Stars and the solar system · तारे और सौर परिवार
A free Physics lesson for Class 8 children.
The Moon has no light of its own; it reflects sunlight. As it goes round the Earth we see its phases, from new moon to full moon and back, in about a month.
Stars make their own light. The Sun is the nearest star. The Pole Star stays fixed in the sky because it lies above the Earth's axis.
A group of stars that forms a pattern is a constellation, such as Ursa Major (the Great Bear) and Orion.
The eight planets in order from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Jupiter is the largest planet. Saturn has beautiful rings. Venus is the brightest planet in our sky. Mars looks red.
Between Mars and Jupiter lie the asteroids. Comets have long tails that point away from the Sun. Artificial satellites orbit the Earth.