Sun-Earth-Star Patterns & Daylight Grade 1

Content Topics Diurnal Motion Patterns of Moon Phases Seasonal Patterns (Daylight & Shadows) Nighttime sky

What are the patterns of our Sun, Moon, & Stars? Our Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. (every day) Our Moon changes shape. (with a pattern that repeats every month) We have seasons. (with a pattern that repeats every year) Stars are seen at night.

The Day & Diurnal Motion The Earth spins. As we spin, it looks like objects in the sky are doing the moving. (Diurnal Motion) W E

Spinning Earth (We spin into and out of daylight) Video by NOAA

Practice How does the Sun appear to move in the sky? The sun appears to travel in an arc from East-to-West across our sky. What direction (N, S, E, W) does earth spin? Earth spins West-to-East How do we know it has been a day? Another sunrise, sunset, or lunchtime

Our Moon The Moon goes around the Earth. (orbits) Our Moon shows us different amounts of is daylight side each night. There is always a daylight side and a nighttime side on the Moon, just like we have on the Earth. We just can’t see all of the Moon’s daytime side all of the time. The Moon repeats a cycle of Moon Phases. The pattern repeats every month.

Moon Shapes NASA Image

Practice If the moon is almost full and growing, can we predict what it will look like in a few days? How? Yes, we know the pattern of the Moon growing until it is a full circle, and then getting smaller until we can’t see it. Is the Moon ever in the sky during the day? Yes, the Moon is in the sky during the day sometimes. When the Moon is seen (daytime or nighttime) depends on the positions in space of the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Sun’s Path Image Credit: pinterest

Daylight The hours of daylight depend on the shape of the arc the Sun makes in the sky. The higher the arc is, the more hours of daylight we have. The lower the arc, the less hours the Sun is up.

Noon in Maine Credit: John Stetson

Practice What season do you think it is in the photo? Fall Why do you think that? The Sun is not high or Low in the sky. The tree has no leaves. Image Credit: mysteryscience.com

Shadows We have a short shadow when the Sun gets high in the sky. We have a long shadow when the Sun arc is closer to the horizon. Image Credit: quora.com

Practice Where is the Sun? The Sun is on the opposite side from the shadow. The shorter the shadow, the higher the Sun is in the sky. Open Source Images

Nighttime Stars Once the bright Sun has set, we can see the stars. There are always stars in the sky. We can’t see stars until Earth spins out of the bright Sunlight.