NSSP 211

NATURAL SCIENCES: INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL

GEOGRAPHY
EDUCATION

Study Unit 1

THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND

 NSSP 211
Dear Future Educators, colleagues and Leaders, you're welcome to this
exciting semester. We look forward to make this semester interesting and
knowledgeable for all. However, for us to be able to attain our goals, I
would like us to take note of the following;
▪ Groups work is compulsory and will counts as part of your continuous
assessment marks; so students are strongly advice cooperate
▪ Submission of assignments is compulsory and should be done within the
stipulated dateline. Late submissions are tantamount to penalties
▪ Students are advice to notify the lecture in time in case of absenteeism
prior to test, assignments or groups works activities
▪ Practical's and class attendances register will count as part of your
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valid reason and or prior notification will result in penalty.
 Early History of the Universe

• Matter as we know it did not exist at the time of the Big Bang, only pure energy.
Within one second, the 4 fundamental forces were separated

➢Gravity - the attraction of one body toward another

➢Electromagnetic force - binds atoms into molecules, can be transmitted by

photons

➢Strong nuclear force - binds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus

➢Weak nuclear force - breaks down an atom’s nucleus, producing radioactive

decay
 Early History of the Universe

➢After 3 minutes, photons and neutrons began to fuse to form the nuclei of
hydrogen and helium atoms

➢About 5 Billion years later, temperatures were cool enough for complete
hydrogen and helium atoms to form

➢Photons escaped from matter about the same time, and light existed for the first
time
 Changing Composition of the Universe

➢About 5-6 billion years later, with expansion still occurring, stars and galaxies
began forming from leftover matter - hydrogen (H) and helium (He)

➢Nuclear fusion in stars has reduced the original composition of 100% H and He
to 98%.

➢When a dying star explodes, the heavier elements created by fusion are blown
into space to be recycled by newly forming stars

➢The overall composition of the galaxies is gradually changing to the heavier

elements
 The birth of stars
• Introduction; There are so many theories that tries to explain the birth of stars; but
the most prominent is the Nebula theory.
❑Brief synthesis of the birth of a star
• Stars are born in the dusty gas clouds. Driven by gravity, denser parts of the
cloud collapses further to form
• As the gas core collapses on itself due to its own weight, a disk of gas and dust is
formed. Gas and dust falls in so quickly with so much energy that sometimes a
jet of material is seen being shot out
• Sometimes strong winds and shocks from the nearby young stars can "blow out"
the dusty cover of the young solar systems and reveal the remnants of the
forming solar system
• When the solar system is finally formed and dust has cleared, remnants of the
formation process and outlying material in the solar systems (such as "Kuiper
belt objects" and "Oort clouds") can be found surrounding the systems
 The Solar System - Its Origin and Early Development
❑Introduction
❑What is the SOLAR SYSTEM and Why is referred to as the SOLAR SYSTEM!!!!.
This therefore introduce us to what is know as the FORMATION OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM.
❑ It is worth to state that our Solar system which is located at the edge of Milky
Way Galaxy contain billions of stars forming a great Spiral Pinwheel
➢According to scientist, the Solar system was formed by a cloud of GAS and
DUST in space. So the big question is, how did this happen????
➢It is hypothesized that, at the beginning, there was an explosion of a near by star
known as SUPERNOVA
➢The Squeezing made the cloud start to collapse, as gravity pulled the gas and
dust together, forming a solar nebula
 The solar system: Its Origin and Early Development
❑What is the nebula?
✓A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust and Gas (hydrogen,
helium and ionized gas). It was the name given by any diffuse
astronomical objects including galaxies beyond the milky way.
➢Collapse and Rotation
The slowly rotating solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity to
form a rapidly rotating disk, with the Sun at the center. Collisions of
gas and dust within the disk concentrated the material into a thin
plane producing Planetesimal, Protoplanets and later on
Planets…
➢Refer to page 412; Physical geography by William M; Marsh;
Martin M . Kaufman.
The formation of planets: The cloud collapse phase
The formation of planets: The cloud collapse phase
The formation of planets; Formation of Protoplanetary
disk:
 Definitions of key concepts

➢Planet: A non-luminous celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet,

illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves.

➢Satellite: A celestial body that orbits a planet; a moon.

➢Comet: A celestial body, observed only in that part of its orbit that is relatively
close to the sun, having a head consisting of a solid nucleus surrounded by a
nebulous coma up to 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) in diameter and an
elongated curved vapour tail arising from the coma when sufficiently close to the
sun. (Image: Comet Halley, courtesy of NASA)
 Definitions conti….

➢Asteroid: Any of numerous small celestial bodies that revolve around the sun,
with orbits lying chiefly between Mars and Jupiter and characteristic diameters
between a few and several hundred kilometers. Also called minor planet,
planetoid.

➢Trans-Neptunian Objects: A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the

solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. The Kuiper Belt
and Oort cloud are names for some subdivisions of that volume of space.
 Definitions conti….
➢Milky Way: The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy. All the stars we see in
the night sky are in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky
Way because it appears as a milky band of light in the sky when you see it in a
really dark area.

➢Nebula: A nebula is a formation in space which is constituted mostly of helium,

dust, and other gases in various concentrations. The shape and size of a nebula
varies, and as such there can be various types of formations having different
sizes. Very often, they are huge in size, and their diameters can be a number of
light years across. It is derived from Latin, and as such means a cloud.
 Definitions conti….
➢Light-year: A unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light
travels in one year, which is 9.4607 × 1012 km (nearly 6 million miles).

➢Elliptical orbits: A small body in space orbits a large one (like a planet around
the sun) along an elliptical path, with the large body being located at one of the
ellipse foci. Two bodies with similar mass orbiting around a common barycentre
with elliptic orbits.

➢Perihelion and aphelion: The perihelion and aphelion are the nearest and
farthest points (asides) of a body's direct orbit around the Sun. The perihelion is
the point in the orbit of a celestial body where it is nearest to its orbital focus,
generally a star.
 Definitions conti….
➢Geoid form: The shape that the surface of the oceans would take under the
influence of Earth's gravity and rotation alone, in the absence of other influences
such as winds and tides.

➢Astronomy: The branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and
the physical universe as a whole.

➢Galactic system: The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate

system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its centre, the primary direction
aligned with the approximate centre of the Milky Way galaxy, and the fundamental
plane parallel to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.
 Definitions contin….

Meteors: A small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's
atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a
streak of light.

Meteorite: A piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the earth's surface from
outer space as a meteor. Over 90 per cent of meteorites are of rock while the
remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel.

Nebular hypothesis: The theory that the solar and stellar systems were
developed from a primeval nebula.
 Studying space
People have been fascinated by space for thousands
of years.
Long before modern astronomy revealed the secrets of
the cosmos, ancient civilization tried to make sense of
the night sky.
Over four thousand years ago, people in Europe laid
out giant circles of stone to mark the movement of the
Sun and Moon.
At around the same time, Egyptians were using the
movements of the Moon and the brightest star, Sirius,
to make their calendars.
Through history, people have used the stars to guide
their travels.
 Studying space
However, it wasn’t until the invention of the
telescope around four hundred years ago that
astronomers were finally able to see the Moon and
plants in great detail.
At last, they were able to understand what these
strange objects in the sky were and why they moved
the way they did.
Over the following centuries, the development of the
bigger and better telescopes has let people see
even more distant objects.
In the past two decades, telescopes have even been
sent into space to see further than ever before.
Despite all remains mysterious. There are still a lot
more to discover.
 The Solar System
➢The Solar System: Consists of the
Sun and all the objects orbiting
within its gravitational field and
extends to the edge of the Oort
Cloud.
➢There are eight planets in the
solar system: four inner rocky
planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars) and four outer gas planets
(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune).
 The Solar System
➢The planets follow nearly circular orbits around the Sun and they all lie in the
same plane, which is known as the Solar Ecliptic.

➢The inner and outer planets are separated by the Asteroid Belt, which contains
many thousands of asteroids. Some more than 1000 km in diameter.

➢It takes light over four hours to travel from the Sun to Neptune.

➢All the planets, with the exception of Mercury and Venus, have at least one
moon and altogether there are at least 136 moons in the Solar System.

➢Pluto used to be considered a planet, but in 2006 it was officially designated as

a planetoid along with some asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects.
 The Solar System
➢The Kuiper Belt is a disc-shaped region of
space located 30-100 Astronomical Unit (AU)
from the Sun, which contains numerus orbiting
objects ranging from 50-2000 km in diameter.
➢A spherical region of space that extends
between 10,000 and 200,000 AU from the Sun,
the Oort Cloud contains an estimated 1000
billion comets.
➢The outer edge of the Oort Cloud (the edge
of the Solar System) is about halfway to the
nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which may well
be surrounded by its own comet cloud.
The Solar System
The Milky way
 The laws of planetary movement as formulated by
Johannes Kepler
➢In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler proposed three laws
of planetary motion.
➢Kepler was able to summarize the carefully collected data
of his mentor - Tycho Brahe - with three statements that
described the motion of planets in a sun-centered solar
system.
➢Kepler's efforts to explain the underlying reasons for such
motions are no longer accepted; nonetheless, the actual
laws themselves are still considered an accurate
description of the motion of any planet and any satellite.
Historical development of astronomy
Telescope Types and Designs
There are three basic types of optical telescopes – Refractor,
Newtonian reflector and Catadioptric. All of these telescopes are
designed to collect light and bring it to a focus point so that it can be
magnified by an eyepiece, however each design does it in a different
manner. Each of the designs has the potential to perform very well, and
all have their own virtues, as well as faults.
 Edwin Hubble at Mt. Wilson

Hubble’s observations at the 100 inch during the

1920’s led him to the conclusion that the universe
is expanding, and that an object’s recession velocity
is proportional to its distance from the observer.

Hubble guiding the Hooker

100 inch telescope in 1923. The Hooker 100 inch telescope atop Mt. Wilson
near Pasadena, CA. It was the largest telescope in
the world from 1917-1947.
Refractor
The Refractor, also known as the
dioptrics, is a telescope that uses lenses
to refract, (bend), the light that it
collects. This refraction causes parallel
light rays that converge at a focal point
at the opposite end, where they can be
magnified by an eyepiece. The large lens
at the front is called the objective lens.
The objective lens usually comprises of
two or more individual lenses that are
bonded and or arranged together to
make up what is called the objective lens
cell. The glass material used can also
vary which will help in the overall
performance of the objective lens.
Advantages
• Little or no maintenance and is easy to use.
• Reliable due to the simplicity of design.
• Excellent for lunar, planetary or binary star viewing.
• Good for terrestrial viewing.
• High contrast images due to its clear aperture (no central obstruction).
• Good colour correction in achromatic designs and excellent in
apochromatic, fluorite and ED designs.
• Sealed optical tube reduces image degrading air currents and protects the
optics.
• Objective lens is usually permanently mounted and aligned.
Disadvantages
• Usually more expensive per inch of aperture than Newtonians or
Catadioptrics.
• Heavier, longer and bulkier than equivalent aperture Newtonians or
Catadioptrics
• The cost and bulk factors usually limit the maximum size to smaller
apertures.
• Less suited for observation of deep sky objects such as distant galaxies and
nebulae because of practical aperture limitations.
• Some colour aberration in achromatic designs (doublet).
• Poor reputation due to low quality imported toy telescopes; a reputation
unjustified when dealing with a quality refractor from a reputable
manufacturer.
Newtonian Reflector
The Newtonian Reflector, also
known as catoptrics, is a telescope
which uses a spherical or concave
parabolic primary mirror to collect,
reflect and focus the light onto a flat
secondary mirror (diagonal). This
secondary mirror in turn reflects the
light out of an opening in the side of
the tube and into an eyepiece for
focus and magnification.
Disadvantages
• Requires regular alignment (collimation) of optics in order to perform
at its best. Badly aligned optics can make the image quality suffer
quite dramatically.
• Primary mirror may require re-coating (usually after years of service).
• The open nature of the tube assembly could mean more complicated
cleaning of mirror surfaces when compared to telescopes of other
designs.
• Generally not suited for terrestrial applications.
• Slight light loss due to secondary (diagonal) obstruction when
compared with refractors.
Catadioptrics
Catadioptrics are telescopes that
use a combination of mirrors and
lenses to fold the light path and
direct it for focus and magnification
through a hole in the primary
mirror. There are two popular
designs, the Maksutov-Cassegrain
and Schmidt-Cassegrain. Both
designs have similar advantages and
disadvantages.
Advantages
• Closed tube design reduces image degrading air currents.
• Most are extremely compact and portable.
• Easy to use.
• Durable and virtually maintenance free.
• Large apertures at reasonable prices and usually less expensive than
equivalent aperture refractors.
• Most versatile type of telescope.
• More accessories available than with other types of telescopes.
• Best near focus capability of any type telescope
Disadvantages
• More expensive than Newtonians of equal aperture.
• It is not what people expect a telescope to look like.
• Slight light loss due to secondary mirror obstruction compared to
refractors.
• May suffer from image shift when focusing due to focus design
moving the entire primary mirror.
• May have a narrower field of view (Maksutov's) when compared to
similar aperture Newtonians or Refractors due to longer focal lengths.
 Exciting videos to watch. Use the link below

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 Earth
• The third planet out from the Sun, the Earth, is 149,6 million km away on
average.

• The Earth is the fifth largest planet in the Solar system, with a diameter of 12, 756
km and a circumference of 40,075 km at the Equator.

• Along with Mercury, Venus and Mars, the Earth is one of four rocky planets. It is
made mostly of rock, with a core of iron and nickel.

• No other planet in the Solar system has liquid water on its surface, so Earth is
uniquely suitable for life. More than 70% of Earth`s surface is underwater.
 Earth
• The atmosphere is mainly harmless nitrogen and life-giving oxygen, and it is over
200 km deep. The oxygen has been made and maintained by plants over billions
of years.

• A magnetic field, stretching 60, 000 km out into space, protects Earth from the
Sun’s radiation.

• The Earth’s orbit around the Sun is 940 million km in length and takes 365.242.

• Although the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, it orbits the Sun on a
level plane – the plane of the Ecliptic.
Why is there life on earth?

• Earth is unique in the Solar System

as being the only planet which is
able to support life in all its forms.
• That is from basic living micro-
organisms to highly sophisticated
and intelligent human beings.
• There are many reasons why this
happens.
 Reason One: Atmosphere
➢Earth has a breathable atmosphere. Oxygen is the
gas that is required for the life of most creatures.
➢This is present in Earth's atmosphere and also in
water.
➢Oxygen is constantly put into the atmosphere by
plants and trees.
➢Earth's atmosphere also contains a small amount
of carbon dioxide.
➢This CO2 is a poisonous gas which makes up most
of the atmosphere of planets like Venus and Mars
and makes them unable to support human life.
➢However, its smaller presence on Earth is useful as
it helps to moderate the planet's temperature and is
absorbed by plants during photosynthesis to
produce oxygen.
 Reason Two: Climate
➢Earth has a suitable climate. This is caused by the
moderate amount of carbon dioxide in the planet's
atmosphere, which is constantly refreshed
whenever there is a volcanic eruption.
➢The temperature on Earth does not go from one
extreme to the other either. Mercury can be
anything from 200°c below freezing to 375°c
above. At 375°c, water would only exist as a gas,
and the planet would be completely dry.
➢Venus has a surface temperature of 480°c, which
would be much too hot for anybody to live in.
➢Mars, although it can reach 25°c, is usually
freezing and can be as cold as -140°c, a
temperature which would freeze blood and water.
Other planets are colder still.
 Reason Three: Water
➢Earth has water! Water is considered to be the
most important chemical necessary for life. It
contains the oxygen needed for life.
➢Water doesn't burn skin (like liquids containing
acids do), it is drinkable, and it allows life-
providing molecules to move around easily.
➢Other moons in the Solar System, such as
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, are believed to have
oceans of water under its icy surface.
➢Scientists believe that the presence of water on
other objects in the solar system greatly increases
the chances of life existing on them.
➢Water on Earth is abundant and can be found in
its three states of matter. It can be frozen, taking
the form of ice. It can be liquid, seen in seas and
oceans and lakes. It can also be a gas, seen as
clouds.
➢The blue glow at the top of the Earth is the
planet's thin atmosphere.
 Reason Four: Light
➢All planets receive light from the Sun, but no planet uses it as
usefully as Earth. Trees and plants on the planet produce
oxygen through a process called photosynthesis.
➢It is believed that if we were able to get plants to grow on
another planet, such as Mars, they would begin putting oxygen
into the planet's atmosphere and increase the possibility of life.
This process is sometimes referred to as terraforming and is a
requirement for the possible existence of human beings on other
planets.
➢Photosynthesise on Earth is also influence by the length of time
the planet takes to spin once on its axis. Taking just under 24
hours means that each side of the planet receives sunlight
regularly. If we look at a planet like Venus, which takes 243 days
to spin on its axis, it means that for a large period of time certain
parts of the planet are in complete darkness. So even if the
planet could support life, it would struggle to do so. But Mars,
with a day length similar to that of Earth, and quite a bit of light, it
could be a possibility.
 Reason Five: The Sun
➢All of the reasons given above for life existing on Earth are
only possible because of one main reason.
➢If there was no Sun, there would be no life on Earth.
Technically, Earth probably wouldn't exist either! Because of
Earth's ideal distance from the Sun, it receives the perfect
amount of heat and light to allow life to be created and to
support it.
➢Imagine what would happen if the Sun suddenly vanished.
How would you keep warm? How would you see? How
would you get food and drink? How would plants and trees
grow? How would they photosynthesise? Where would
Earth go? The Sun's gravity keeps Earth in its orbit, but if
the Sun vanished, Earth would simply float away.
 Reason Six: The Ozone Layer
➢The Sun is good, but it isn't completely good. The Sun continually pumps out
radiation.
➢This is ultraviolet radiation or UV rays. Only about 1% of the ultraviolet radiation
that the Sun sends to Earth actually reaches the surface. Small amounts of
exposure to UV rays are beneficial. They cause the body to produce Vitamin
➢What prevents most of these dangerous UV rays from reaching the surface is the
ozone layer.
➢The ozone layer is a part of Earth's atmosphere situated in an area known as the
stratosphere. The ozone layer starts at between 10 to 17 kilometres (6 to 10 miles)
from Earth's surface and extends up to 50 kilometres (30 miles) high.
➢Ozone is able to absorb most ultraviolet radiation so prevents it from reaching the
surface. However, some manmade products use chemicals which can damage the
ozone layer if allowed out. These chemicals are known as CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons) and are often used in refrigeration.
 Reason Seven: Earth's Magnetic Field
As we've just mentioned, the Sun sends out lots of
radiation. It spreads this radiation across the entire solar
system carried through what is known as the solar wind.
But what protects the atmosphere? Why, Earth's magnetic
field, of course! At the core of Earth is a load of molten iron.
Iron is a very magnetic element, and it causes Earth to act
as one giant magnet.
It's basically why Earth is said to have a north pole and a
south pole. The radiation that the Sun sends out is
electromagnetic radiation.
As Earth's iron core produces a magnetic field, it is able to
repel most of the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. By
doing so, it prevents the solar wind from stripping Earth of
its protective atmosphere.
 The Effect of the Earth’s Rotation & revolution

➢There are three basic types of movements known as Galactic movements,

rotation and revolution.
➢However, only two types of this movements will be consider because of the
phenomenon of day and night, variation in the length of days and
changes in seasons.
FIGURE 13.26

Earth Science: An Introduction, Third Edition. Hendrix/Thompson/Turk. @2021 Cengage Learning, inc.
FIGURE 13.26 (A)

Earth Science: An Introduction, Third Edition. Hendrix/Thompson/Turk. @2021 Cengage Learning, inc.
FIGURE 13.26 (B)

Earth Science: An Introduction, Third Edition. Hendrix/Thompson/Turk. @2021 Cengage Learning, inc.
FIGURE 13.26 (C)

Earth Science: An Introduction, Third Edition. Hendrix/Thompson/Turk. @2021 Cengage Learning, inc.
 THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH
➢ The word rotation means the earth spin on its
axis; referring to n imaginary line from North to
South Pole.
➢ This rotation occurs in a constant rate; having one
complete turn in respect to the sun in 24hrs
(360°).
➢ The earth rotate in an eastward direction
➢ The earth rotate in a direction opposite to the
movement of the sun and moon in the sky.
➢ This rotation of the earth brings about changes in
day and night as well as circulatory
movements of atmosphere and oceans
 Earth movements contin….
❑Why can we not perceive the earth rotation?
➢Due to constant velocity
➢Due to the absent of near by object to compare the speed or rotation of
the earth
➢The atmosphere rotate with the earth.
• Questions
1. How can you explain to learners why it seems the sun is moving hence; it
rises to the east and set to the west ? Answer during discussion!!!
2. Explain what causes variation in solar insolation at different latitudes?
Answer during discussion!!!
3. Distinguish between insolation and solar radiation?
• Answer to question 3: Solar radiation is all the radiant energy emitted by the
sun while Insolation is the total solar radiation that reaches the earth's surface.
 Earth movements contin….

❑The revolution of the earth

➢ The revolution is the period the earth takes to revolves round the sun.
➢ This revolution is determine in yearly basis (usually 3651/4 days).
➢ Each fraction is summed-up 1/4 to form a complete day to avoid dealing
with fraction day given to what is know as a leap year (an extra day
added to February).
 THE REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH

• EFFECTS: CAUSES OF SEASONS

• The 23½° tilt of Earth’s equator to the plane of the
ecliptic and the parallelism of the axis that is
maintained as Earth orbits the sun.
• The angle at which the sun’s rays strike Earth’s
surface determines the amount of solar energy
received per unit of surface area. This amount in
turn affects the seasons
THE SUMMER SOLSTICE

• As we know in January (Northern

Hemisphere) the earth is closer to
the SUN and in July (Southern
Hemisphere) the earth is further
from the SUN.
 THE SUMMER SOLSTICE NH & SH

➢ The ecliptic (the 90° sun angle) is directly on 23½° N

latitude during Earth’s orbit is called the summer
solstice (from Latin: sol, sun; sistere, to stand).
➢ NB. In this diagram, we can see that the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres receive unequal amounts
➢ At point A (June 21st) larger portion of the Northern
Hemisphere than the Southern Hemisphere remains in
daylight.
➢ Conversely, a larger portion of the Southern
Hemisphere than the Northern Hemisphere remains in
darkness.
➢ Thus, a person living at Repulse Bay, Canada, north of
the Arctic Circle, experiences a full 24 hours of daylight
at the June solstice why?
 WINTER SOLSTICE IN THE SH & NH

• However, someone living in Buenos Aires,

Argentina, will have a longer period of
darkness than daylight on that day. This day
is called the winter solstice in the Southern
Hemisphere. Thus, June 21st is the longest
day, with the highest sun angles of the year
in the Northern Hemisphere, and the
shortest day, with the lowest sun angles of
the year, in the Southern Hemisphere.
• As the earth further revolves and rotate from
September to December 21st nights will be
getting longer until, on the winter solstice in NH
which occurs on or about December 21st
(position C) the northern part 24 hours of
darkness (the days will get shorter).
 CONTI….

➢ N.B moving through another quarter of the year toward the June solstice
where we began, Repulse Bay and New York City are both experiencing
longer periods of daylight than darkness.
➢ The sun is setting earlier in Buenos Aires until, on or about June 21,
Repulse Bay and New York City will have their longest day of the year and
Buenos Aires its shortest
➢ June 21st , a point on the Antarctic Circle in the Southern Hemisphere will
experience a winter solstice similar to that which Repulse Bay had around
December 21st
• At position A, there will be no daylight in 24 hours, except what appears at
noon as a glow of twilight in the sky.
 Equinox in the SH& NH

• In September 22, Earth will reach a position known as an equinox (Latin:

aequus, equal; nox, night). On this date (Autumnal equinox Northern
Hemisphere), day and night will be of equal length. Thus, on the equinox,
conditions are identical for both hemispheres. position B,

• In March 21, Earth will again be in an equinox position (the vernal equinox in
the Northern Hemisphere) similar to the one in September ( position D).
Again, days and nights will be equal all over Earth (12 hours each)
Equinox in the SH& NH
 SUN-EARTH RELATIONSHIPS

❑ Recap!!!!! The sun: is a major factor in creating earth’s climates. The sun
rotates on an axis at about the same angle as the earth’s axis. only a tiny
fraction of the power generated by the sun reaches the earth.
❑ The tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
 The line of latitude at 23½°n is called the tropic of Cancer. The northern
most latitude on the earth to receive the sun’s direct rays.
 The line of latitude at 23½°s is called the tropic of Capricorn. The southern
most latitude to receive the sun’s direct rays.
 The solar rays that Earth receives contain 3 different
types of rays
➢Visible light
➢Ultra-violent rays
➢Infrared rays
• Due to this, there are different wavelengths
present in the rays that we receive.
• UV rays have a higher frequency and shorter
wavelength while infrared ray, which is just
below visible light has a longer wavelength and
therefore a smaller frequency.
• From this we can deduce that when the light or
rays have a higher frequency, it has shorter
waves and so wavelength and frequency as
inversely proportional.
 THE EARTH-SUN RELATIONSHIP

❑The SUN
➢ The sun is a self-luminous sphere of gases that emit radian energy (known
as solar radiation) and is the source of Almost but not all the light and
heat to the surface of some celestial bodies.
➢ The energy from the sun emanates from the fusion (thermonuclear)
reaction that takes place in the Core (hydrogen Atoms fusing together to
Helium atom).
❑Activities
• Name any other source of energy to the Earth other than from the SUN?
• Gives at least three uses of these other energy source to mankind. Note:
three uses per type of energy.
 THE SUN CONTIN…
• This radian heat from the sun is being reflected by the earth gravitational field
hence radio signal and Television signals are sometimes disrupted due to
reflection to outer atmosphere by the ions producing the Auroras.
• The Photosphere is the light of the sun seen by the naked eyes as the surface of
the sun.
• The Chromosphere is the thin layer of gases above the photosphere and is red
in colour.
• The Corona is the outermost layer of the sun atmosphere.
 NEAR EARTH OBJECTS
Near Earth Objects (NEO)
❑What are these objects and their compositions?
As a recap our solar system is made up of millions of asteroids and comets
in orbits crossing Earth’s, orbital space.
➢ Asteroid Belt
• Most asteroids are not in Near Earth Orbits. They are in the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter which contains roughly 1.7 million asteroids.
• We live on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Our galaxy has 200‐400
billion stars spread out across 100,000‐120,000 light years. We are on the
edge, where stars are far apart.
• So the big question is what are comet? And how can we different between
a comet and Asteroid?
 ACTIVITY

• Question 1. Explain the cardinal position of the earth and explain

changes in seasons.
• Question 2. Demonstrate how you will teach you grade 10 leaarners
the different changes in season by referring to the length of day and
night in both the southern and northern hemisphere.
 PLANETARY MOVEMENTS
• As already mentioned, we know that all the SUN is at the centre and planets orbit
(move around the sun in an ecliptic plane). Let’s examine one the most advance
law of planetary movements by Johannes Kepler: Watch this short video;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s77LJO6USEY
• The three Laws of planetary movements;

❑ The first law: All planets move about (revolves) the Sun in elliptical orbits, having
the Sun as one of the foci. But remember Ecliptic Plane: The plane of Earth’s
orbit around the Sun
 Perihelion: point of the Earth’s orbit when it is closest to the Sun (around Jan.
3rd).
 Aphelion: point in Earth’s orbit when it is farthest from the Sun (around July 4th).
ECLIPTIC PLANE
 PLANETARY MOVEMENTS
❑ The plane of the ecliptic is defined by the orbit of Earth around the sun. Earth’s equator is
tilted at an angle of 23½° from the plane of the ecliptic, causing Earth’s axis to be
tilted 23½° from a line perpendicular to the plane

➢ The 23½° inclination of Earth’s rotational axis causes the plane of the equator to
cut across the plane of the ecliptic.
➢ Parallelism; Earth axis remain parallel to the sun.
 PLANETARY MOVEMENTS CONTI…

• The second law also know as the law of Areas states that; A radius vector
joining any planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal lengths of time
or in a simplistic term; “ a line connecting the sun and a planet sweeps out an
equal area in an equal amount of time”.
 PLANETARY MOVEMENTS CONTI…

• Therefore summarising the second law, this can simple mean when the
planets are close to the sun, it move faster and when it further away
from the sun it moves slower”
• The third law states: The squares of the sidereal periods (of revolution)
of the planets are directly proportional to the cubes of their mean
distances from the Sun in order words it states that “the squares of the
periods is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis”
• Therefore this can be summaries as “ the further away a planet is from
the sun, the longer it takes to orbit and the closer a planet is to the sun,
the quicker it orbits.
 ACTIVITY. 2

➢ Students are required to answer all the following questions

❑Question 1: Name the different scientists who have study the components
of the universe throughout the ages?
❑Question 2: Where can the sun be found in the Milky Way?
❑Question 3: Give the order of the planets from the sun in the solar system?
❑Question 4: Gives the general characteristic of all the planets in the solar
system. Refer to the diameter, distance, size, composition, orbital
movements.
 THE MOON-EARTH RELATIONSHIP

• The Moon is a rocky body that is the Earth’s only natural satellite. It is called
a natural satellite because it is a space body that orbits a planet.
• The Earth and Moon are locked in synchronised rotation. This face is
sometimes called the near side while the other side is called the far side or
even dark side (but it is not dark as it is illuminated by the Sun just as much
as the near side).
 THE MOON: ITS ORIGIN
➢ It is believed that the moon was probably form during the formation of the other
planets. Refer to the lesson on the formation of terrestrial planets. Which date
back to 4.6 billion years ago due to accretion and gathering of materials to
form the moon
➢ Satellites pictures shows evidence of craters and volcanism that had occurs in
the moon and signs of frozen crystals some three billion years ago
➢ The moon shape has been greatly influence and configured by continuous
bombardment of meteorites from space
➢ The debris from Apollos mission confirm this by materials obtained from the
moon and by dating the materials, it showed evidence of lava.
➢ However, the rate of meteorites bombardment has slow down drastically due to
gravity.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOON
• Huge number of impact craters: These craters are created from
comets and asteroids that collide with the Moon’s surface
• The Moon has very little protection from space rocks as it lacks an
atmosphere
• These holes or craters have remained because the Moon has no
weather to erode them e.g. No water to wash them away, no wind to
blow them away or fill them with dirt.
• The Moon orbits the Earth every 27.3 days.
• The Moon has a spherical shape, just like the Earth
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOON AND EARTH
• Orbital motion: just like the earth, the moon takes somewhat more than 27.32
days to complete its orbital motion round the earth.
• Revolves around the sun together: The moon has its diurnal motion. Both the
earth and the moon move together round the sun.
• Light and Heat: Like the earth it also has no light or heat of its own and receives
light and heat from the sun.
• Size: As it is much smaller than the earth, the moon exerts less gravitational
force.
• Tidal Movements: In spite of its smaller size the moon, being the nearest
neighbour of the earth, is chiefly responsible for the tidal movement of seas and
oceans on the earth surface.
 THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE MOON & TIDES.

• Class work
• Make a short note on the different
phase of the moon and each of the
phase in relation to its orbital
movements.
• Design a class work for your learners
on the formation of tides (Spring tides
and Neap tides) using a well labelled
diagram. Use this short video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdI_
PyMFNro
TIDES

• Explain the benefits if

tides to humans…
• Explain solar and lunar
eclipse
 LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

Parallels: Meridians:
Lines of the same Latitude Lines of the same Longitude
Drawn around the Earth, parallel Drawn from North Pole to South Pole
to the equator