CBSE Important Questions Class 6 Science Chapter 12 – Beyond Earth

Class 6 Science Chapter 12 Beyond Earth is part of the new NCERT textbook Curiosity. It takes students out into space, beyond our own planet. Students learn about the Sun, the Moon and the planets of the solar system, about stars and why they twinkle, about galaxies such as our Milky Way, and about constellations, the patterns that groups of stars seem to make in the night sky. They also learn the difference between natural satellites like the Moon and the satellites made by scientists.

These CBSE important questions for Class 6 Science Chapter 12 cover the features of the Milky Way galaxy, how we know that stars are very far away, what the Universe contains, natural and human-made satellites, Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper, why Polaris helps us find north, and why we cannot see all constellations throughout the year. Every question has a clear step-by-step answer in simple English, so students can practise on their own, parents can check the working, and teachers can use them for class tests. A free printable PDF of these important questions is also available on this page.

Q1. What are the distinct features of the Milky Way galaxy?

Answer: • On a clear, dark night it looks like a wide band of faint light made of countless stars stretched across the sky.
• Our solar system, including the Sun and the Earth, is a part of the Milky Way galaxy.
• In ancient India it was called Akash Ganga, because people thought it looked like a river of light flowing in the sky.
• Ancient people watched it carefully and used such observations for their astronomical calculations and calendars.

Q2. How can you say that stars are situated very far from us?

Answer: • The Sun is also a star. Both the Sun and the other stars are huge balls of hot gases. Yet we feel the heat and light of the Sun strongly, while we feel no heat from the other stars. This is because the Sun is much nearer to us and the other stars are extremely far away.
• Stars appear to twinkle, while planets do not. Starlight travels a very long distance through the air before reaching us, and this makes it seem to flicker. Planets are much closer, so their light is steadier.

Q3. Read the source given below and answer the questions.
The Universe comprises planets, stars, galaxies, dust clouds, light and even time. The Universe contains billions of galaxies. Each of them contains millions or billions of stars. The space between the stars and galaxies is largely empty, but places far from stars and planets contain scattered particles of dust and gases. Space is also filled with radiation, magnetic fields and high energy particles. If we travel by a modern jet fighter, it will take more than a million years to reach the Sun. If we travel at the speed of light, it would take 100,000 years to cross our Milky Way galaxy alone. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year.
1. What does the Universe include?
2. Why can't we see every place of the universe in our lifetime?
3. If we look in the night sky, we find dark spaces between stars. Are these dark spaces empty?

Answer: 1. The Universe includes galaxies, stars, planets, dwarf planets, satellites of planets, dust and gas clouds, energy in the form of heat and light, magnetic fields and high energy particles.
2. The Universe is unimaginably big. It has billions of galaxies, and each galaxy has billions of stars. Even with the fastest spacecraft and the most powerful telescopes, a human life is far too short to see every part of it.
3. No, the dark spaces are not empty. They contain gases, dust particles, radiation, magnetic fields and high energy particles. We cannot see them because they are very small and extremely far away.

Q4. In a science class discussion, Aryan came across the term "satellite" while learning about space technology. He was surprised to learn that not all satellites are man-made — some, like the Moon, occur naturally. What is a satellite? Differentiate between natural satellites and human-made satellites.

Answer: A satellite is a body that moves around (revolves around) a planet.

Q5. What is the significance of Orion's Belt?

Answer: Orion's Belt is a line of three bright stars in the constellation Orion, and it is one of the easiest patterns to spot in the night sky.
• People have long used it as a marker to tell the seasons and to find their way while travelling, as in ancient Egypt.
• For scientists it is important because the region around it is a nursery where new stars are being born.
• The Great Pyramids of Giza are said to line up with these three stars, which shows how ancient people used the sky in their buildings and beliefs.

Q6. Why is Polaris important for navigation?

Answer: Polaris, also called the North Star, lies almost exactly above the Earth's North Pole. Because of this, it stays nearly fixed in the sky while all the other stars seem to move around it during the night.
So whenever we find Polaris, we know that direction is true north. Travellers, sailors and explorers used it to find their way for hundreds of years, long before compasses and GPS were invented.

Q7. The North Star, also known as __________, is part of the Little Dipper constellation.

Answer: Polaris
Polaris is the brightest star of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) and it marks the direction of north.

Q8. The pattern of stars that forms an imaginary shape in the sky is called a ____________.

Answer: Constellation
A constellation is a group of stars that appears to form a pattern or shape in the sky, such as Orion, Ursa Major or Cassiopeia. The stars in a constellation may actually be very far from one another; they only look like a group from the Earth.

Q9. Which constellation contains the famous belt of three stars?
(a) Cassiopeia
(b) Orion
(c) Taurus
(d) Gemini

Answer: (b) Orion
Orion has three bright stars in a straight row near its middle. This row is called Orion's Belt and it makes the constellation very easy to recognise.

Q10. What is the name of the constellation that resembles a hunter?
(a) Orion
(b) Cassiopeia
(c) Draco
(d) Taurus

Answer: (a) Orion
The pattern of stars in Orion looks like a hunter holding a club and a shield, which is why it is called the Hunter.

Q11. During a stargazing session on a winter night, Meera spotted the Orion constellation clearly in the sky. A few months later, she looked for it again during summer but couldn't find it.
(a) Why can't we see all constellations throughout the year?
(b) Which constellation is commonly visible in the winter, and why?

Answer: (a) The Earth keeps moving round the Sun. As it moves, the part of the sky we face at night slowly changes. So some constellations are in our night sky in one season, and a few months later the Earth has moved on and those stars are hidden in the daytime sky by the Sun's light.
(b) Orion is commonly seen in winter. In winter the Earth is at a position in its orbit from which Orion lies in our night sky. By summer the Earth has moved to the other side of its orbit, so Orion is above us during the day and we cannot see it in the evening.

Q12. You are looking at the night sky, and your friend points out the "Big Dipper" constellation. This group of stars is part of the Ursa Major constellation.
(a) What is the "Big Dipper" and why is it important for navigation?
(b) How can you use the Big Dipper to find the North Star?

Answer: (a) The Big Dipper is a group of seven bright stars that form the shape of a ladle or a big spoon. It is a part of the constellation Ursa Major. It is useful for navigation because it points the way to the North Star, which always shows the direction of north.
(b) Look at the two stars at the outer edge of the "bowl" of the Dipper. These are called the pointer stars. Draw an imaginary straight line through them and go about five times the distance between them. The fairly bright star you reach is Polaris, the North Star.

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