Answer: Every 76 years.
What are planets discovered revolving around other stars in our galaxy called?
Answer: Exoplanets.
What is the Sanskrit name for a comet?
Answer: Dhūmaketu.
What are constellations and how were they originally defined?
Answer: Constellations are regions of the sky that include groups of stars forming patterns. Originally, they were imaginary shapes identified by our ancestors, often associated with animals, objects, or characters from stories.
How does the Pole Star help in navigation?
Answer: The Pole Star appears stationary in the North direction, which helps in locating the North direction in the Northern hemisphere. This was particularly useful for sailors and travelers in ancient times for navigation.
Why does the Sun appear much bigger and brighter than other stars?
Answer: The Sun appears bigger and brighter because it is much closer to Earth than other stars. Despite being 100 times bigger than Earth in diameter, other stars appear as points of light due to their immense distance from us.
What are the main differences between inner and outer planets in our Solar System?
Answer: The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are smaller and have solid, rocky surfaces. The outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are much larger, mostly made of gases, and have large flat ring-like structures around them.
Why is Venus often called the Morning Star or Evening Star?
Answer: Venus is often visible shining brightly at dawn or dusk, appearing before other stars. Despite its name, it’s not actually a star but a planet reflecting sunlight.
What are natural satellites and how do they differ from planets?
Answer: Natural satellites, commonly called moons, are objects that orbit around planets. They are generally smaller than planets and don’t orbit the Sun directly like planets do.
How did most of the craters on the Moon’s surface form?
Answer: Most craters on the Moon formed due to the impact of asteroids or rocks from space hitting its surface. These features persist for a very long time due to the lack of atmosphere, water, or life on the Moon.
What are asteroids and where are they commonly found in our Solar System?
Answer: Asteroids are small, rocky, irregular-shaped objects that orbit the Sun. Many of them are found in the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
What causes a comet’s tail to form?
Answer: A comet’s tail forms as it approaches the Sun. The heat causes the frozen material in the comet to start evaporating, forming a visible tail of gas and dust.
What is the Milky Way and how does it appear in the night sky?
Answer: The Milky Way is our home galaxy, containing billions of stars including our Sun. In a dark night sky, it appears as an extended faint band of light stretching across the sky.
What was significant about India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission?
Answer: Chandrayaan-3 made India the first country to achieve a landing near the Moon’s south pole. This success led to the declaration of August 23 as ‘National Space Day’ in India.
How does light pollution affect our view of the night sky?
Answer: Light pollution, caused by excessive artificial light at night, reduces our ability to see stars. In cities with high light pollution, only a few stars may be visible, while in dark areas, many more stars can be seen.
What is an exoplanet and why are scientists interested in them?
Answer: Exoplanets are planets discovered revolving around other stars in our galaxy. Scientists study them in the search for potential life beyond Earth.
How do planets differ from stars in terms of their light emission?
Answer: Stars, like our Sun, produce their own light through nuclear reactions. Planets, on the other hand, shine by reflecting sunlight from their surfaces.
What is the current definition of a planet and how did it affect Pluto’s status?
Answer: The International Astronomical Union redefined the requirements for an object to be called a planet in 2006. This new definition led to Pluto being reclassified as a dwarf planet, along with other similar small objects in the outer Solar System.
