Earth as
T e earth is not a perfect sphere. It bulges
the
that evåst.
our home planet, is the third planet
from sun and the fifth-largest planet in the
solar the It is the only planet which supports
systemFrom space, the earth looks blue
because
70 per cent of its total area is covered by
water. Hence, it is also called the watery
planet. The family of the sun is called the
Solar System. The members of the solar
system are at a certain distance from the sun.
The chief members of the solar system are
the planets, the satellites that revolve around
the planets and other celestial bodies called
asteroids, comets and meteorites. The
planets in order of their distance from the
sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.
Saturn,
THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
slightly at the centre and is flattened at the
poles. In the olden days, the earth was
considered to be a flat disc with steep edges.
ryabhatta, the 5th century Indian astronomer and
mathematician,
believed in the round shape of the earth. He aid
that the earth was spherical in shape and otated
on its axis. In the 6th century, Greek hilosopher
Pythagoras said the same thing. oday, we have
convincing evidence to prove
Proof that the Earth is Spherical
in shape
(i) The Bedford Level Experiment: An
experiment was carried out in the Bedford
Level canal area in England. Three poles of
equal length were fixed at intervals of 5 km. It
was ensured that the poles had the same height
above the water in the canal. When the poles
were viewed from one end of the canal, the
•middle pole looked slightly higher. It could not
have happened if the earth had a flat surface
(Fig. 1.1). A similar experiment was repeated at
different places with the same result. This
experiment demonstrated that the surface of the
earth was curved.
(ii) Sighting of a ship: While standing at seashore,
watching an approaching ship, we first see only its mast.
Then, as it comes
 Flat Earth
Spherical Eam
at the earth is spherical in shape. Fig. 1.1. Bedford level experiment