Page 151 - Volt Elevate The World Around Us Book 4

The Stars

Stars are huge balls of gas that emit both heat and light. They appear as tiny dots that
twinkle in the night sky. Stars come in different sizes. Some are small, while others are
large. They vary in size because they are very far away from Earth.

Stars seem to twinkle in the night sky because their light passes through layers of moving
air in Earth’s atmosphere. The air bends the light slightly in different ways which makes
the star’s brightness appear to change quickly.

Constellations

When looking at the night sky,

we often notice specific patterns
formed by groups of stars known
as constellations. Examples of

recognisable constellations include
Ursa Major (the Great Bear), Ursa

Minor (the Little Bear) and Orion Ursa Major Orion
(the Hunter).

Any of the large groups of stars in outer space is called a

galaxy. The universe comprises millions of galaxies held
together by the force of gravity. One important feature in the
night sky is the Milky Way which appears as a white band of

huge number of stars.

Milky Way Galaxy

India’s Chandrayaan Mission

The Chandrayaan programme is India’s pioneering series of lunar exploration missions
led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 2008. The objectives of these
missions include exploration and conducting scientific experiments to deepen our

understanding of the moon and its surface. Let’s learn more about the missions.

Chandrayaan-1

This mission was launched in November 2008. The orbiter carried a suite of scientific
instruments to map the lunar surface and search for ice, particularly at the poles.

The mission confirmed the presence of lunar water molecules and provided detailed
information about the surface of the moon.

141