In the beginning there was darkness and then a bang!!!

Scientists believe the Big Bang gave birth to the ever expanding systems of time, space and matter. Every day science emerges up with unlocked, mind blowing mysteries of the universe. If the universe is the whole water bodies on the earth, then it wont be an exaggeration that our knowledge about this wonderful universe is about a small drop.

The early Universe was not bound by the laws of physics as we know them today.

Consequently, we cannot predict with great accuracy what the Universe looked like during the first minutes of creation.
Scientists believe that the Universe was initially so hot and dense, that even elementary particles like protons and neutrons could not exist.

Instead, different types of matter (called matter and anti-matter) collided together, creating pure energy.

As the Universe began to cool during the first few minutes, protons and neutrons began to form.
Slowly over time these protons, neutrons and electrons came together to form Hydrogen and small amounts of Helium.

During the billions of years that followed, stars, planets and galaxies formed to create the Universe as we see it today.

THE SUN
Our sun is a star amongst the billions and billions of stars in this universe, the star closest to the earth.

It is about 150 million km away from us

Radius: 700,000 km

Mass: 330,000 Earth masses - 1.98892 1030 kg

Creates approximately 4 x 1023 kilowatts of luminosity per second. The sun is the centre of the solar system which encloses eight planets, their moons, asteroids and so on.

After 1 million years of the proto-sun formation, the planet building materials were separated by different temperatures. Close to the proto-sun, the temperature is about 2000 degrees, vaporizing everything.
5 million miles out lies the rock-line, cool enough for metals and minerals to turn solid. Much farther out lies the snow-line where the temperature is 375 degrees below the zero, cold enough for water, methane and ammonia to freeze into ices.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

INNER PLANETS
The inner four rocky planets lies between the Rock-line and the snow-line: Mercury Venus Earth Mars

Mercury
Planet nearest the sun The smallest planet Covered with craters Has no moons or rings About size of Earths moon

Venus
Sister planet to Earth Has no moons or rings Hot, thick atmosphere Brightest object in sky besides sun and moon (looks like bright star) Covered with craters, volcanoes, and mountains Only planet that rotates from east-to-west

Earth
Third planet from sun Only planet known to have life and liquid water Atmosphere composed of composed of Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) Have one moon

Mars
Fourth planet from sun Appears as bright reddish color in the night sky Surface features volcanoes and huge dust storms Has 2 moons: Phobos and Deimos Supposed to support life

Outer Planets
The outer planets lying after the snow line and composed of gas are : Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Jupiter
Largest planet in solar system Brightest planet in sky 60+ moons, 5 visible from Earth Strong magnetic field Giant red spot

Rings have 3 parts: Halo Ring, Main

Ring, Gossamer Ring

Saturn
6th planet from sun Beautiful set of rings

31 moons
Largest moon, Titan, Easily visible in the night sky Voyager explored Saturn and its rings.

Neptune
8th planet from sun Discovered through math 7 known moons Triton largest moon Great Dark Spot thought to be

a hole, similar to the hole in

the ozone layer on Earth

NUMBER OF MOONS OF THE PLANETS

PLANET Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune No. OF MOONS DISCOVERED 1 2 63 33 27 13

PLUTO
Once considered to be a planet
was the smallest and the outermost one. Moon: Charon Orbits very slowly

ASTEROIDS
Small bodies Believed to be left over from the beginning of the solar system billions of years ago 100,000 asteroids lie in belt between Mars and Jupiter Largest asteroids have been given names

COMETS
Small icy bodies Travel past the Sun Give off gas and dust as they pass by E.g.: Halleys comet

MOON
only natural satellite of the Earth the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System relative to the size of its primary, having a quarter the diameter of Earth and 181 its mass Orbital period: 27 d 7 h 43.1 min Synodic period: 29 d 12 h 44 min 2.9 s

Scientists has discovered that high energy particles are reaching the surface of the earth from outer space.
They named these radiation COSMIC RAYS. It is believed that these rays are emitted by cosmic stars. As a star, the sun also emits radiation which is called the SOLAR SPECTRUM. The solar spectrum is often called the ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all electromagnetic waves arranged according to frequency and wavelength. The sun, earth, and other bodies radiate electromagnetic energy of varying wavelengths. Electromagnetic energy passes through space at the speed of light in the form of sinusoidal waves. Light is a particular type of electromagnetic radiation that can be seen and sensed by the human eye, but this energy exists at a wide range of wavelengths

COMPONENTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

MICROWAVES INFRARED RADIO WAVES ULTRAVIOLET GAMMA RAYS VISIBLE RAYS X-Rays A kind of radio waves Frequency: 300 GHz to 405 THz 3 kHz as Frequency:300 GHz toEHz low as kHz Frequency:405GHz toas low as 3 300 THz to 405 THz above 10 790 THz Frequency: Frequency: Frequency: 300 MHz to 300 GHz Wavelength: 750 nm to 1 mm Wavelength:1less than nmpm mm to100 Wavelength: 10 toTO 750 km Wavelength:390 400 10 nm Wavelength:0.01 to10 nm Wavelength: Wavelength:1 mm to1m 8m/s Speed: 3x1088 8m/s Speed: 3x10 m/s3x108m/s Speed: 3x10 Speed (vacuum): 3x108m/s Speed (vacuum): Speed: 3x108m/s Most of the solar energy reaches the earth in Naturally made by lightning gamma decay, Produced by electric arcs and black-lights Main source: Radioactivity Discovered light Known as by Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen this form. made by specialized vacuum Artificially and interactions between sub-atomic Predicted and cosmic rays by Maxwell tubes Most of the radiation is non-ionizing particlesof seven colours - VIBGYOR Sources: X-ray fluorescence, Bremsstrahlung Consists known as heat radiation Popularly First artificially produced by Heinrich Hertz Includes UHF, EHF, SHF etc.

ULTRAVIOLET RAYS
UV rays are just beyond visible light at shorter wavelengths than the last visible ray, which is violet. Ultraviolet rays are part of the em spectrum that can reach a high enough level on earth to be harmful to plants, animals and humans.

Factors affecting UV radiation levels:

o Sun elevation: the higher the sun in the sky, the higher the UV radiation level

o Latitude: the closer to the equator, the higher the UV radiation levels
o Cloud cover: UV radiation levels are highest under cloudless skies but even with cloud cover, they can be high

o Altitude: UV levels increase by about 5% with every 1000 metres altitude

o Ozone: ozone absorbs some of the UV radiation from the sun o Ground reflection: many surfaces reflect the suns rays and add to the

overall UV exposure

Three categories of UV radiation:

UV-A = 320 420 nm UV-C < 280 nm UV-B radiation is capable of causing harm at the molecular level and poses a threat to life on earth though some of it is filtered out by ozone in the stratosphere. UV-C radiation is filtered out by ozone. Only a small amount reaches the earths surface. UV-B = 280 - 320nm

SOURCES OF UV RAYS
1. The Sun 2. Synchrotron radiation sources

3. Mercury or xenon arc lamps

4. Gaseous discharge tubes filled with gas atoms whose internal electron energy levels correspond to the photons of uv light: e.g. mercury, deuterium and hydrogen

UV RADIATION AND HUMAN HEALTH KEY FACTS

Skin cancer is caused primarily by exposure to UV radiation either from the sun or from artificial sources such as sun beds Globally in 2000, over 200 000 cases of melanoma were diagnosed and there were 65000 melanoma-associated deaths

Excessive sun exposure in children and adolescents is likely to contribute to skin cancer in later life
Worldwide approximately 18 million people are blind as a result of cataracts, of these 5% of all cataract related disease burden is directly attributable to UV radiation exposure Sun protection is recommended when the ultraviolet index is 3 and above

Excessive UV exposure results in a number of chronic skin changes

EFFECTS ON THE SKIN

Cutaneous malignant melanoma: a life-threatening malignant skin cancer Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: a malignant cancer, which generally progresses less rapidly than melanoma and is less likely to cause death Basal cell carcinoma of the skin: a slow-growing skin cancer appearing predominantly in older people Photoageing: a loss of skin tightness and the development of solar keratoses

EFFECTS ON THE EYES

Acute effects of UV radiation include 1. Photokeratitis 2. Photoconjunctivitis (inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva, respectively)

These effects are reversible, easily prevented by protective eyewear and are not associated with any long-term damage.

EFFECTS ON THE EYES

Chronic effects of UV radiation include: 1. Cataract: an eye disease where the lens becomes increasingly opaque, resulting in impaired vision and eventual blindness 2. Pterygium: a white or creamy fleshy growth on the surface of the eye 3. Squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea or conjunctiva: a rare tumour of the surface of the eye

OTHER HEALTH EFFECTS

Appears to diminish the effectiveness of the immune system
changing the activity and distribution of the cells responsible for triggering immune responses Immunosuppression can cause reactivation of the herpes simplex virus in the lip ("cold sores").

PROTECTIVE MEASURES
WHO recommends the following measures to protect against

exposure to UV radiation:
Limit time in the midday sun.

Seek shade
Wear protective clothing such as a broad brimmed hat to protect the eyes, face and neck. Wear sunglasses with side panels that provide 99 to 100 percent UV-A and UV-B protection.

 Use and liberally reapply broad-spectrum sunscreen of sun protection factor (SPF) 30+ on skin areas that cannot be covered by clothes. Sun protection is best achieved by seeking shade and wearing clothes

rather than applying sunscreens.

Sunscreens should not be used for extending time spent in the sun, and people using sunscreen during sun tanning should voluntarily limit their time spent in the sun. Avoid sunbeds: Unless under medical supervision, sunbeds or sunlamps

should not be used. WHO recommends banning their use by people under
18 years old. Protect babies and young children: always keep babies in the shade.

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF UV
Triggers vitamin D UV from the Sun is needed by our bodies to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D helps strengthen bones, muscles and the bodys immune system. It may also lower the risk of getting some kinds of cancers such as colon cancer. Helps some skin conditions UV is used in the treatment of skin conditions such as psoriasis. This is a condition where the skin sheds its cells too quickly and develops itchy, scaly patches. Exposure to UV slows the growth of the skin cells and relieves the symptoms.

Helps moods Research suggests that sunlight stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to produce certain chemicals called tryptamines. These chemicals improve our mood.