EARTH, MOON, AND SUN ASTRONOMY By Mr. Méndez

THE EARTH Nhala is studying the globe. She sees that the Earth has a __________ and __________ pole. The globe rotates around an imaginary line or ______ through its center between the two poles. Another line called the equator divides the Earth into two halves; the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

VOCABULARY Rotate: To spin in place around a central line or axis Earth’s axis: An imaginary line through the center of the Earth between the South and North poles upon which the Earth rotates. Equator: An imaginary, horizontal line that divides the Earth into two halves; the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

THE SKY FROM EARTH Watching the stars:  When you look up at the night sky, what questions do you ask yourself?  Do you wonder why the stars seem to move or why the moon shines?

WHAT CAN YOU SEE IN THE NIGHT SKY? Depending on how dark the sky is where you are, you might see 2,000-3,000 stars using just your eyes! On a clear night, you may see stars, the moon, planets, meteors, and comets.

SATELLITES A satellite is any body that orbits a planet. Based on the aforementioned definition of a satellite; is the moon then a satellite? – YES! The moon is a natural satellite.

PLANETS A planet is an object that orbits the sun, and is large enough to have been become rounded by its own gravity. There are 8 planets in the solar system. Five are visible from Earth without a telescope: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

PLANETS Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune (Sadly, Pluto is no longer a planet  )

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METEORS AND COMETS A meteor is the streak of light produced when a small object burns up entering Earth’s atmosphere. You can see a meteor on almost any night.

COMET Comets are rarer. A comet is a cold mixture of dust and ice that gives up a long trail of light as it approaches the sun.

STARS Stars appear as tiny points of light. However, scientists infer that a star is a giant ball of hot gas, mainly composed of hydrogen and helium.

CONSTELLATIONS For thousands of years humans have seen patterns in groups of stars and given names to them. A constellation is a pattern or group of stars that people imagined to represent a figure, animal, or object.

HOW DO OBJECTS IN THE SKY APPEAR TO MOVE? Stars, planets, and other objects appear to move over time. They do move in space, however—the apparent motion of objects in the sky depends on the motions of Earth. These apparent motions are caused by the Earth turning from west to east.

SEASONAL CHANGES Constellations remain in fixed positions in the sky but yet they appear to ‘move’ throughout the year. Seasonal changes are caused by the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Constellations once visible in the western sky you cannot see and new constellations appear in the east. SEASONAL CHANGES Constellations remain in fixed positions in the sky but yet they appear to ‘move’ throughout the year. Seasonal changes are caused by the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Constellations once visible in the western sky you cannot see and new constellations appear in the east.

ACTIVITY Create (draw, cut and paste, etc.) an image of the solar system based on what you know and what you just learned about astronomy. Examples:  Draw a detailed image of a comet or meteor  Draw or paste colored paper to create a diagram of the 8 planets.  Or you can create a FICTIONAL story as to how Pluto came to be rejected from our solar system 