Our app is now available on Google Play. Get it on Google Play

Looking for NCERT Solutions? Check out here.

NCERT Revision notes for class 6 Geography The earth in the solar system

Download PDF

Celestial bodies

Every object that we see in space such as Sun, Moon, and planets are called celestial bodies.

Solar system

The solar system is the collection of the sun, 8 planets, moons, meteors, and asteroids.

Stars

The celestial bodies, which are made of gases and have their own heat and light, are called stars. Sun is also a star.

Pole star

The star which is found in the north direction and never changes its position in the sky is called Pole Star. In ancient times people used to find direction with the help of this star.

Constellation

The group of stars that form various patterns in the night sky is called a constellation.

For example, Ursa major or big bear is a constellation.

Planets

The celestial bodies, which do not have their own heat and light, are called planets. They receive their light and heat from stars.

List of planets in our solar system

There are eight planets in our solar system:

  1. Mercury
  2. Venus
  3. Earth
  4. Mars
  5. Jupiter
  6. Saturn
  7. Uranus
  8. Neptune

Orbit: The fixed on which all the planets revolve around the sun is called the orbit.

The sun

The sun is a star, which has its own heat and light. It is also known as the giant ball of fire. The distance between the sun and the earth is 150 million kilometers.

The earth

The earth is the third nearest planet to the sun. It is the only planet where life is found. Its shape is Geoid and it is the fifth-largest planet in our solar system. It is also called the blue planet.

The moon

The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth. It is 3,84,400 km away from us. It takes 27 days to revolve around the earth and the same amount of time to rotate on its axis; hence, we see only one side of the moon.

  1. Full moon: It is the day when the moon looks completely round and shines bright in the night sky. This day is also known as Poornima.
  2. New moon: It is the day when the moon completely disappears and does not Shine in the night sky. This day is also known as Amavasya.

Asteroids

The celestial bodies that are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter are called asteroids. These are giant rocks that also revolve around the sun.

Meteoroids

Meteors are small pieces of Rock that also revolve around the sun. Sometimes these rocks enter the earth's atmosphere and burn completely before reaching the earth's surface.

Galaxy

A galaxy is a collection of millions or billions of stars, clouds, and dust. The name of our Galaxy is the Milky Way galaxy is also called Akash Ganga.

Universe

The universe is the collection of millions of billions of galaxies.

Related NCERT Revision notes