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Geography Note 04

Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun, known as the Blue Planet, with an age of 4.6 billion years and divided into three geological eras. It rotates on its axis, causing day and night, and revolves around the Sun, leading to seasons and variations in day length. Key astronomical events include equinoxes and solstices, influenced by the tilt of Earth's axis at 23.5°.

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7 views

Geography Note 04

Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun, known as the Blue Planet, with an age of 4.6 billion years and divided into three geological eras. It rotates on its axis, causing day and night, and revolves around the Sun, leading to seasons and variations in day length. Key astronomical events include equinoxes and solstices, influenced by the tilt of Earth's axis at 23.5°.

Uploaded by

Maniish S
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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GEOGRAPHY - 04

OUR PLANET - 1
• Earth is the 3RD planet from the Sun and the densest and
the 5TH largest of the eight planets in the solar system.
• It is also the largest of the solar system’s four terrestrial
planets.
• Earth is also called as Blue Planet.
• The age of the Earth - 4.6 billion years.
• The whole history is divided into 3 Eras - Palaeozoic,
Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
THE EARTH’S MOVEMENT
• The Earth moves in space in 2 distinct ways:
1.Rotation 2.Revolution.
ROTATION
• Earth rotates on its own axis from West to East once in every 24 hours.
• It causes day and night.
REVOLUTION
• It revolves around the Sun in an orbit once in every 365¼ days.
• It causes the seasons and the year.
ROTATION OF EARTH
• Spins on its imaginary axis from West to East in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds.
• The rotational speed at equator is maximum (1667 km/hr) and then decreases towards the poles,
where it is zero.
• The days and the nights are equal at the equator
IMPLICATIONS OF EARTH ROTATION
• Causation of day and night.
• Change in the direction of winds and ocean currents.
• Rise and fall of tides everyday.
• A difference of one hour between the two meridians which are 15° apart.
REVOLUTION OF EARTH
• It is the Earth’s motion in elliptical orbit around the Sun.
• It takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.51 seconds.
• It leads to one extra day in every fourth year.
IMPLICATIONS OF EARTH REVOLUTION
• changes of season.
• variation of the length of the days and nights at different times of the year.
EQUINOXES
• These are the days, when days and nights are equal.
• Under this situation, the Sun is vertically overhead at the equator.
• It happens on two days of the year i.e. 21st March and 23rd September.
• 21st March - Vernal Equinox. * 23rd September - Autumnal Equinox.
SUMMER SOLSTICE
• After the March equinox, the Sun appears to move Northward and is vertically overhead at
the Tropic of Cancer on 21st June. This is known as Summer Solstice.
• On 21st June, the Northern hemisphere will have its longest day and shortest night.
• The Southern hemisphere will have shortest day and longest night.
WINTER SOLSTICE
• On 22nd December, the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn.
• In the winter solstice, the Southern hemisphere will have its longest day and
shortest night.
TILT OF THE EARTH’S AXIS
• The axis of the Earth is inclined to the plane of ecliptic (the
plane, in which the Earth orbits round the Sun) at an angle
of 66½°.
• giving rise to different seasons and varying lengths of day
and night.
• If the axis were perpendicular to this plane, all parts of the
globe would have equal days and nights at all times of the
year.
• The Earth is tilted about 23.5° from a line perpendicular to
ecliptic plane.
DAYLIGHT HOURS IN HEMISPHERES

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