CHAPTER 12: The Big Picture

THE UNIVERSE The Milky Way is known as a galaxy. With the aid
of more powerful telescopes and other scientific
The universe is commonly defined as the totality instruments, many of its secrets have now been
of existence including all planets, stars, galaxies, revealed.
the contents of intergalactic space, and all matter
and energy. It is about 14 billion years old and 93 Notice in Figure 8.1 that our Milky Way galaxy
billion light years in diameter. But despite its consists of a flattened system of stars arranged in
vastness, the same physical laws apply long curved bands. These spiral arms are outlined
everywhere. by hot blue stars, surrounded by clouds of dust
and gas. Our own galaxy consists of about 200
The Big Bang theory is the leading (but not the billion stars, with our own Sun being a fairly
only) cosmological model explaining how the typical specimen.
universe began. The origin of the Big Bang theory
can be credited to the American astronomer
Edwin Hubble ([Link], 2016). Hubble
made the observation that the universe is
continuously expanding. The universe as we
know it started with a small singularity, then
inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to the
cosmos that we know today. This is mostly
mathematical theory since current instruments
are not able to look back at the universe's birth.
FIGURE8.1: Our Milky Way galaxy viewed from different
The Milky Way galaxy angles

Early man has noticed that many of the bright As indicated in the figure, our sun is located on
objects seen in the sky slowly moved relative to one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. Its
each other. Many centuries later, it was realised distance from the centre of the Milky Way galaxy
that the earth and some of these objects rotate is approximately 30,000 light-years. Scientists
around the sun. These objects were the planets have discovered that light travels approximately
that rotate around the sun, and together with the 300 million metres in one second. It has been
sun they make up the solar system. estimated that it would take roughly 100,000
years for light to travel across the Milky Way
The discovery of the planets and sun, or solar galaxy. Astronomers have decided that it would
system, was of great importance, but an even be more convenient to use a larger unit for their
greater advance occurred early in the measurements of the enormous distances
seventeenth century when Galileo constructed a between the stars. This unit is the light-year.
telescope, which enabled him to investigate the
wonders of the universe beyond the solar system.
He studied our Milky Way, and made the Definition of light year:
remarkable discovery that it consisted of millions the distance which light travels in one year.
of very faint and distant stars.

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A light year is a unit of distance. In one year light takes more than two million years for its light to
travels about 9.5 trillion km, or 9 .5 x 1012 km. A reach us. To the naked eye the Andromeda galaxy
light year is also a measure of age. If we see a star appears merely as a faint spot. Even in
that is 1 million light years away, we are looking astronomical photographs it is only possible to
back a see light that was created a million years distinguish its brightest stars.
ago. The diameter of the Milky Way galaxy is
therefore roughly 100,000 light-years. The Milky It is important to notice that we are really
Way galaxy is also several thousand light-years observing galaxies as they appeared millions of
thick. In addition to individual stars one also finds years ago. Light from them travels towards us at
clusters of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Each an extremely high speed, yet it still takes millions
cluster is known as a globular cluster and contains of years to reach us. When we are viewing the
thousands of stars. Andromeda galaxy, we are actually seeing it as it
appeared more than two million years ago.
Astronomers have observed that the Milky Way
galaxy is rotating. The whole system of millions of Astronomers have examined the light waves from
stars and the clouds of gas and dust between all the visible galaxies, and found that all the
them rotates about the centre of the galaxy. The galaxies are moving away from the earth. In fact,
sun and its neighbouring stars take about 200 the more distant they are, the faster they travel
million years to make one circuit. away from us.

The mass of an object is the quantity of material

in it. Astronomers have calculated that the mass Our solar system and the planets
of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately
200,000,000,000 times greater than the mass of
the sun. Ponder this:
How many stars are there in
Beyond our Milky Way galaxy the universe?

Astronomers have now discovered millions and

millions of galaxies. Each comprises thousands of
millions of stars and is separated by a very great Even in ancient times, observers have noticed that
distance from its neighbours. some of the bright objects in the sky slowly
changed their positions in relation to the stars.
Our Milky Way galaxy is a member of a collection The Greeks later applied the name planet or
of seventeen galaxies known as the Local Group. “wanderer” to these objects.
They are clustered within about two million light-
years from our Milky Way galaxy. There are three Throughout the ages many attempts were made
spiral and four irregular galaxies in the Local to explain the motions of the planets. However, it
Group. In addition, there are ten elliptical was not until the 16th century that the suggestion
galaxies, but six of these are much smaller than was made that the earth and the other planets
the ordinary ellipticals and are known as Adwarf were actually all travelling around the sun. The
ellipticals. astronomer Copernicus proposed this theory in
1543, but then almost two centuries passed
Beyond the Local Group lies millions and millions before his ideas were fully accepted.
of other galaxies, each separated from one
another by enormous distances. One of the
nearest is the great Andromeda galaxy, yet it

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The orbits of the planets in our solar system - TABLE 8.1 lists the average distances of the
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, planets from the sun in our solar system. For
Uranus, Neptune - are all ellipses. The sun is convenience, these distances are expressed in
located at one focus of the ellipse and not at the Astronomical Units.
centre, as can be seen in Figure 8.2.

TABLE 8.1
P Mean Distances (Astronomical Units ) of the
Planets from the Sun
Mercury 0.39 Jupiter 5.20
Venus 0.72 Saturn 9.55
F1 F2
Earth 1.00 Uranus 19.20
Mars 1.52 Neptune 30.09
Figure 8.2: An example of the elliptical orbit of planets
(indicated by P) around the sun (orange circle indicated by
S). Every ellipse has two foci (black circles F1 and F2).

The time which a planet takes to make one

In reality, an ellipse has two foci. This is illustrated
revolution around the sun is known as its period.
in Figure 8.2 where each of the points F1 and F2
TABLE 8.2 shows the periods of the different
are foci. If P is any point located on the ellipse, the
planets in our solar system.
sum of its distances from the two foci is always the
same:
What lies beyond our Universe? Theoretically, a
multiverse (or meta-universe). A hypothetical set
PF1 + PF2 = constant
of infinite possible universes. These various
universes are called “parallel universes” or
_______________________________________
“alternate universes”. All space, time, matter and
EXERSISE
energy can be described by this theory, and
Tie the ends of a piece of thread to two drawing
everything is governed by the same physical laws
pins and fix them to points F1 and F2 on a piece of
and constants.
cardboard. Use a pencil to stretch the thread taut,
and then carefully move it in a curved path to trace
out an elliptical path. TABLE 8.2
_______________________________________ Periods of the Planets ( Earth years )

Mercury 0.24 Jupiter 11.86

Definition of an Astronomical Unit: Venus 0.62 Saturn 29.46

the mean distance of the earth from the sun and Earth 1.00 Uranus 84.0
represents a distance of approximately 150
Mars 1.88 Neptune 164.8
million kilometres.

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 Kepler's first law - also referred to as the law of
ellipses - explains that planets are orbiting the sun
SKA – Square kilometre array in a path described as an ellipse. An ellipse is a
Scientists from South Africa are playing a special curve in which the sum of the distances
leading role in developing the science which will from every point on the curve to two other points
is a constant. The two other points (represented
be done with the world's largest telescope, the
Square Kilometre Array. To be built in Australia here by the tack locations in Exercise 8.1) are
and South Africa, it will allow scientists to look known as the foci of the ellipse. The closer
far back into the history of the universe and will together that these points are, the more closely
the ellipse
give much more detail than before on how the
universe has evolved over 14 thousand million resembles the
years. More information will be obtained on shape of a
circle. In fact, a
how stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies
formed and how they have changed since the circle is the
Universe was young. This will allow for the special case of
an ellipse in which the two foci are at the same
plotting of a 3D map of the Universe.
location. Kepler's first law is rather simple - all
It will have an unprecedented scope in planets orbit the sun in a path that resembles an
observations, exceeding the image resolution ellipse, with the sun being located at one of the
quality of the Hubble Space Telescope by a foci of that ellipse.
factor of 50 times.

Thousands of SKA antenna dishes will be built in Second law – Law of Equal areas:
South Africa (in the Karoo, not far from the
small town called Carnarvon) with outstations The line joining the planet to the sun sweeps out
in other parts of South Africa, as well as in eight equal areas in equal times.
African partner countries. Why in SA? The
desert regions of South Africa, provide the
perfect radio quiet backdrop for the high and Kepler's second law - referred to as the law of
medium frequency arrays that will form a equal areas - describes the speed at which any
critical part of the SKA’s ground-breaking given planet will move while orbiting the sun. The
continent-wide telescope speed at which any planet moves through space is
constantly changing. A planet moves fastest when
it is closest to the sun and slowest when it is
PHYSICAL LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) spent many years to

study his colleague’s (Tycho Brahe (1546-1601))
observations and records and finally announced
his three laws of planetary motion: furthest from the sun. Yet, if an imaginary line
were drawn from the center of the planet to the
center of the sun, that line would sweep out the
First law – Law of Ellipses: same area in equal periods of time.
Every planet moves in an elliptical orbit, the sun For instance, if an imaginary line were drawn from
being at one focus. the earth to the sun, then the area swept out by

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the line in every 31-day month would be the Saturn 29.5 9.54 1.00
same. As can be observed in the diagram, the
Uranus 84.0 19.18 1.00
areas formed when the earth is closest to the sun
can be approximated as a wide but short triangle; Neptune 165 30.06 1.00
whereas the areas formed when the earth is
farthest from the sun can be approximated as a
(NOTE: The average distance value is given in
narrow but long triangle. These areas are the
astronomical units where 1 a.u. is equal to the
same size. Since the base of these triangles are
distance from the earth to the sun - 1.4957 x
shortest when the earth is farthest from the sun,
1011 m. The orbital period is given in units of earth-
the earth would have to be moving more slowly in
years where 1 earth year is the time required for
order for this imaginary area to be the same size
the earth to orbit the sun - 3.156 x 107 seconds.)
as when the earth is closest to the sun.

Kepler's third law provides an accurate

Third law – Law of Harmonics: description of the period and distance for a
planet's orbits about the sun. Additionally, the
The square of the time of one complete same law that describes the T2/R3 ratio for the
revolution is proportional to the cube of the planets' orbits about the sun also accurately
mean distance of the planet from the sun. describes the T2/R3 ratio for any satellite (whether
a moon or a man-made satellite) about any planet

Kepler's third law - referred to as the law of

harmonies - compares the orbital period and Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
radius of orbit of a planet to those of other
Kepler’s Laws provided a simple and fairly
planets. Unlike Kepler's first and second laws that
accurate description of the motions of the
describe the motion characteristics of a single
planets. It was left to Sir Isaac Newton (1642 -
planet, the third law makes a comparison
1727) to show that they were consequences of a
between the motion characteristics of different
more general law of gravitation.
planets. The comparison being made is that the
ratio of the squares of the periods to the cubes of
After studying Kepler’s Laws, Newton concluded
their average distances from the sun
that the motions of the planets could be explained
(the T2/R3 ratio) is nearly the same for all the
by assuming forces of attraction between the
planets.
masses. These forces depend only on the
Table 8.3: Comparison between the orbital period and radii
of planets magnitude of the two masses and their distance
apart. His Law of Universal Gravitation is as
Average follows:
Period T2/R3
Distance
Planet (yr) (yr2/au3)
(au)
“Every particle of matter in the universe attracts
Mercury 0.241 0.39 0.98
every other particle of matter with a force
Venus 0.615 0.72 1.01 proportional to the product of the masses of the
attracting particles and inversely proportional to
Earth 1.00 1.00 1.00
the square of their distance apart.”
Mars 1.88 1.52 1.01

Jupiter 11.8 5.20 0.99

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Thus, if F is the force of attraction between two towards the sun? You will be able to answer this
particles of masses m1 and m2 at a distance d question by studying Figure 8.3.
apart, then

m1 m 2 P
Fg 
d2 A B
P
which becomes A

m1 m 2 C
Fg = G
d2 F

where G is known as the gravitational constant

which has a value of:
G = (6.67428  0.00067) x 10 -11m3 kg -1 s -2 O

Newton’s law of gravitation refers to the forces of

attraction between particles. The mass of a Figure 8.3: An illustration of movement of planets under the
particle is concentrated at a point, and so any influence of the force of gravitation.

force acting on it is directed through that point.

In the case of an object in which the mass occupies
a large volume, the force of attraction acts at a Consider an object P which is travelling along the
point known as the centre of mass. If the mass is straight-line AB. Observe what happens if another
uniformly distributed, the centre of mass will be object O exerts a force F on P in a direction at right
at the geometric centre of the object. However, it angles to AB. The object P does not move directly
is usually located in a different position if towards O, but travels along the curved path
differences in density occur within the object. towards C. The actual change in direction of the
object depends on its mass, its speed and the
The sun exerts a force of attraction on the earth magnitude of the force acting on it. The sun exerts
and the earth exerts an equal and opposite force a gravitational force of attraction on each planet,
on the sun. In each case the forces of attraction as it travels in an elliptical path around the sun. In
are directed towards their centres of mass – as a similar way, the force of gravitation of the earth
indicated below. on the moon causes it to orbit the earth.

Similarly, satellites are projectiles that orbit

around a central massive body instead of falling
into it. Being projectiles, they are acted upon by
the force of gravity - a universal force that acts
over even large distances between any two
Earth masses. The motion of satellites, like any
Sun projectile, is governed by Newton's laws of
motion. For this reason, the mathematics of these
satellites emerges from an application of
If the earth is attracted towards the sun by the Newton's universal law of gravitation to the
force of gravitation, why does it not travel mathematics of circular motion.

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140
MASS AND SIZE OF THE PLANETS much heavier than the others. These planets are
often called the major planets.
Newton’s law of universal gravitation can be used
to calculate the mass of a planet. For example, if TABLE 8.5 shows the relative densities and
we consider an object of 1kg at the surface of the diameters of the planets. Note that the sizes of
earth, and we know that the radius of the earth the major planets are also much larger than the
(distance between others. As a result, the average densities of the
the centre of the major planets are relatively low. The higher
earth and the densities of the smaller planets are also apparent.
object) is  6378 m, Pluto, the ninth planet, was not discovered until
one can calculate  6378 1930. As a result of its smallness and remoteness
km from the earth, it can only be seen with a large
the mass of the
earth when the telescope. It is therefore rather difficult to obtain
force of attraction is accurate values of its mass and density.
measured. Using this method, scientists have
calculated that the mass of the earth is
TABLE 8.5
approximately 6.0 x 1024 kilogram.
Relative diameters and densities of the planets
Once the mass of the earth has been calculated, it
is possible to calculate the mass of the sun. To do Planet Relative Relative
this it is necessary to know the distance d Diameter Density
between the centres of the sun and the earth. The ( Earth = 1 ) (Water = 1)
force of attraction F, which the sun exerts on the Mercury 0.38 5.0
earth, can be calculated by studying the shape of Venus 0.97 4.9
the earth’s elliptical path around the sun. The
Earth 1.00 5.5
mass of the sun is found to be about 332,000
times greater than that of the earth. The same Mars 0.52 4.2
approach can be followed to calculate the masses Jupiter 11.2 1.3
of all the planets in our solar system – as listed in Saturn 9.5 0.7
TABLE 8.4.
Uranus 3.7 1.3
Neptune 3.5 1.6
TABLE 8.4
Masses of the Planets relative to that of The gravitational forces exerted by the earth on
Earth (Earth = 1) the gases in its atmosphere are strong enough to
prevent the gases from escaping into space. If the
Mercury 0.05 Jupiter 317.89
mass of a planet is low, however, the force of
Venus 0.81 Saturn 95.14 gravitation will also be small. For this reason,
Earth 1.00 Uranus 14.52 Mercury has not been able to hold an
Mars 0.11 Neptune 17.46 atmosphere, while Mars has only a very thin one.

By contrast, the major planets have extensive

atmospheres. The physical properties of the
Notice that according to TABLE 8.4, the planets
surface of a planet are determined by the
may be divided into two groups where the four
amounts and types of gases in its atmosphere.
planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are
However, we are unable to see the surfaces of
some planets, which possess atmospheres of high

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density. For example, Venus is obscured by thick atmosphere each day. Sometimes they occur in
clouds and it is difficult to obtain information showers of many thousands per hour, and these
about its surface. It is of interest, that are known as meteor showers.
spectroscopy has enabled us to determine that its
atmosphere contains much carbon dioxide and a Meteors bring a great deal of material into the
small amount of water vapour. There is no earth’s atmosphere. This is mainly in the form of
evidence of the existence of oxygen in its fine dust, yet it amounts to about 106 kilogram per
atmosphere. As the temperature of its surface is day. Deposits of this dust have been detected in
approximately 600o C, it is unlikely that there is life the upper atmosphere and also in the polar ice
on Venus. caps. Small meteors burn up completely in the
atmosphere. However, some of the larger ones
Asteroids reach the earth and are then called meteorites.
Scientists have examined these meteorites and
One will notice that there is quite a large gap found that they are of two kinds. Some are
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. There are, predominately iron and nickel, while others are
however, many thousands of small bodies in this similar to rocks found in the earth’s crust. Some
space, and the orbits of more than 2000 of these radioactive material has been found in meteorites
have been computed. These bodies travel around and tests have shown that they are about 4500
the sun and are therefore minor planets. They are million years old, suggesting that this could be the
known as asteroids and the area they occupy is age of the solar system.
known as the asteroid belt. The asteroids orbit the
sun in the same direction as the earth and in Large meteorites may have masses as large as
approximately the same plane. Although their 100,000 kg. They strike the earth with such force
paths are nearly circular, deflections occur when that they bury themselves deep in the ground,
they pass close to Mars or Jupiter. The asteroids and then explode. The fragments are then
range in size from bodies with diameters of scattered, and a huge crater is formed.
several hundred kilometres down to small pieces
of material. The largest asteroid is Ceres which has Comets
a diameter of about 750 kilometres.
A comet is a celestial body comprising a star like
Meteoroids head (nucleus), a surrounding haze (coma) and
usually a tail. It travels towards the sun from great
Meteoroids are stony or metallic particles that distances and may come from any direction. The
orbit the sun. They are much smaller than head is believed to be relatively solid and
asteroids – some are only a few millimetres in composed of meteoric material, ice and other
diameter. Meteoroids are a hazard to artificial frozen compounds of hydrogen. Gases liberated
satellites. from the head form the coma.

If a meteoroid enters the earth’s atmosphere it At a distance from the sun the coma appears
will become very hot as a result of friction with the diffuse and it has no tail. As it approaches the sun
atmosphere. It will then burn as a meteor and it becomes hotter, more gases are liberated and
flashes of light can be seen in the night sky. the coma grows. The pressure of solar radiation
Meteors are sometimes called “shooting stars”. and a stream of material from the sun (the solar
With the naked eye on a clear dark night, it is wind) then force some of these gases away to
often possible to see meteors at about ten-minute form the tail. This is illustrated in FIGURE 1.4
intervals. However, it is estimated that around the below.
earth, as many as a million may burn up in the

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 nebula. It is within nebula that stars (such as our
Sun) are born. Something, perhaps the shock
wave from an exploding supernova (dying star)
Sun triggered dust particles to be drawn together to
form a dense spherical cloud. The accumulation of
dust set off a chain reaction. As the core of the
cloud attracted more dust, its gravitational pull
increased. More and more dust was sucked in and
the cloud collapsed in on itself. As this happened,
the rotation of the cloud increased in speed, as
FIGURE 8.4 : An example of the motion of a comet around happens when spinning ice skaters pull in their
the sun.
arms. The rotational forces at the equator of the
cloud prevented dust along this plane being
Most comets miss the sun and pass around it in
drawn in, causing the cloud to flatten into a disc
long, narrow elliptical paths. It is believed that
spinning around a dense core. More and more
they belong to the solar system, and that there
mass accumulated and temperature increases
may be great numbers of them between the sun
dramatically. Eventually there is enough energy to
and points half-way to the nearest stars.
set off nuclear reactions. Hydrogen atoms fused
to form helium while releasing enormous
Some comets periodically reappear. The most
amounts of energy in vigorous bursts. This marks
spectacular of these is Halley’s Comet which
the birth of a sun. It will then take 1 to 10 million
returns every 75 years. Halley observed it in 1682,
years to settle.
identified it with earlier appearances of a great
A star can thus form from the fusion of hydrogen
comet, and correctly predicted its return. This
gas, as it contracts under the action of
comet is mentioned in records as far back as 240
gravitational forces. The amount of material
BC. During its 1910 appearance it had spectacular
available should lie between fixed limits and be
tail 50 million kilometres long and was most
neither too large nor too small. The hydrogen
impressive. It was last seen in 1985, but was not
compounds, which were present at the time of
very impressive. Halley’s Comet is due to reappear
the formation of our solar system, provided the
in 2060.
necessary supply of hydrogen for the ignition of
the nuclear furnace. As a result, the sun was
Sometimes the path of a comet takes it across the
created near the centre of our solar system, and
earth’s orbit. It then leaves a trail of meteoroids in
immediately began to send forth radiant energy
the form of fine dust. When the earth passes
into the space around it.
through this material, fragments enter the
atmosphere as meteors. Meteor showers then
The solar winds created by this outpouring of
occur, and the motions of the meteors can be
energy may have driven off most of the hydrogen
measured from photographs and by radar.
and other light gases from the surfaces of the
inner planets. They could also have prevented the
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
formation of another large planet from the
asteroids located between Mars and Jupiter.
Our solar system formed about 4.5 billion years
ago from a huge swirl cloud of dust (Remember
On the other hand, the more distant major
the universe is 14 billion years old. We are
planets would not have been affected to the same
therefore a relative young system). Throughout
extent. They therefore retained their hydrogen
the Milky Way, and other galaxies like it, are
and, as this is the lightest of all the elements, the
gigantic swirling clouds of dust and gas known as

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density of these planets has remained low. The
main features of the solar system were probably
established at this stage. However, over a period
of millions of years the material in the planets has
slowly become more and more compact, while
they have continued their motions around the sun
in the same direction as that of the original
nebula. This process of ‘coming together” is
known as accretion.

The Structure of our Sun

The Core is the inner most part of the Sun. Here
gravity has squeezed the Sun so much that
FIGURE 8.5: Structure of the sun (adapted from
hydrogen compresses together to form helium [Link], 2017)
and release energy through nuclear fusion. All the
energy that comes away from the Sun and all the Sun Spots are temporary phenomena on the
reaches the Earth started in the core. The core is photosphere of the Sun caused by intense
around 150 times as dense as water and has a magnetic activity, forming areas of reduced
temperature of around 15 million ºC. surface temperature. Although they are at
temperatures of roughly 3000–4500 K (2727–
The atmosphere of the sun is called the 4227 °C), the contrast with the surrounding
Chromosphere. The chromosphere is a few material at about 5,780 K (5,510 °C) leaves them
thousand kilometers thick. Temperatures ranges clearly visible as dark spots. Sunspots expand and
from 6,000 °C to 50,000 °C (at higher altitudes). It contract as they move across the surface of the
appears red because hydrogen atoms are in an Sun and can be from 16 km to 160,000 km in
excite state and emit radiation near the red part diameter. Sunspot occurrence can be used to help
of the visible spectrum. The Corona is the outer predict space weather, the state of the
layer of the Sun's atmosphere that extends for ionosphere, and the conditions of shortwave
millions of kms with temperatures reaching one radio propagation or satellite communications. It
million °C. has only a weak effect on the terrestrial climate in
a direct sense.
Solar flares are the sudden brightening observed
over the Sun's surface when a large energy release The shape of the earth
of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy (about a sixth of
the total energy output of the Sun each second) Until a few centuries ago it was believed that the
or 160,000,000,000 megatons of TNT equivalent, earth was flat. There is now ample evidence that
takes place. The flare ejects clouds of electrons, the earth is curved. For several centuries man has
ions, and atoms through the corona of the sun been able to sail around the world, and since the
into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a early 1960's photographs from space vehicles
day or two after the event. X-rays and UV have provided visible proof of its curvature. As a
radiation can affect Earth's ionosphere and result, it has been determined that the shape of
disrupt long-range radio communications. Solar the earth is approximately that of a sphere.
flares strongly influence the local space weather
in the vicinity of Earth and produce streams of
highly energetic particles impacting Earth's
magnetosphere and present radiation hazards to
spacecraft, astronauts, and cosmonauts.

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 North Pole A plane drawn parallel to the equator cuts the
earth in a small circle, which is known as a circle
of latitude. Figure 5 shows the positions of two
latitude circles, one in each hemisphere. A circle
Circle of of latitude is parallel to the equator and to all
latitude other circles of latitude. It is therefore often called
Axis a parallel of latitude. Sometimes it is also referred
Equator to as a line of latitude.

Circle of The latitude of a point on the earth’s surface is its

latitude angular distance north or south of the equator.
Figure 8.7 shows the latitudes of a number of
points on the earth.
South
FIGURE 8.6: Pole
Reference on the earth and the direction of
rotation which is from west to east. North Pole = 90N

A = 80N
Before we consider the shape of the earth in more
detail, it is desirable to establish a precise method
80
for locating points on the earth’s surface. To do
Equator = 0
this, we shall first make use of the fact that the
earth spins or rotates, as it travels on its elliptical - 60
path around the sun. B = 60S

The imaginary line about which the earth rotates

is called its axis. The axis passes through the South Pole = 90S
earth’s centre and intersects the surface of the
earth at two points. One is the North Pole and the
Figure 8.7: An example of the measurement of latitude on
other is the South Pole. the surface of the earth.

A plane (flat) surface can be drawn through the In figure 8.7, point A is located at 80o N, because
centre of the earth, perpendicular to earth’s axis. the line joining it to the centre of the earth makes
This is known as the equatorial plane, and it an angle of 80o with the equatorial plane. All
intersects the earth in a great circle which is points on the circle of latitude through point A are
known as the equator. located at 60o N. Point B is situated at 60o S.
Similarly, all points located at 60o S lie on the
As illustrated in Figure 8.6 the earth rotates on its latitude circle through B.
axis from west to east. Viewed from above the
South Pole, this rotation appears to be in a You can deduct from Figure 8.7 that the North
clockwise direction. On the other hand, an Pole is located at 90o N (or 90°) and the South Pole
observer located above the North Pole notices at 90o S (or -90°). The equator is at 0o. In order to
that the earth is spinning in an anti-clockwise determine the exact position of a point on the
direction. You should investigate the motion earth’s surface, it is necessary to have additional
yourself by spinning a globe of the earth or by information. The latitude merely tells us the
rotating a spherical object. (angular) distance north or south from the

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equator. Thus a point at 80o N or 60o S could be Date Line extends along most of its length. The
located anywhere on the circle of latitude passing calendar day commences at this line.
through the point A. Point P in Figure 8.8 lies on a meridian east of the
Greenwich meridian at longitude 10o E. The
In order to locate the exact position of the point, longitude of point Q is 10o W. As a result of these
firstly consider a plane passing through both poles studies, it is now evident that we can determine
of the earth (see Figure 8.8). This cuts the earth in the position of a point, if we know both its latitude
a great circle that is known as a meridian. A and its longitude.
meridian can be drawn through any point on the
earth’s surface and is often called the line of For instance, consider a point located at latitude
longitude through that point. 30 N, longitude 120 E. First locate the point
where the equator (latitude 0°) meets the Prime
The longitude of a point on the earth’s surface is Meridian through Greenwich (longitude 0°). Now
the angle between its meridian and a standard move northwards along this meridian to latitude
meridian passing through a given point at 30° N, and then proceed eastwards along the
Greenwich, England. The Greenwich Meridian is latitude circle 3O° N to the meridian at longitude
often referred to as the Prime Meridian and it has 120° E. The intersection of latitude line 30° N and
the longitude value of 0o. longitude line 120° E then determines the position
of the point on the earth's surface.

Important latitudes

Due to the inclination of earth’s axis (23.5º) the

P Q sun is never directly overhead north of 23.5N or
south of 23.5S. These latitudes are named “Tropic
meridian

of Cancer” in the northern hemisphere, and

‘Tropic of Capricorn” in the southern hemisphere.
10 10
10W When the sun is reaches its furthest northern or
0 10E
southern position and is directly ahead of these
extreme latitudes, it is called a solstice. This
occurs once a year in austral summer (21/22
December) and once during austral winter (20/21
July). An equinox is when the sun passes directly
over the equator. There are two equinoxes
Figure 8.8: An example of the measurement of longitude on each year. The word equinox comes from
the surface of the earth.
two Latin words meaning "equal" and "night". It
refers to day and night being the same length.
As one moves eastwards from the Greenwich
Equinoxes occur around 20 March and 22/23
meridian, the longitude values increase until the
September every year. Solstices and equinoxes
value 180 is reached. This is the meridian
are related to the seasons.
opposite to the Prime Meridian and it passes
through the Pacific Ocean. Similarly, longitude
The Equatorial Bulge
values increase as one moves westwards from
Greenwich until the 180 meridian is again
When the shape of the earth is examined more
reached from the opposite direction. This
closely, it is evident that no simple geometrical
meridian is of interest because the International
figure will accurately represent its shape. Even
when local variations, such as hills and valleys, are

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146
disregarded, the earth is only approximately A rotating particle experiences a force pulling it
spherical in shape. Actually, the earth is flattened away from the centre of rotation, but according to
at the poles. The distance from the centre of the Newton, an opposite force allows for the particle
earth to a pole is known as the polar radius and is to rotate. The greater the speed of the particle,
approximately 6357 km. The equatorial radius is the greater is the force that pulls the particle away
the distance from the centre of the earth to the from the centre of rotation. Therefore, a larger
equator, which is about 6378 km. As a result, the outward force is experienced at the equator in
earth has a bulge of approximately 21 km. relation to the force at the poles. All particles,
however, will not be pulled away from the centre
Relative to the mean radius of the earth, the of the earth because of the constant gravitational
equatorial bulge is very small, and it is not even force that pulls them back to the centre of the
noticeable to an astronaut orbiting the earth. earth. As a result, the earth has adjusted itself to
However, astronomers have shown that it leads to a shape, such that the faster rotating particles are
a slight wobbling of the earth's axis. located slightly further from the centre of the
earth as those that rotates at a reduced speed.
Other planets also exhibit an equatorial bulge. Hence the equatorial bulge – see figure 8.9.
Jupiter and Saturn are considerably flattened at
the poles, and the effect can be easily detected. It The shape of the earth is often described as being
is of interest to note that both these planets are that of an oblate spheroid. As the word oblate
spinning rapidly, and are composed of materials means "flattened", this is just another way of
that are less rigid than those of the earth. This saying that the earth's shape is like that of a
suggests that the equatorial bulge arises from the flattened sphere.
rotation of a planet on its axis.
The Dimensions of the Earth
Particles of the earth located on the equator are
travelling at high speeds in a great radius circle of Any person travelling from one country to another
the earth. Others nearer the poles move in small is impressed by the great size of the earth. We can
circles at lower speeds, while at each pole the determine the approximate distance of a
rotation of the earth does not produce any complete journey around the equator if we
movement at all. assume that the path is around the circumference
of a circle with a radius of 6378 kilometres. The
formula for the circumference (C) of a circle of
radius R is:
C = 2.π.R where π = 3.14 15927

Using this formula we obtain a value of C = 40 074

F1
km. This path is not exactly circular and actual
measurements on the surface of earth indicate
F2 that the equatorial circumference is about 40 076
km. Due to the fact that the earth is rotating, a
point on the earth's equator travels this distance
over a period of 24 hours.
F3 ________________________________________
EXERSISE
Calculate the speed at the equator of a particle, in
FIGURE 8.9: An example of the magnitude of forces caused
by earth’s rotation of one revolution every 24 hours. Here F1 km.h-1, at the equator.
> F2 > F3 ________________________________________

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147
A person travelling around the earth from north
to south would pass through the two poles. The
polar radius of the earth is 6 357 km, and we can
obtain an approximate value for the distance
travelled, by assuming that the journey is around
the circumference of a circle. The path is
approximately elliptical due to the flattening of
the poles, and the polar circumference is about 40
008 km. Notice that the curved path from the
equator to a pole is therefore approximately 10
002 km. The actual distance travelled varies
slightly from one meridian to another, due to
irregularities in the earth's surface, such as
mountains, continents and other surface features.
The height of the most elevated position (Mount
Everest) is about 8.8 km above mean sea level. Figure 8.10: Internal structure of Earth
The deepest part of the oceans is called the
Marianas Trench. It is located in the Pacific Ocean It is more difficult to determine the characteristics
and is nearly 11 km deep. Yet it would be of the earth at levels below its surface. We know
impossible to detect this irregularity of the earth's that there is an outer layer of surface soil of
surface, if it were drawn to scale on your circle as varying thickness lying upon a mass of hard rock.
shown above. You can therefore realise why it is This is known as the earth's crust. The earth's
usually sufficiently accurate to use a circle to crust extends under the oceans and is continuous
represent a plane section through the earth's around the earth. The average thickness of the
centre. crust is probably about 35 km. In comparison with
the mean radius of the earth, the crust is
The structure of the Earth therefore extremely thin. The thickness of the
crust is greater under the continents than below
On earth, continents cover about 29% of earth’s the oceans. Below some areas of the oceans, it is
surface, while the oceans cover about 71% of the believed to be only about 5 kilometres thick.
surface. Mining exploration has provided us with an
opportunity to study some of the materials, which
Above the earth's surface lies the atmosphere. are located within a few kilometres of the earth's
This becomes thinner and thinner with increasing surface. Below these levels, direct examination of
altitude, and only about 0.1% lies above 50 km. the thin crust of the earth is not yet possible.
There is, however, no sharp boundary between
the atmosphere and the sparse interplanetary gas The area below the earth’s crust is known as the
beyond. interior of the earth and indirect evidence has to
be studied in order to determine its
characteristics. Some information can be inferred
about the nature of the interior of the earth, if we
first calculate the average density of the earth as
a whole:
M
=
V

where M is mass and V is volume.

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We have mentioned before that Newton's law of MOTIONS OF THE EARTH
gravitation can be used to determine the mass of
the earth which is approximately 5.98 x 1024 kg. The environment in which we live and the pattern
Suppose we assume that the shape of the earth is of our daily lives are directly affected by the
that of a sphere. The volume (V) of a sphere is various motions of the earth in space. We are
given by: conscious of the alternation of day and night, as
the sun shines on different parts of the earth.
4 3 During the year we also aware of the passage of
V= r
3 the seasons, as the earth makes its long journey
around the sun. In this lecture we will consider
where R is the earth’s radius how the various motions of the earth can be
detected and examine some of the consequences
The mean radius of the earth is about 6378 km, of these motions.
meaning that its volume is approximately 1.08 x
1021 m3. When substituting these values into the The Revolution of the earth around the sun
density formula, we obtain a value of the average
density of the earth. We have already mentioned that the earth and
________________________________________ the other planets move in elliptical orbits around
EXERCISE the sun. The distance of the earth from the sun is
Calculate the average density of the earth. approximately 150 million kilometres, and that
_______________________________________ the time for the earth to complete its revolution
of the sun is one year.
The earth’s average density appears to be about
5.5 times greater than that of water. The mean The motion of the earth around the sun can be
density of the earth's crust is estimated to be detected by observing a star located on your
about 2.8 times greater than that of water. This celestial meridian. This is the north-south line
means that the density of the crustal rocks is which passes directly over your [Link] along
below the average value for the earth as a whole. this meridian towards the equator at midnight
Material in the interior of the earth must have a and select a bright star in the sky. On the following
higher density than that of the crust. This may be night at midnight this star will appear slightly to
partly due to the high pressures to which the the west of your meridian. This westward
interior is subjected and partly due to the movement can be observed night after night.
presence of elements of high density.

The regions lying above the interior of the earth

can be divided into three sections, depending on SUN
whether the earth materials are solid, liquid or
gas.
- 30-
The earth's crust which forms the outer shell of
solid material is known as the lithosphere. A large
W
part of the earth's crust is covered by the waters E W
E
of oceans, lakes and rivers or by ice and snow,
which is known as the hydrosphere. Above the A B
LIGHT FROM STAR
surface we find the atmosphere.
FIGURE 8.11: The earth follows an elliptic orbit around the
sun

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149
Figure 8.11 shows that the revolution of the earth positions. Actually, the axis of the earth is always
around the sun is responsible for this apparent inclined at an angle of about 23.5o from the
westward movement of the star. If you continue perpendicular to the plane of the earth's orbit.
your midnight observations of the star for a
month, the earth will travel from A to B in FIGURE It is possible to detect the rotation of the earth on
8.10. During this time it will complete 1/12th of a its axis by observing the positions of the so-called
revolution around the sun. A line joining the earth "fixed" stars. Remember that we discussed the
to the sun sweeps out an angle of 360o in one situation in which an observer located at centre of
year. Therefore, in one month it sweeps out an the earth might imagine that the distant stars
angle of 30o (1/12 of 360o) as the earth travels were "fixed" to the celestial sphere. The "fixed"
from A to B. stars would appear to be stationery relative
observer at the centre of the sphere. Another
The rays of light received from the star are observer located on the surface of the earth is,
approximately parallel, because the star is so however, rotating around the centre of the earth.
distant from the earth. Notice how the star will It would seem to him that the whole celestial
appear to have drifted westward when the earth sphere was rotating about the axis joining the two
is in position B. This westward movement relative celestial poles. The sphere would appear to be
to an observer (O) on the earth's surface will carrying the stars around with it. Twenty-four
continue month after month. A year after the first hours later, the stars will appear to be located in
midnight observation the star will appear in its the same positions in the sky as they were the
original position in the sky. The earth will then night before. The earth will have made one
have completed one revolution around the sun. complete rotation on its axis!

The rotation of the earth It is of interest to note that the rotation of the
earth can now be detected by observing the
In the previous section we have discussed the apparent paths of earth satellites. A satellite can
motion of the earth in its elliptical path around the be placed into an orbit, which remains unchanged
sun. As it travels on its long journey, the earth has relative to the "fixed" stars.
another motion. It spins or rotates on its own axis.
The axis of the earth passes through its centre and If the plane of its orbit is approximately parallel to
joins its north and south poles. Figure 8.12 shows the earth's axis, its path will take it approximately
several positions of the earth in its orbit around over the poles. Suppose the period of rotation of
the sun. the satellite is 100 minutes, then the observer on
the earth's surface will have moved from position
O to position P in Figure 8.13 in 100 minutes, due
to the rotation of the earth. At P the observer will
notice that the satellite is lower in the western
sky. It will therefore appear to be moving
westward relative to him, due to the fact that he
is located on the rotating earth. Some earth
satellites are equipped with television cameras,
which enable them to photograph the clouds in
FIGURE 8.12: An example of the tilt in the earth’s axis the earth's atmosphere. As a satellite passes over
relative to the plain formed by its elliptic orbit around the sun.
the earth's surface, it photographs clouds which
lie to the west of those observed on its previous
Notice that the direction of its axis in one position
orbit. In this way, meteorologists obtain
is always parallel to its direction in all other

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150
photographs of clouds which cover a wide area of cm per year. Its diameter of 3475 km makes it one
the earth's surface, including the oceans. of the bigger objects in our solar system, even
larger than Pluto.

It takes 27.3 days for the moon to orbit the Earth.

And it takes the same time to rotate once around
its own axis. Hence the reason why Earth always
sees the same side of the moon. The dark plains
that are visible are volcanic features called
seas/maria. The moon has a solid iron core, with a
partly melted outer core. A rocky lithosphere
Figure 8.13: Relative movement of an object through
space due to the rotation of earth around its own axis. (1330 km thick) is found underneath the crust
which is about 70 km deep.
As a result of our studies, we are now in a position
to summarise two important motions of the The current theory of how the moon formed,
earth. Once in every day the earth completes one suggests that a giant object hit Earth and a piece
rotation on it axis, which is always inclined at an broke off. Scientists suggested the impactor was
angle of 23 ½ degrees from the perpendicular to about the size of Mars. There is no air pressure on
the plane of its orbit. While the earth spins on its the moon, and it has only a very thin atmosphere.
axis, it also travels around the sun in an elliptical Temperatures range between -173ºC at night, to
orbit. As it takes a year for the earth to complete +127ºC in daytime.
one revolution of the sun, it must rotate on its axis
approximately 365 ¼ times in each year, as The moon's gravity pulls at the Earth, causing
determined by successive transits of the sun predictable rises and falls in sea levels known as
across the meridian. tides.

ORBITS OF SATELLITES AROUND EARTH

There are many different orbits of satellites

depending on their use. However, two types are
relevant to meteorology. Polar orbiting satellites
passes above both poles during each revolution. It
will cross the equator at a different longitude for
every orbit. The main use of these satellites is to
do observations (for example cloud mapping) of
the whole earth. Geostationary satellites are
earth-orbiting at a fixed altitude (~35800 km)
directly over the equator. It revolves from west to
east in the same direction. The positioning allows Figure 8.14: Illustration of the phases of the moon.

for continuous observation of the same spot on

The moon changes phase due to the portion that
Earth. This is useful, for example, to monitor large
is lit by the sun on a cyclical basis as it orbits Earth.
weather systems such as fronts of cyclones.
The portion of the moon that is visible from earth
can vary between 100% visible (full moon) and 0%
The moon
(new moon). When the moon “grows”, it is in its
waxing phase. When it “shrinks” it is waning. Full
The moon is a natural satellite that orbits Earth
moon occurs from sunset to sunrise. Figure 8.14
(384 400 km away) and moves further away by 3.8

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151
depicts the phases of the moon as seen from
Earth. Each of the 4 phases lasts about 7 days.

BLUE MOON
When two full moons occur in one month

BLACK MOON
Once in a while a month goes by without a full
moon. This can only occur during February.

RED MOON
This happens only during an eclipse. The sun,
the moon, the earth are in such a position that
sunlight has to pass through the atmosphere of
Earth to reach the moon. This causes an optical
phenomenon when the Earth’s atmosphere
scatters the light from the sun, but red
spectrum passed through.

WET MOON
The terms wet (and opposite dry) moon
originate from the Hawaiian mythology. It is
believed that the moon appears as a bowl
which would fill up with rain. The period where
this is most common is between 20 January
and 18 February. This can all scientifically be
explained by the path (or eclipse) of the moon.
Wet and dry moons have nothing to do with
actual water on the moon, or with wet effects
on Earth.

During eclipses, the moon, Earth and sun are in

alignment. A lunar eclipse takes place when Earth
gets directly between the sun and the moon, and
Earth's shadow falls on the moon. A lunar eclipse
can occur only during a full moon. A solar
eclipse occurs when the moon gets directly
between the sun and Earth, and the moon's
shadow falls on Earth. A solar eclipse can occur
only during a new moon. Solar eclipses are rare in
a given location because the shadow of the moon
is so small on the Earth's surface. The last total
solar eclipse in the United States happened in
Aug. 2017, and the next one will take place in April
2024.

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