GENERALKNOWLED

U
definec

Commonly
commonly t h a t

of everything
matter
is
a n d

galaxies a
1 s

universe e r s e

physical
i n e r t s
o f i n t e r g a l a c t i cs p a c e

the planets,
The stars
all kn
,
achuding is
universe,

of
bil
of

gcomprises
tudy

Cosmolog alaxies.
are mad

GEOGRAPH he

galaxies.o f
The

llions
universe

of
g r
s t a r s

the
v y
maSses
held

a n a

called
together

t h e s e

of
the

the
s t a r s

gal
Mi

force of it
and
most is o
for g a l a x yG a n g a )
o n e

own and

WORLD GEOGRAPHY Akash o t h e r

s t a r s

Our
the b i l i o n

and

(or 300 mal

and
hout PlanetsS

Sun
Sun. Sun
the the
Geography is the science that studies The fields of human geography are the a r o u n d

with

as foluny
n e a r e -

revolve our
is
the lands,the features, the inhabitants Cultural geography
system

centre.Andromeda
solar p r o p o u

and the phenomena on the Earth.

Development geography 140,
Ptolemy
was
the

The discipline of geography was Economicgeography n

AD
that
the Earth
the
Sun
and

invented
in 2ndthe BC
century tae by .
Transport geography
theory
universe
and
r e v o l v e d
arouur

Greek Scholar Eratosthenes. the bodies

tha
Historical geography heavenly
Copernicus
said
the
Branches of Geography Political geography In
1543,
not
the
Earth
is

Geography is divided into two main Population geography and

universe
K epler supported Copernicu=
branches i.e. physical geography and Settlement geography
of sc
human geography. Sun is the
centre

ww Physical Geography that the

and not the
universe.

Some Contributors Physical geography deals with the physicl 1924, Edwin Hub
In
to Geography environment. and the various process thaa demonstrated existence o

Eratosthenes was the first person to bring about changes in the physicl
beyond Milky Way.
environment on the Earth surface.
calculate the circumference of the Earth Structurally, the galaxies ar
and also calculate the tilt of the Earth's The fields of physical geography are as follou three forms
axis ) Spiral galaxies have
Anaximander created the first map of Geomorphology It is the scientiicstudy nucleus with great spiral
world. landforms and processes that shape them Way and Andromeda
Varahamihira's Brihatsamhita gave a Hydrology It is the study of the examples.
thorough description of planetary movement, distribution and quality d i) Elliptical galaxies
water on Earth, including the hydrologica
are wi
movements, rainfal, clouds etc. arms and have
Ptolemy first presented India on the world cycle, water resources and environmentu i) Trregular ellipsoid sh
map. watershed sustainability. galaxies have ne
The History of Mankind was written by Climatology It is the study of climate Evolution of UniverS
Friedrich Ratzel. which is scientifically defined as eathet lhe three main
conditions averaged over a period ot tuue explain the origintheories put
Human Geography Pedology It is the study of soils intne universe are andevola
Human
geography is a branch of the
natural environment.
Big Bang
geography that studies the world, its
people, communities and cultures, with
Glaciology It is the study of glaciers
and
TheoryBig(E
Georges Lemaitre)
emphasis on relations of land across
ice sheets.
explosion that occurred
an
Biogeography It is the study years ago,
space and place.
relationships of organisms W thei galaxies leading to
environment. bodies. of stars andtheot
Steady
red HoyleStatedeveloped
Theory Ba t
GENERALKNOWLEDGE- Geography 125

Unlverse
commonly defned as the states that although the uníverse is
rse is
T h eu n t v e r s e
that exlsts expanding, it nevertheless does not
of everythi change fts appearance over time and
totality
hystcal matter and energy,
the it has no begdr1ning and no end,
cluding
tars, galaxies and
planets, space. (11) The Pulsating Theory According to
the intergalactie

contents of known as this theory, the universe is supposed

of universe, is
The study to be expanding and contracting
Cosmology

comprises of billions
of alternately ie. pulsating. At present,
The universe are made up of the universe is expanding.
es. The galaxies the
stars held together by NASA has launched the Cosmic
ns of
of gravity and these stars account Background Explorer (COBE) and the
force the masses of the galaxy. Wilkinson Microwave Anistropy Probe
for most of is called the Milky Way (WMAP) missions to study the radiation
Our own galaxy
Ganga) and it contains P E s e n t n the uníverse.
(or the Akash stars
about 300 bilfion and one of these is
Sun. Planets and other objects
Stars:
the
Aue around the Sun and make up the Stars are heavenly bodies made up of hot
with the Sun at the
solar system
centre.Andromedais our nearest galaxy. gases. They produce their own
burning
propounded the
light.
I n AD 140; Ptolemy neutron star is about 20 km in
Earth was the centre of A
theory that the diameter and has a mass of about 1.4
the Sun and the other
the universe and
times that of the Sun. Neutron stars are
heavenly bodies revolved around it. formed by supernova explosions. A
In 1543, Copernicus
said that the-Sun
pulsar is a highly. magnetised and
and not the Earth is the centre of
rotating neutron star.
universe.
Kepler supported Copernicus but said A star s colour indicates the temperature
that the Sun is the centre ofsolar system of its surface. Blue colour denotes
and not the universe. maximum temperature. White, yellow,
orange, red stars have sequentially
In 1924, Edwin Hubble first declining range of temperatures.
demonstrated existence of galaxies
beyond Milky Way. Evolutionary Stages of a Star
Structurally, the galaxies are found in 1..Proto Star It isthe stage, where the
three forms helium core become increasingly
4) Spiral galaxies have a central heavy, accompanied with expanding
nucleus with great spiral arms. Milky outer layers.
Way and Andromeda are thee 2. Red Giant This stage results into
examples. the swelling and reddening of the
Elliptical galaxies are without spiral outer regions of the star. Such stars of
arms and have
ellipsoid shape. gigantic dimension is called Red Star.
i) Irregular galaxies have no shape. 3. White Dwarf If the mass of the star
istherelatively small like that of our Sun,
Evolution of Universe gases that reach the outer layer
are expelled. As these expelled gases
ne three main theories
put forward to cool and contract, the star becomes a
Cplain the origin and evolution of the
universe are White Dwarf.
0) Big Bang Theory (Proposed by Stars: Quick Digest
Georges Lemaitre) Big Bang was an
explosion that occurred 13.8 billion Brightest star outside solar system is Sirius,
years ago, leading to the formation of also called as Dog Star
galaxies of stars ad other heavenly Closest star to our solar system is Proxima
bodies. Centauri (4.2 light years away) followed by
Steady State Theory Bondi, Gold and Alpha Centauri (4.3 light years away) and
Fred Barnard's Star (5.9 light years away).
Hoyle developed this theory. It
** wwwwwwwAw**wwwwwwwwwww.wwwwwwwww.wwwwwwwwwwwwwowowey?
 (126)
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Concept of Black
Hole and1 .The end of Solar System
AU (Astronomical units)isis about
eograpn
Chandrashekhar Limit
Chandra-
the Sun. away ro
renowned Indian Physiclst
A shekhar had predicted an upper limlt to the C o m p o n e n t s ofthe
which is called as
mass of stars, Solar System
imit. It ls 1.44 times the
Chandrashekhar
Our Solar System consistsu
mass of the Sun. of
conditions The Sun, Eight planets are
Above the upper limit, two
Pluto) and the respective excludin
possible.
star to form neutronInterstellar debris st1ch
satellit
of the
1. Explosion
star.
2. Collapse and compaction of the stars to
meteoroids, comets.
The electrically charged ao
asteroids
form Black Hole. Plasma. ases, called
.The black holes are formed due to collapse .Interplanetary dust partícles.
and compaction under gravity, at the end of
the components of solar system Othe
the life cycle of a star. than planets, dwarf planets a
Some of the units used for the calculation of satellites are called as Small Sal
distances in universe are as follows: System Bodies (SSSB)

Units of Distance Origin of theSolar System

Unit Description of the Unit
Various theories were given to explain
Light year It.is the distance that light can the Origin of the Solar System.
travel in 1 year. It is equal to almost
946x 10 km. Hypothesis Propounder
Astronomical lt is the average distance Kant
between the Sun and the Earth.
GaseousHypothesis
unit
Nebular Hypothesis Laplace
1AU 150 million km Planetesimal Chamberline and
Parsec It is the distance from the Earth to
a star that has parallax of 1 arc Hypothesis Moulton
Tidal Hypothesis Sir James Jeans
second. The actual length is and Harold Jefreys
about 3.262 light years.
Binary Star Hypothesis HN Russéll
Supernova Hypothesis F Hoyle
SOLAR SYSTEM Interstellar Dust Otto Schmidt
.The solar system comprises the Sun, 8 Hypothesis
satellites
their and1 other
planets, Electromagnetic HAlfven
non-stellar objects, which are believed to
have been developed from the Hypothesis
Weizsacker
condensation of gases and other lesser Protoplanet Hypothesis Dr Von
and G Kuiper.
bodies. *****************************************a********an***********

Neptune
THE SUN
The Sun accounts for more ta
Saturn
99 per cent of the mass of the sO
and due to this, the s
Uranus
Mars System on
Venu exerts immense gravitational pu
the planets to keep them rotaus
pier
MercuryEarth

SUN around it in definite elliptical orbl

rgy
T h e Sun is the major source ofene
The Sun is at the centre of the solar system in the solar system. The enery
and all the planets revolve around it in an the nuclear fusio
elliptical orbit. It is the nearest star to the provided by into

Earth. reaction, that converts hydrogen

helium in the core of the Sun.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Geography
127
of the Sun that
ofthe
that
we see Aurora The constituent
glowingsurface
The Photosphere. Above the the solar wind are particles öof
1s called
is the red coloured trapped
Earth's magnetic fleld and by the
photosphere

Chromosphere and beyond it is the

Earth's upper enter the
Acent corona, which 18 most eastly 1s described atmosphere
as Aurora
as Aurora. It
Borealis
Northern hemisphere and in the
magnif
visible during eclípses.
Hydrogen and.helium are the nain gases
Australis 1in Southern Aurora
resent in
the Sun. hemísphere.
a suriace temperature of
.Plages Bnd Sunspots The
The sun has chromosphere of the Sun is
about 6000°C.
continuously changng. Bright spots on
t takes 224 million years to complete one the
chromosphere are called Plages
circle (revolution) around the centre of and dark spots are called
the Milky Way.
This is known as a Cosmic Sunspots.
The Sunspots are cold and dark
on the Sun's surface regions
year with a períodicity
The Sun is 1300000 times bigger than the of 11 years. These
spots greatly
Earth in terms of volume.
influence the global cimate.
,Superimposed on Sun's white light are
hundred of dark lines called Fraunhofer PLANETS
lines. Each line indicates some elements
existing as gases in the Solar System. Planets are celestial bodies, which
continuously revolve around and are
ydrogen
/ burnin9 lighted by a star. There are eight
Core planets in the solar system that revolve
around the Sun in an elliptical orbit.
Radiative .The sequence of planets according to
layer
their size (in descending order) is
Convection Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
ayer Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury.
The sequence. of planets according to
Chromosphere their distance from the Sun is Mercury,
Photospheref Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Sunspot Uranus and Neptune.
Corona
Layers of the Sun Classification of Planets
Sun Fact sheet 1. Inner Planets Include Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars.
Average distance from 149600000 km
the Earth 2 Outer Planets Include Jupiter,
Diametre Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
1391980km ******

lemperature of the core 15000000"C Inner Planet Outer Planet

**g*******************
Rotation speed 25.38 days (with
They are called as They are called as
respect to equator);: 33 Terrestrial or Rock Jovian or Gaseous
days (with respect to planets. They are planets.
poles earer to the Sun. are far awa
ime taken by sunlight 8 min and 16.6 sec
toreach the Earth -omrorooo.
****
Trom the Sun.
They have very few They havea large
number of natural
Concepts Associated with the Sun moons) or
natural satellites (or
no satellites (or moons)
Solar Winds The Sun is continuously satellites.
mtting streams of photons in all They have a core of They are formed
rections either as spiral streams called molten rocks. mainly of gases, with
Solar Wind or bouts a smallrocky core
of incandescent
material called Solar Flares. Solar flares They move They move rather
faster and
ncreases ionisation in upper atmosphere have a shorter period slowly and have a
and thus pose of revolution. longer period of
danger to satellite revolution.
Communication.
128 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE C GENERAL KNOWLET OWLEDGE- Geography

Planets Fact sheet Hottost Planet

Venue
eograph P l a n e t s special Characteristics
S p e c i a lC h a r a r
Rotation and
Revolution
Densest Planet Time
Biggest Planet Jupiter Fastest Rotatlon in Solar
Biggest Satellite Ganymede System Juplter he largest planet in mass
tne Fastest.rotational
velocity (9.8 hrs)
Jupiter)n witn a
Morning Star Venus Jupiter solar
system
tnan the Revolution.
Ea th times
grealer
o f all the 11.8years
Blue Planet Nearest Planet to Earth Venus 2.5
combined
mass

Green Planet Uranus Nearest Planet to Sun

Mercury
remaining planets,

and
a s t e r o i d s put

Venus satellites
Red Planet Mars
Brightesu
* u * * * * * * * * * *

t o g e t h e r .

w..cum

Brightest Star Outside

Sirius (Dog Star) Slowest Revolution in Solar Neptune
It contains h y d r o g e n ,
helium, metnane and

red spot
Solar System System A great
Proxima Centauri ammonia. it.
Slowest Rotation in Solar Venus on
Closest Star of Solar is
detected

System System Rotation in 10.3

Neptune Smallest Planet Mercury 2nd largest planet
set nours. Revolution
Coldest Planet It is thes u r r o u n d e d py a
Deimos and is are
Smallest Natural Satellite
Venus
S a t u r n

years.
which
rings, dust
Evening Star Venus of eight
of
primordial
Sun Neptune Earth's Twin made
up
Farthest Planet from
and ice particles.

Titan
Satellite with an
Saturn Unlike the ot
Planet with Maximum Only
Atmosphere Like Earth its a x i s
of
onn
Number of Satellites
as unique at 9 8
to which spin
It is axis, Uranus ac
Uranus is inclined
Mercury rotation
Revolution in Solar its orbital p l a n e . rolls, apparently
Fastest
North to
Systemn Planets of the Solar System Rotation : 17.2

Comparative
Study of the Important Physical Satelite Revolution:8
A Rotation and Rotation. 16
hce
Properties Systems the
planet from
a n d Revolutio=
Planets Special Characteristics
Revolution It is farthest d y n a m i c
Neptune
Sun. It has a years.
Time No satellite atmosphere, which
It has the maximum
sized

diurnal range of Contained an Earth Dark

innermost Rotation the Great
spot called s i m i l a r to the
Smallest and the 58.65 days
Revolution: 88 days
temperature.
Spot
that is
Spot
Mercury Red
planet. It
has no Jupiter's
Great
It has a . (Fastest
Revolution
atmosphere. m u c h like System).
surface, in the
Solar No satellte Now
cratered Rotates from East Planet
in
a
t h e Moon.
h a s the
slowest
to West
unlike the
Pluto is not Tombaugh

the veiled
It
rotational speed. It Itis discovered by Clyde
other planets.
Also called as
surrounded
has almost equal the hottest planet. Pluto was
planet by
the Internati
of
Venus
planet a s
it is redefinition
the solar syste
that, in
as The
clouds known rotation and states
thick 2006
by
(Evening and Morning revolution. Rotation August,
around the Sun. a hy
(Clockwise) 243 orbit it
assumes

as it is seen in thethe i t is in s o that

star) in and days and sufficient
mass
aroundi
East in
morning
It is 224.7 it has cleared the neighbourhood
two r=
the evening. the first
it has
Revolution:
West in solar fulfilling
planet in days. non-satellite body
t h e brightest almost 'A Dwarf planet.
b e c a u s e of as a
system was reclassified
70% albedo.
95% CO2.
contains
90 to
It Moon is the
The night
and day
almost the
are
the
densest of only natura
temperature
It is unique
for
Rotation :24 hours; is
s a t e l l i t e .

and
same. neither too hot Revolution: 365 all
the presence of
Earth is hours. forms of life.
The called as and 6
Earth cold.lt is days higher
nor too 71% of Two satellites

Planet as P h o b o sa n d
the.Blue

is made up of marked by
Surface
Rotation 24.6 hour. It is
d o r m a n t v o l c a n o e s .

Deimos.

water Olympus Mons iss

It (almost equal to
Red Planet.
Known as
Earth) Revolution:

atmosphere
the highestwhich is
mountain,
Mars thin and
has a nitrogen 687 days. three times higher
of
comprising
than the Mount

argon.
Everest.
 GENERALKNOWLEDGE. Geography 2

Panets S p e a lC h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Rotation and Important Physical Satellite

Revolution Properties
Time
Systems

rtis the largest planet

in the Fastest rotational t ls too masslve to It has 67
J u p t e r
mass
solar system with a velocity (9.8 hrs) Solldify as a planet satellites,
than the Revolution but not massive Some of the
25 times greater the 11.8 years
combined mass ofal enough to develop prominent
remaining planets, nuclear fusion and satellites are
satelites and asteroids put become a star. It
gives off more
Europa,
together. Callisto and
It contains hydrogen, energy than it Ganymede.
helium, methane and receives from the These are
ammonia. A great red spot Sun, because of called as
detected on it. the heat inside. Galileon
is
Moons
It is the 2nd largest planet Rotation in 10.3 It has the least It has 82
Satur and is surTOunded by a set hours. Revolution density of all the satellites, the
ofeight rings, which aredust n 29years. planets. 30 times largest being
made up of primordial less dense than the Titan.
and ice particles. Earth.
lt is unique as its axis of Unlike the others, Surrounded by a t has 27
Uranus
rotation is inclined at 98 to which spin on their system of 9 faint satellites. The
its orbital plane. axis, Uranus actually rings. prominent
rolls, apparently from are Miranda
North to South. Ariel etc.
Rotation: 17.2 hours
Revolution:84 years
Neptune lIt is farthest planet from the Rotation. 16 hours It has 5 faint rings. It has 14
Sun. It has a dynamic and Revolution 165 t appears as vivid satellites. The
atmosphere, which years. blue in colour. prominent
contained an Earth sized are Triton and
spot called the Great Dark Nereid
Spot that is similar to the
Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Pluto is not a Planet Now

Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930.
Theredefinition of planet by the International Astronomical Union (lAU) on 24th
August, 2006 states that, in the solar system, a planet is a celestial body that
i tis in orbit around the Sun.
ithas sufficient mass so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape.
ithas cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
A
non-satellite body fulfilling the first two rule is classified as a Dwarf planet. So,
Was reclassified as a
Pluto
Dwarf planet.