NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Science (Curiosity) Chapter 12: Beyond Earth (NCERT 2026–27)

These Class 6 Science Curiosity Chapter 12 solutions cover Beyond Earth from the new NCF-2023 textbook (2026–27). The chapter takes you on a journey from the night sky — stars, constellations and the Pole Star — to our Solar System with the Sun, eight planets, moons, asteroids and comets, and finally to the Milky Way Galaxy and the wider Universe. Every “Let us enhance our learning” question is reproduced exactly from the textbook and answered in clear, exam-ready style.

Class: 6 Subject: Science Book: Curiosity Chapter: 12 Chapter Name: Beyond Earth Session: 2026–27
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Class 6 Science Curiosity Chapter 12 Solutions – Overview

Chapter 12 of Curiosity, Beyond Earth, is the final chapter of the Grade 6 book. It begins with the wonder of the night sky as seen from dark places like Nubra in Ladakh, and explains how groups of stars form patterns called constellations (the sky is divided into 88 constellations by the International Astronomical Union). It describes the Pole Star (Dhruva tārā), which appears nearly stationary in the North and helps find direction, and well-known patterns like Orion, the Big Dipper (Saptaṛiṣhi) and the Little Dipper. The chapter then explores our Solar System — the Sun (our nearest star), the eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), natural satellites like the Moon, asteroids, comets and dwarf planets such as Pluto — and ends by zooming out to the Milky Way Galaxy (Ākāśha Gangā) and the vast Universe.

Key Concepts & Definitions

The Big Dipper and Little Dipper are star patterns (asterisms) within Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. They are not two additional official constellations. See the IAU constellation explanation.

Star: a huge, hot ball of gases that shines with its own light. The Sun is the star nearest to us.

Constellation: a defined region of the sky that usually includes a recognisable pattern of stars. The whole sky is divided into 88 constellations.

Pole Star (Polaris): a star in the Little Dipper that appears nearly stationary in the North and helps locate the North direction in the Northern hemisphere.

Revolution: the movement of an object around another object, e.g. the Earth around the Sun.

Planet: in this chapter, one of eight large, nearly spherical bodies orbiting the Sun. The full IAU definition also requires it to have cleared its orbital neighbourhood; Pluto does not meet that criterion and is a dwarf planet.

Satellite: an object that moves around a planet. The Moon is Earth’s natural satellite.

Asteroids: small, rocky, irregular objects revolving around the Sun, mostly in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Comets: icy-rocky visitors made of dust, gases, rocks and ice that grow a long tail as they approach the Sun.

Solar System: the Sun, eight planets, their moons, and many smaller objects (asteroids, comets) together.

Milky Way Galaxy (Ākāśha Gangā): our home galaxy, containing billions of stars; our Solar System is a part of it.

Class 6 Science Curiosity Chapter 12 – “Let us enhance our learning” Solutions

Original explanations for Questions 1–11 on pages 249–251 of NCERT Curiosity, Reprint 2026–27. The planet-order and star-pattern figures have been checked against the textbook.

1. Match the column:

ANSWER
Column IColumn II
(i) Satellite of Earth(d) Moon
(ii) Red planet(c) Mars
(iii) Constellation(a) Orion
(iv) Planet which is commonly called an evening star(b) Venus

2. (i) Solve the following riddle.

My first alphabet is in MAN but not in CAN
My second alphabet is in ACE and also in FAN
My third alphabet is in RAT and not in CAT
My fourth alphabet is in SUN but not in FUN
I am a planet that moves around the Sun.

(ii) Make two similar riddles by yourself.

ANSWER (i) Solving each clue: the first letter is in MAN but not in CAN → M; the second is in ACE and also in FAN → A; the third is in RAT but not in CAT → R; the fourth is in SUN but not in FUN → S. The four letters spell MARS. So the planet is Mars. (ii) Two sample riddles you can make on your own: Riddle A: My first alphabet is in VAN but not in CAN; My second alphabet is in EGG but not in BAG; My third alphabet is in NET but not in BET; My fourth alphabet is in CUP but not in CAP; My fifth alphabet is in SUN but not in FUN. I am a planet that shines brightly at dusk. (Answer: VENUS.) Riddle B: My first alphabet is in MAP but not in CAP; My second alphabet is in OWL but not in AWL; My third alphabet is in CON but not in CAN; My fourth alphabet is in NET but not in PET; I reflect sunlight and orbit the Earth. (Answer: MOON.) Your own correctly framed riddles are also accepted.

3. Which of the following is not a member of our Solar System?

(i) Sirius    (ii) Comets    (iii) Asteroids    (iv) Pluto

ANSWER (i) Sirius. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and lies far outside our Solar System. Comets, asteroids and Pluto (a dwarf planet) all belong to our Solar System.

4. Which of the following is not a planet of the Sun?

(i) Jupiter    (ii) Pluto    (iii) Neptune    (iv) Saturn

ANSWER (ii) Pluto. Pluto was once called a planet, but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined a planet, and Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet. Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn are all planets of the Sun.

See the IAU’s adopted 2006 planet definition.

5. Which is the brighter star, the Pole Star or Sirius?

ANSWER Sirius is the brighter star. Sirius (in the constellation Canis Major) is the brightest star in the night sky, while the Pole Star is not very bright and can be hard to spot — which is why we look for it on a night without the Moon or clouds.

6. An artist’s representation of the Solar System is given in Fig. 12.12. Is the order of the planets correct? If not, write the correct order in the boxes in the figure.

ANSWERNo, the order in Fig. 12.12 is not correct. Earth and Venus are interchanged, and Uranus and Saturn are interchanged.Write the boxes from nearest to farthest from the Sun as: Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune. The Sun is the star at the centre, not one of the eight planets.Memory aid: My Very Efficient Mother Just Served Us Noodles. The diagram below shows the order only; sizes and spacing are not to scale.
The eight planets in order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, with the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Question 6: correct planet order. Sizes and distances are not to scale; planets do not normally line up like this. Tap to view at full size.

7. A portion of night sky with stars is shown in Fig. 12.13. Look carefully and identify the groups of stars that form the patterns—the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Draw lines to connect the stars for these patterns and label them. Also, identify and label the Pole Star. You may refer to Fig. 12.4 for help.

ANSWER This is an activity to be done on your figure. To complete it correctly: • Find the seven bright stars that form a shape like a ladle (a cup with a long handle) — join them to make the Big Dipper and label it. • Find a smaller, fainter ladle-shaped group nearby — join them to make the Little Dipper and label it. • The star at the end of the Little Dipper’s handle is the Pole Star — mark and label it. To check, the two stars at the outer edge of the Big Dipper’s cup point straight towards the Pole Star (about five times the gap between them).
Big Dipper and Little Dipper connected star patterns, with a dashed line from the Big Dipper’s outer bowl stars towards Polaris at the end of the Little Dipper’s handle.
Question 7: original schematic based on the textbook pattern. Lines are guides, not visible features in the sky. Orientation changes with time. Tap to view at full size.

8. A portion of the night sky is shown in Fig. 12.14. Draw lines to connect the stars for Orion and label the star Sirius. You may refer to Fig. 12.3.

ANSWER This is an activity to be done on your figure. To complete it correctly: • First find the three bright stars in a short straight line at the middle — these form Orion’s “belt”. Connect the surrounding stars to draw the figure of the hunter and label it Orion. • Imagine a straight line through the three belt stars and follow it to the very bright star close to Orion — mark and label it Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky).
Orion’s main stars connected around its three belt stars, with Sirius labelled separately to the left in Canis Major, matching the textbook’s orientation.
Question 8: Orion’s main seven-star pattern and Sirius. The dashed guide shows the approximate direction from the belt towards Sirius. Tap to view at full size.

9. From Earth, you can see stars fading away at dawn and appearing at dusk. During the day we do not see the stars. Explain why.

ANSWERIn daytime, sunlight scattered by Earth’s atmosphere makes the sky very bright. The faint light of other stars is usually lost against this bright background, so we do not normally see them with the unaided eye.At dusk the sky darkens and stars become visible; at dawn it brightens and they fade from view. They have not switched off. The Sun itself is a star.

10. During a clear night, try to observe the Big Dipper 3–4 times at an interval of 2 to 3 hours. Also try to locate the Pole Star each time. Does the Big Dipper appear to move? Draw a rough sketch to illustrate this, mentioning the time in each case.

ANSWERExpected observation: the Big Dipper appears to turn around the north celestial pole, close to Polaris, as Earth rotates. Facing north, this apparent motion is anticlockwise. Polaris stays nearly in the same position.Record your own evidence: with an adult, choose a safe site and a date when the pattern is visible. Sketch it 3–4 times at the requested 2–3-hour intervals, labelling the actual date, time and place. Use the same viewing direction and a fixed landmark each time.Compare the pattern’s orientation relative to Polaris. Its starting position and visibility depend on location, season and time; do not copy made-up observations. The stars keep approximately the same pattern while the pattern appears to turn.

11. Think about the night sky and write a poem or a story on it.

ANSWER This is a creative activity, so any original poem or story is accepted. Here is a sample short poem you can use as a model: Up above the quiet land,
Stars are sprinkled like grains of sand.
The Pole Star marks the northern sky,
The Dipper turns as hours go by.
The Moon, our friend, glows soft and bright,
Guarding the Earth all through the night.
So far away, yet shining clear —
The wonders of the sky, beyond our Earth, are near.

Extra Practice Questions

These questions and MCQs are ClearStudy practice, separate from the NCERT exercise.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why is the Sun called a star?

ANSWERThe Sun is a huge, extremely hot ball of gases that gives out its own heat and light, exactly like other stars. It looks much bigger and brighter only because it is the star closest to us.

Q2. Why does Venus appear much brighter than the other planets?

ANSWERVenus looks especially bright because its thick clouds reflect much sunlight and it can be relatively close to Earth. It is the brightest planet as seen from Earth. Depending on its position in its orbit, it may be visible before sunrise or after sunset, so it is called the Morning Star or Evening Star—although it is a planet.

Q3. How can we tell a planet apart from a star in the night sky?

ANSWERStars usually twinkle more than planets because Earth’s moving atmosphere disturbs their light. Planets normally look steadier, although they can twinkle near the horizon. Use this as a clue, then check the object’s position with a sky chart; twinkling alone is not a certain test.

Q4. What are craters on the Moon, and how are most of them formed?

ANSWERCraters are bowl-shaped depressions, most formed by impacts of space rocks. They last a long time because the Moon has only an extremely thin exosphere and lacks Earth-like wind, rain and flowing-water erosion.It is incorrect to say that the Moon has no water at all: water ice occurs in permanently shadowed polar regions, and water molecules have also been detected elsewhere. See NASA’s explanation of lunar water.

Q5. Why is Mars called the Red Planet?

ANSWERMars is called the Red Planet because it appears red in colour. This reddish appearance is due to the reddish-coloured soil on its surface.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Describe the main objects that make up our Solar System.

ANSWEROur Solar System is made up of the Sun and all the objects that move around it. At the centre is the Sun, our star, which is the largest and heaviest object and produces almost all the energy in the Solar System. Around it revolve the eight planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Many planets have natural satellites (moons); for example, the Earth has one Moon and Mars has two. The Solar System also contains many smaller objects, including rocky, irregular asteroids (mostly in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter), comets made of dust, gases, rocks and ice, and dwarf planets like Pluto. The planets and moons we see in visible light shine mainly by reflecting sunlight; they do not make light like stars. The whole Solar System is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Q2. How does the Pole Star help in finding directions, and why is it useful?

ANSWERThe Pole Star, also called Polaris or Dhruva tārā, lies in the Little Dipper and appears nearly stationary in the North direction while all the other stars seem to turn around it through the night. Because it always marks the North, it helps people locate direction in the Northern hemisphere. To find it, we first locate the Big Dipper, then follow the two stars at the edge of its cup about five times their distance to reach the Pole Star. In ancient times, before the magnetic compass, this skill was very useful for sailors and travellers to find their way at sea or on land, and it is still used today as a backup method in emergencies. (Note that the Pole Star is not visible from the southern hemisphere.)

Q3. What are comets? Describe how a comet’s tail forms and why comets are no longer feared.

ANSWERComets are bodies containing ice, dust and rock. Near the Sun, some ice changes directly into gas (sublimation), releasing gas and dust around the nucleus. Sunlight and the solar wind push this material into tails directed generally away from the Sun. See NASA’s comet facts.Many comets return periodically; Halley’s Comet last passed near the Sun in 1986 and has an orbital period of about 76 years. Comets often become fainter as they move away.There is no evidence that seeing a comet brings bad luck. They are natural astronomical objects whose motion can be studied; calling every comet “harmless” is unnecessary, because collisions are a separate scientific question.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. The star closest to the Earth is:

(a) Sirius    (b) the Pole Star    (c) the Sun    (d) Proxima Centauri

2. The brightest star in the night sky is:

(a) the Pole Star    (b) Sirius    (c) Betelgeuse    (d) Aldebaran

3. The number of planets in our Solar System is:

(a) seven    (b) eight    (c) nine    (d) ten

4. The Pole Star helps us locate which direction in the Northern Hemisphere?

(a) East    (b) West    (c) North    (d) South

5. Which of these is a natural satellite of the Earth?

(a) Venus    (b) the Moon    (c) Sirius    (d) an asteroid

6. The Big Dipper lies in the constellation:

(a) Orion    (b) Taurus    (c) Ursa Major    (d) Canis Major

7. Pluto is now classified as a:

(a) planet    (b) star    (c) dwarf planet    (d) comet

8. The asteroid belt mostly lies between the orbits of:

(a) Earth and Mars    (b) Mars and Jupiter    (c) Jupiter and Saturn    (d) Venus and Earth

9. Our home galaxy is called the:

(a) Solar System    (b) Milky Way Galaxy    (c) asteroid belt    (d) Universe

10. The Moon takes about how long to complete one revolution around the Earth?

(a) 1 day    (b) 7 days    (c) 27 days    (d) 365 days

Answer key: 1-(c), 2-(b), 3-(b), 4-(c), 5-(b), 6-(c), 7-(c), 8-(b), 9-(b), 10-(c).

For each Assertion–Reason question, choose: (A) Both true and the Reason correctly explains the Assertion; (B) Both true but the Reason is not the correct explanation; (C) Assertion true, Reason false; (D) Assertion false, Reason true.

A-R 1. Assertion: We cannot see other stars during the daytime.

Reason: The extreme brightness of the Sun overpowers the faint light of the far-away stars.

A-R 2. Assertion: The Pole Star helps us find the North direction.

Reason: The Pole Star appears nearly stationary in the North while other stars seem to move.

A-R 3. Assertion: Venus is called the Morning Star or the Evening Star.

Reason: Venus is actually a star that shines at dawn and dusk.

A-R 4. Assertion: All the planets shine with their own light.

Reason: We see planets mainly by the sunlight they reflect.

A-R 5. Assertion: A comet grows a long tail as it comes close to the Sun.

Reason: Near the Sun, comet ice releases gas and dust, which sunlight and the solar wind push into tails.

Answer key: 1-(A), 2-(A), 3-(C), 4-(D), 5-(A).

Quick Revision Summary

  • The sky is divided into 88 constellations, including Orion, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The Big Dipper and Little Dipper are patterns within the last two regions.
  • The Pole Star appears nearly stationary in the North and helps locate direction in the Northern hemisphere.
  • The Sun is a star — the star closest to us — that produces heat and light and is the main source of energy on Earth.
  • A planet is a large, nearly spherical object that revolves around the Sun; the eight planets in order from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
  • The Earth revolves around the Sun in nearly one year; the Moon revolves around the Earth in nearly 27 days.
  • The Solar System = the Sun, eight planets, their moons, and many smaller objects including asteroids and comets. Pluto is a dwarf planet.
  • Our Solar System is part of the Milky Way Galaxy (Ākāśha Gangā), and there are many more galaxies in the vast Universe.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Watch out for these

  • Calling Sirius or the Pole Star a member of the Solar System — they are far-away stars, not Solar System objects.
  • Treating Pluto as a planet — since 2006 it is a dwarf planet.
  • Thinking Venus is a star because it is called the Morning/Evening Star — it is actually a planet.
  • Believing stars disappear in the daytime — they are always there; the Sun’s glare just hides them.
  • Mixing up rotation (spinning on its axis, about 24 hours for Earth) with revolution (going around the Sun, about one year for Earth).
  • Forgetting the correct order of planets from the Sun — use a memory sentence to remember it.

How to write a clear answer

Learn the order of the eight planets and the difference between a planet, a satellite, an asteroid and a comet. Remember key facts with numbers — the sky has 88 constellations, the Moon takes about 27 days to revolve around the Earth and is about a quarter of Earth’s diameter, and Pluto is a dwarf planet (since 2006). For activity-based questions (Big Dipper, Orion, Pole Star), describe the steps clearly even if you cannot draw, and always give reasons (e.g. why stars are invisible by day, why the Big Dipper seems to move) instead of one-word answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Class 6 Science Curiosity Chapter 12 Beyond Earth about?

Chapter 12, Beyond Earth, explores the night sky and space — stars and constellations, the Pole Star and how it helps find direction, our Solar System (the Sun, eight planets, moons, asteroids and comets), and finally the Milky Way Galaxy and the wider Universe.

How many planets are there in our Solar System, and in what order?

There are eight planets. In order of increasing distance from the Sun they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Is Pluto a planet?

No. Pluto was once called a planet, but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined a planet, and Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.

Why can we not see stars during the day?

Sunlight scattered by Earth’s atmosphere makes the daytime sky bright. Other stars are still present, but their faint light is normally difficult to distinguish against this background with the unaided eye.

Are these Class 6 Science Curiosity Chapter 12 solutions free?

Yes. All solutions are free and follow the official NCERT Curiosity textbook for session 2026–27.

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