Chapter 5 Section 1 The Sky from earth

What can you see in the night Sky? Moon- the earth’s only natural satellite Satellite- is a body that orbits a planet Planet- an object that orbits the sun 5 are visible from earth without telescope- mercury, Venus, mars, Jupiter, and Saturn Stars- appear as tiny points of light but are actually giant ball of hot gases mainly composed of hydrogen and helium Meteors- a streak of light produced when a small object burns up entering earth’s atmosphere Comet- a cold mixture of dust and ice that gives off long trail of light as it approaches the sun

Constellations Constellation- a pattern or group of stars that people imagined to represent a figure, animal, or object Western culture identifies 88 constellations Most are named from ancient Greeks

Finding Constellations Star charts help you identify constellations in the night sky

How do objects move in the sky appear to move? Stars, planets, and other objects appear to move over time. These objects do move in space, but the actual motions and their apparent, or visible motions may be different. The apparent motion of objects in the sky depends on the motion of Earth

Star Motion Move from east to west through the night Apparent motion is due to earth turning west to east

Seasonal changes Constellation and star patterns remain the same, however when they are visible varies from season to season Seasonal changes are caused by the earth’s orbit around the sun North star is visible year round on earth

Planets Planets appear to move along the background of the stars Planets orbit sun in same plane, they appear to move through a narrow band in the sky Band is called the zodiac- constellations Taurus, Leo, and Virgo Planets are seen a different times throughout the night on Earth