Earth, Moon, and Sun by Cindy Carson oherty Elementary West Bloomfield, MI

Earth

Earth’s nickname is the water planet. There is much more water on the Earth’s surface than land.

The Earth never stays the same, it is always changing due to weather. 3 examples of this type of change are: hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes The Earth moves when there is a volcano eruption or earthquake.

is the one where we all are. In all our solar system, Earth the water planet, is the one where we all are. In all our solar system, only you have life so far! There’s sun, and air, and soil, for living things to grow. Together with plants and animals, they make the Earth we know.

Earth

Earth orbits the sun. A sphere is a round object like a ball. The Earth, moon, and all the planets are spheres. As we stand on Earth it appears that the surface of our planet is flat. This is because we only see a tiny part.

Gravity pulls everything on our planet toward the center of the Earth. Gravity is an invisible force that pulls all objects in our solar system toward the sun, keeping them in orbit. It takes 365 ¼ days for the earth to orbit the sun, this is the same as 1 year. A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon, the Earth and the sun are all in line. The Earth’s shadow falls on the moon.

Gravity

More Gravity What goes up must come down. The sun is sooooo BIG! It is at the very center of our solar system. Solar means sun in Latin, therefore solar system really means sun system. Each planet travels in it’s own orbit. Some orbits are circular shape and others are elliptical like an egg. While the moon orbits the Earth, the Earth and the moon together orbit the sun.

moon

The moon is the closest object in the sky to our planet Earth. It is 240,000 miles away. It takes the moon 28 ¼ days to make one complete orbit around the Earth. The same side of the moon always faces Earth. Between 1969-192 we visited the moon 6 times.

There is less gravity on the moon because it is smaller than Earth. There is no air on the moon. Footprints left by astronauts will remain on the surface of the moon for thousands of years. The craters on the moon were formed by the impact of meteors.

orbit

An orbit is the name for the path that an object takes as it moves through space on a continuous course around a larger object. The Earth orbits the sun and so do all the other planets in our solar system. The planets move in a counter clockwise direction. It takes 1 year for the Earth to make a complete orbit around the sun.

sun

The sun produces just the right amount of light, heat, and energy to support life on Earth. The sun is our nearest star. It is made mostly of hydrogen and helium gases.

The core of the sun is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The surface of the sun is 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The surface of the sun is covered with hot, bubbling gases. The sun is the largest object in our solar system. It is larger than 1 million Earths. The sun is 93 million miles away from Earth.

Video Resources from UnitedStreaming: Solar System, The: A First Look. 100% Educational Videos (1998). Retrieved April 24, 2006, from unitedstreaming: http://www.unitedstreaming.com/ Solar System, The: Above and Beyond. 100% Educational Videos (1999). Retrieved April 24, 2006, from unitedstreaming: http://www.unitedstreaming.com/ What Is an Orbit?. United Learning (2004). Retrieved April 24, 2006, from unitedstreaming: http://www.unitedstreaming.com/ Our Home in Space. 100% Educational Videos (1999). Retrieved April 24, 2006, from unitedstreaming: http://www.unitedstreaming.com/