Maharashtra Board Class 6 Science Chapter 16 The Universe PDF Download

16. The Universe

16.1: Observation of the sky

Make use of a telescope to observe the sky on a clear night without clouds. (Suggestion for teachers – Arrange such an observation session for all the students of the class. Carry with you some books on astronomy to consult during the session)

Teacher's Note

On a clear night in the village, you can see many stars spread across the sky like a white band. This white band is called the Milky Way. It looks like milk spilled in the sky, so we call it Mandakini in Hindi.

Exam Trick

Remember: Milky Way = white band of stars = Mandakini. When you see a smoky white line in the night sky, think "Milky Way"!

Points to Remember

Use a telescope to observe the sky on a dark, clear night.
The Milky Way is a white band of stars spreading north to south.
Observe and discuss with your friends what you see in the sky.
Books on astronomy help you learn more about stars and planets.

16.2: The Milky Way

If you observe the clear sky on a dark night, you will see a smoky white band full of stars spreading north-south in the sky. This is the Milky Way. It is also known as 'Mandakini'.

A group of innumerable stars and their planetary systems are together known as a 'galaxy'. The Milky Way is the galaxy in which our solar system is located. The Milky Way is a part of the 'Local Group' of galaxies. There are many such galaxies in the universe.

The Milky Way includes many stars smaller than our Sun as well as many others that are thousands of times bigger than the Sun. It also includes many other celestial bodies such as clusters of stars, nebulae, clouds of gases, clouds of dust, dead stars, newly born stars, etc. The galaxy that is closest to our Milky Way is called Andromeda.

The universe includes innumerable galaxies, the space between them and also energy.

Teacher's Note

The Milky Way is our home galaxy. Our Sun and Earth are small parts of it. Just like your village is part of your state, our solar system is a small part of the Milky Way.

Exam Trick

Remember: Galaxy = group of stars = Milky Way is one galaxy. Andromeda is the nearest galaxy to us. Write "Milky Way = our galaxy" on your hand to remember it!

Points to Remember

A galaxy is a large group of stars and their planets together.
The Milky Way is our galaxy where our solar system lives.
The Milky Way has very big and very small stars.
Andromeda is the closest galaxy to our Milky Way.
The universe has many, many galaxies like our Milky Way.

16.3: The Andromeda galaxy

The Andromeda galaxy is the galaxy closest to our Milky Way.

Teacher's Note

Andromeda is like a sister galaxy to our Milky Way. Both are large and have billions of stars. They are the two biggest galaxies in our local group.

Exam Trick

Remember: Andromeda = nearest galaxy to us. If someone asks "Which galaxy is closest to the Milky Way?" always answer "Andromeda"!

Points to Remember

Andromeda is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way.
It is far away but we can sometimes see it from Earth.
It has billions and billions of stars like our Milky Way.
Both Andromeda and Milky Way are spiral galaxies.

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