a parallel of 90° ( a point). These circles are parallel to each other; so they are called PARALLELS. Tho parallel of 45° is not helt of the Equator in length. Its the paralle! ‘of 60° which is half of the Equator. ‘The parallel of 75° is one-fourth of the Equator. lt is therefore clear that the length of perallels decreases trom Equator to Poles but the distance between them is constant. ‘Some parallels are important— () 235 Noth — TROPIC of CANCER (i) 235 South — TROPIC of CAPRICORN eos North — ARCTIC CIRCLE (iv) 66 South — ANTARTIC CIRCLE ZONES BETWEEN PARALLELS Areas of the Earth which are situated between certain parallels are called ZONES. 1. TROPICAL ZONE or TORRID ZONE is stusted between 23! North and 235 South Torrid or Tropical Zone is a warm or better a tiot aroa. The Sun is verticle at least ‘once in a year at every place in this zone. 2, TEMPERATE ZONE—It is situated between 235. 10 66, in bon Geography 46 the Northern and Southern Hemi- ephere. Temperate meane neither hot nor cold. The Sunis never vertical at this zone. Zones of the Earth 3. FRIGID ZONE—It is situated botwoon 86}. to 90° (Pole) in both the Hemispheres. The length of day or night at least once in a year is of 24 hour duration. The poles have days and nights of 6 month duration each. It at a very cold area, FINDING A LATITUDE “The LATITUDE of a place or station Is the angular distance measured from the equator to- wards the pole, along the meridian of the place.” There are two methods of finding latitude at a place : () WITH THE HELP OF POLAR STAR Ite determine the angle made by Polar star with the horizon at a Place on the surface of the Earth, we got the latitude for that place, In order to measure that angle a CLINOMETER or SEXTANT or THEODOLITE can be used. the angle is the latitude of that place Determination of Latitude with 0 protractor If the above referred instruments are not available, the angle can be measured by using a simple protector. ‘Suspend a protector with the help of a string in a vertical position, put a tube clong the base of the protector. {twill be parallel to the horizontal and make an angle of 90° with the string. Now turn the tube till the pole star is Visible through the tube. The angle by which the tube is inclined at the base can be read off on the protector. This angle is the latitude of the piace. LIMITATIONS (a) Asthe Polar Star is visio only in the night, the latitude can be determined only in the night. This method cannot be employed in the Southern Hemisphere because there is no star equivalent to Polar Star in that hamisphere. (i) WITH THE HELP OF ALTITUDE OF THE SUN Itwe can find out the ALTITUDE. ‘of the Sun at the noon, the latitude of the place can be known. ‘The noon is the time when the altitude of the Sun is the HIGHEST and this is procisoly the time whon the shadow of a vertical rod is the SMALLEST. Therefore in the day when the shadow of the vertical rod is the smallest, the inclination of the ‘Sun with the horizon is measured with the help of a Sextant The angle thus measured is the altitude of the ‘Sun at that place. MERIDIANS AND LONGITUDE On the globe there is an another sot of lines. They are somi-circles ‘which swing from pole to pole. They mark off the globe much as the section lines do on a peeled orange. ‘These lines are MERIDIANS, joining north and south poles. They are, infact, imaginary lines. The meridian which passes through an observatory situated at GREENWICH (UK), is called the PRIME MERIDIAN or ZERO DEGREE MERIDIAN. You can ‘count left or right, west oF east from it to see how far around the world a spot is. That's its LONGITUDE. That's all longitude means how far east or west ef the zero meridian. (b) “Longitude of a place or station is the angular distance between the meridian of the place standard or primeThe meridian passing through Greenwich has been adopted internationally as the Standard meridian. This meridian divides the ‘sphere into two hemispheres, one the Eastern and the other the westem. The longitude is measured from zero degree to 180 degree either towards the west or towards the East. The west longitudes are considered as “positive” and east longitudes as “negative”. Meridians and Longitude All meridians are equal in langth. Meridians run in a true north-south direction. All mericians converge on poles. At a certain parallel, the meridians are equelly spaced but the spacing is greater on parallels towards Equator and smaller on paralles towards poles, Al meridians intersects parallels, at right angees. ‘THE PRIME MERIDIAN The zero degree or longitude 0° line is the ‘Prime Meridian’. Unlike the Equator. The Prime Meridian is an arbitrary line. The Greenwich Meridian is the mest Generally accepted one. By an intemational agreement in 1884, the half circle that pass through Greenwich, England (near London), ‘was generally accepted by the world powers as the starting point and called this half-circle the Prime Meridian, and we arbitrarily designete distance east or west of the prime meridian as LONGITUDE. Longitude is measured in degrees east or west from 0° at Groonwich to 180° in the Pacific ‘Ocean. The 180th is the greatest longitude. It is the farthest from the Prime Meridian. And that is halfway round the world Geography /47 INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE ‘The 180th meridian is not only haltway, but also a ‘half day’ around the world from Greenwich. For the Earth tums through one half a day in 180°, which ie half circle. When the day is at high noon at fongitude 0°, it is midnight at longitude 180°, “Exactly halfway around the globo from the Greenwich Meridian io (180° Longitude) the INTERNATI- ONAL DATE LINE, an imaginary line which follows the 180th meridian, except for jogs to keep together istand groups on one side of it or the other, so that certain places can enjoy the same day of the week 2s the rest of a nation does.” At the Intemational Date Line we turn our calandor a full day back if we are travelling East and 2 full day forward if we are traveling west. For ‘example, it we are travelling East from Tokyo to San Francisco and itis 4.30 pm, Tuesday when we cross the International Date Lino, it will be 4:30 p.m. Monday on the other side. Or, if we are travelling West from ‘Alaska to Sibora, and itis 10.00 a. m. Wednesday when we reach the International Date Line, it will be 10.00 a.m. Thursday on the Westom side. This is why the 180th meridian is designated as International Date Line by the International Meridian Conference held in Washington, D. C. (USA) in 1884. CIRCLE OF THE SPHERE ‘A circle upon the surface of the sphere, specifically or the Earth or of the heavens, called a GREAT CIRCLE when its plane passes through the centre of the sphere ; in all other cases, a SMALL CIRCLE. The GREAT CIRCLES aro tho most important circles in the whole, world, the most up-to-date, the busiest and most glorious. © Every Great Circle is the greatest Possible circle on the globe, @ Every Great Circle is the circumference. © Every Great Circle cuts the globe into equal halves, as the Equator does. © The Equator is a Great Circle. © The meridians form Great circles. © The meridians cross the Equator at right angles, because their planes cross the Equator’s plane at tight angles. (They also cross, the small-circle planes of the latitude parallel at right angles.) © Allother Groat Circles cross the meridians and the Equator at other than right angles. © A satellite's path around the Earth is elliptical but the waginary line it “traces” on the Earth's surtace is a Great Circle. If another imaginary line were shot out from the centre of the Earth, passed straight through that Great Circle, and kept going, it would hit seteltite’s orbit. In other words, the orbit, the Earth- trace of the satelite, and the centre of the Earth are all in the same plane, © There can be an infinite number of Great Circles on the globe. This is a very fortunate fact, for it moans that wo can travel on a Great Circle trom any place to any other place on Earth. © The shortest distance between any two points on the globe is a Great Circle. @ The chord is the shortest distance through" the Earth. The arc (Great Circle) is the shortest distance “on” the Earth. © Straight lines are sometimes called "RIGHT LINES”. Like-wise Great Circles are technically called “ORTHOOROMES" (Ortho “straight” or “right” + dromos : “running’—in Greek). NAUTICAL MILE ‘A Nautical Mile is the distance measured along the Graat Circle (Continued on Page 206 )The measurement of TIME is based upon the apparent motion of the heavenly bodies caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis. Since the Earth rotates on its axis from WEST to EAST. all heavenly bodies (the fixed stars and the sun) appear to revolve from EAST to WEST (in a clockwise direction) around the Earth and, therefore, they appear to cross the observer's meridian twice each day. The Earth also moves in an elliptical orbit round the sun and makes one complete revolution in one year. Therefore, the sun appears to move relatively fo the stars from west to east and to make a complete Circuit of the heaven in one year. There are four kinds of TIMI 1. Sidereal Time, 2. Apparent Solar Time, 9. Mean Solar Time, and 4, Standard Time. The first two kinds of time are convenient to the astronomer, while the latter two are convenient for our every-day affairs. 1, SIDEREAL TIME Sidereal Time is the time when its measurement is based upon the diumal motion of a star or the Vernal Equinox. The time interval between two successive upper transits of the Vernal Equinox also called the FIRST POINT OF ARIES (y) over the same meridian is called a SIDEREAL DAY. The ‘sidereal day’ is divided into 24 hours, each hour subdivided into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds, The sidereal day begins at the instant of the upper transit of the FIRST POINT OF ARIES (T°) so that the sidereal time is zero hour at its upper transit and 24 hour at the next ‘upper transit. Sidereal time at any instant is, therefore, equal to the hour angle of tho First Point, of Aries. The right ascension of the meridian of a place is known as LOCAL SIDEREAL TIME Geography /48 THE TIME (LST). Itis the time interval which has elapsed since the transit of the First Point of Aries over the meridian of the Place. The ECLIPTIC is the greatcircla which the sun appears to trace on the Celestial sphere with the earth as a centre in tha course of @ year. The lane of the ecliptic is not coincident withthe plane of the equator, the angle between them being known as the OBLIQUITY OF THE ECLIPTIC. Its value is about 23°27 The point of intersection of the ecliptic with the equator are called the EQUINOCTIAL POINTS. The point at which the sun's declination changes trom south to north (i.8. the sun passing from south {fo north of ie equator) is known as the VERNAL EQUINOX or the FIRST POINT OF ARIES ("P), while the omer Js called the AUTUMNAL EQUINOX or the FIRST POINT OF LIBRA (£). The Vemal Equinox marks the beginning of spring, white ‘Aulumnal Equinox marks ‘commencement of auturnn. 2. APPARENT SOLAR TIME Apparent Solar Tima is the time when its measurement is based on daily motion of the aun. The time interval between two successive lower transits of the centre of the sun ovor the: ame moridian is called an APPARENT SOLAR DAY. It is divided into 24 hours, each hour into {60 minutos and each minute into 60 seconds. The apparent soler time is given by the sun dial. Since the sun's apparent daily path is in the ecliptic (@ great cirde inclined to the equator at an angle of 23° 27:), and the sun does not move at a uniform rate along the ecliptic, the apparent solar day is not of uniform length, and consequently, it cannot be recorded ty a clock having a uniform rate. The point on the ecliptic al which the north or south dectination of the sun is maximum are known as the SOLSTICES. The point C at which the north dectination of the sun is maximum, is called the SUMMER SOLSTICE, while the point D at which ‘the south dectination of the sun is maximum is known es the WINTER SOLSTICE. In the southern hemi- ‘sphere, the revarso is the case. The sun is at Vernal Equinox (y)on ‘March 21, and its decination and right ascension are aact equal to zero. On June 21 the sun is at Con the ecliptic ‘and 90° from , and, is dectenation is maximum and equals 23°27" N., and its right ascension is 6 hour (or 90°). The sun is at Auturmal Equinox on September 21 (or 22) and its deciinaton is zero and its right ascension is 12 hour (or 180%). The sun is at D on December 22 (or 21) and its declination is again maximum ‘and is equal to 23°27" South and its tight ascension is 18 hour (or 270°) t will thus be seen that the sun's decination is north from March 21 to September 22, while itis souih from ‘September 22 to March 21. On March 21 and September 22, the days and nights are of EQUAL LENGTH all over the wortd 3. MEAN SOLAR TIME, In order to obviate the variation in apparent solar time a fictitious body called the mean sun is introduced by the astronomers. The mean sun is an imaginary point and is assumed to move at a uniform rate along the equator so as to make a solar day of uniform length, the motion of the mean aun being the average of that of the true sun is right ascension. It is support to start from the Vernal Equinox at the samo timo as tho tru sun and to return to the vernal ‘equinox with the true sun. Time when measured by the diumal motion of the mean sun is called the MEAN SOLAR TIME, or simply, Mean Time.The mean solar day is the ‘average of all the apparent solar days of the year. The time which is in common use by the people is the MEAN SOLAR TIME or GIVIL TIME. It is the time kept by our clocks and watches. The time interval between two successive lower transits of the mean sun over the same meridian is called @ MEAN SOLAR DAY, which is also known as @ CIVIL DAY. It is divided into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds, There are two systems of reckoning means solar time, viz. ) Civil Time, and i) Astronomical Time, Prior to December 31, 1924, the astronomical day was considered to begin at noon. Since January 1, 1925, both the Givil Day and the Astronomical Day begin at zero hour midnight. But the Civil Day is divided into two periods, one from midnight to noon, and the other ftom noon to rmicnight so that the time of an event eccurring before mean noon is denoted by the letters A. M. (ANTEMERIDIAN), and the time of event occurring after mean noon by the letters P.M. (POST MERIDIAN), while the Astronomical Day is dvided continuously from zero hour to 24 hours. Civil time may be converted into Astronomical time, and vice versa by the following rules : A.() Ifthe civil time is A. M., the astronomical time is the game aa the Civil time 0.9. civil time 6. A. M. corres- ponds to astronomical time 6 hours. Mf the civil time is p.m., the astronomical time = ci +12 hours. og, civil time 8 P.M. equivalent to astronomical w tinre 20 hours. In both the cases referred hereinabove the date remains unchanged. if the astronomical time is less than 12 hours, the civil time is the same as the B.() Geography /49 astronomical time and is denoted by the letters A. M. 29, astronomical time 9 hours corresponds to civil time 9 A.M If the astronomical time is greater than 12 hours, the civil time = astronomical time — 12 hours and ie denotod by the letters PM. 2.g., astronomical time 23 hours is equivalent to civil time 11 P.M. The instant at which the sun crosses the meridian of any place is called the LOCAL APPARENT NOON (LAN), while the instant at which the Mean Sun crosses the meridian of ny place is called the LOCAL MEAN NOON iL. MIN). By LOCAL MEAN TIME (LM.T) fs meant the mean time at the place of observation (for the meridian of the observer). All places on the same meridian have the same local time. ‘The mean time for any other meridian is denoted by the name, for example, GREENWICH MEAN TIME (G.M.T.) The Earth moves uniformly on its axis from west to east and this ‘causes the sun to appear to move from ast to west, and to cross the metidians in succession. Conse- ‘quently, the farther EAST a place is situated, the sooner will the sun cross. the meridian and the later will be the LOCAL TIME. EQUATION OF TIME The difference between Apparent Solar Time and Mean Solar Time at any instant is known as the EQUATION OF TIME (€.T. Formerly, Apparent Time was determined by solar observation and was reduced to mean time by means of the Equation of Time. But now, ime is obtained by first 19 sidereal time by stellar ‘observations and then converting it, or directly trom wireless signals. Hence the values of Equation of Tima ‘at zero hour (midnight) at Greenwich are tabulated in the NAUTICAL ALMANAC for every day of the year in the sense apparent-mean, and are to be added algebraically to mean time to give apparent time, and vice versa. The Greenwich Mean Time (G.M-T) of apparent noon, thatis, the instant at which the sun transits at Greenwich is also given. The values of Equation of Time are sometimes prefixed with the plus (+) sign (or specified as “THE SUN AFTER CLOCK’). or with the minus (-)sign (or specified as“ THE SUN BEFORE CLOCK), indicating that they are to be addedto or substracted {rom apparent time to give mean time, The values of Equation of Time varies from zero to about 16 minutes at different seasons of the year. It vanishes four times during the year, on or about April 15, June 14, September 1, and December 25. On these dates the true Sun and the mean sun are on the same meridian and apparent time and mean time are the same, The difference between mean time and apparent time is due to two causes : () The Earth moves round the sun is an ellipse and not in a circle. Consequently, the motion of the Earth is not uniform and varies with its distance from the Sun. (ii) Since the real Sun moves along the ecliptic, uniform motion along the ecliptic does not represent uniform motion in the right ascension, and hence does not correspond to uniform motion of the mean Sun along the Equator. At apparent noon, that is: when the real Sun is on the meridian, the apparent time is zero, and, therefore, Equation of Time = Mean Time of ‘Apparert Noon. 4. STANDARD TIME In order to avoid contusion arising from the use of different local mean times by the people, it is necessary to adopt the mean time on a particular meridian as the STANDARD TIME for the whole country. This meridian is known as the STANDARD MERIDIAN and tuouslly les an exact number of hours from Greenwich. The mean time associated with this meridian is called tho ‘STANDARD TIME” which is kept by all watches and clocks throughout the country. The longitude of the standard meridian adopted in INDIA is 82° 30° East or 5 hour 30 minutes East