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Space

What planet do we live on? What other planets do you know?

Can you label the 8 planets in our solar system?

There are 8 planets in our solar system. These planets orbit our local star – the sun! There used to be 9 planets – the last one was called Pluto, but a few years ago scientists decided that it wasn’t a planet any more. It was a lot smaller than the other planets, and went round the Earth in a different way. Link on this page won’t work I’m afraid, but was just an animation of the solar system I found on youtube.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio/stargazing-planets 7:50- 13.53

Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It is very hot in the day, and very cold at night. It has no moon.

Venus Venus is the second planet from the sun. It has a thick atmosphere and is the hottest place in the solar system. It has no moons.

Earth Earth is the third planet from the sun. It has a good atmosphere and is the only place in the solar system where there is life. It has one moon.

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is red coloured, and has two tiny moons.

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It is the biggest planet, and is made of gas! It has at least 16 moons.

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is the made of gas, like Jupiter, and has lots of rings round it. The rings are made of tiny bits of rock.

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is the made of gas, and has at least 15 moons. It also spins on its side!

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun. It is the made of gas and has 8 moons.

MERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS Temperature: 427°C Distance from Sun: 56.9 Million Km Diameter: 4,878Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 0.38 Year of Discovery: 1885 Rotation Time: 58.7 Earth Days Orbit Time: 88.0 Earth Days VENUS Temperature: 482 °C Distance from Sun: 108.2 Million Km Diameter: 12,104Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 0.90 Year of Discovery: n/a Rotation Time: 243 Earth Days Orbit Time: 224.7 Earth Days EARTH Temperature: 15 °C Distance from Sun: 149.6 Million Km Diameter: 12,756Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 1.0 Rotation Time: 1 Earth Day Orbit Time: 365.25 Earth Days MARS Temperature: -23 °C Distance from Sun: 227.9 Million Km Diameter: 6,794Km Year of Discovery: 1580 Rotation Time: 24.6 Hours Orbit Time: 687.0 Earth Days

JUPITOR SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE Temperature: -150 °C Distance from Sun: 778 Million Km Diameter: 142,800Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 2.3 Year of Discovery: 1610 Rotation Time: 9.84 Hours Orbit Time: 4332 Earth Days SATURN Temperature: -180 °C Distance from Sun: 1427 Million Km Diameter: 120,536Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 1.16 Year of Discovery: 700BC Rotation Time: 10.2 Hours Orbit Time: 10760 Earth Days URANUS Temperature: -214 °C Distance from Sun: 2870 Million Km Diameter: 51,118Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 1.17 Year of Discovery: 1781 Rotation Time: 17.9 Hours Orbit Time: 30700 Earth Days NEPTUNE Temperature: -220 °C Distance from Sun: 4497 Million Km Diameter: 50,538Km Gravity Compared to Earth: 1.77 Year of Discovery: 1846 Rotation Time: 19.1 Hours Orbit Time: 60200 Earth Days

Now pick one of the planets that you want to find out more about, and use the information cards and computers to fill in the planet fact sheet.

The earth spins on its axis. What is a day? The earth spins on its axis. As it spins, half the time it is in the light and half the time it is in the dark. This side has no sunshine on it, so it is night time This side has sunshine on it, so it is daytime

The earth takes 24 hours to spin the whole way round. This is called a day. What is a month? A month is the time it takes the moon to go round the earth.

It takes the moon 28 days to go the whole way round the earth It takes the moon 28 days to go the whole way round the earth. This is called a month. The moon looks different at different times of the month because of how the sun shines on it, and which bit we can see. Make the flicker book to show the phases of the moon.

Cut along the solid lines. Decide which order to put the pages in. Staple or clip the left hand edges together so that the right hand edges are slightly staggered.

What is a year? The earth goes round the sun. It takes 365 ¼ days for the earth to go completely round the sun. This is called a year. Every 4 years we get an extra day – a leap year.

We live on earth. Earth has seasons.

Why do we have seasons? The earth doesn’t look like this – it is tilted.

This tilt stays at the same angle all the way round the sun:

The tilt of the earth means that some parts of the earth get more direct sunlight at different times of the year. In this picture, the northern hemisphere (top of the earth) gets more sunlight than the southern hemisphere (bottom of the earth. What season do you think it is in the northern part?

When the earth is 6 months further round its orbit of the sun, it is tilted the other way… In this picture, the northern hemisphere (top of the earth) gets less sunlight than the southern hemisphere (bottom of the earth. What season do you think it is in the northern part?

Is it day or night on Earth where the mark is? Day, Month and Year.

What season is it in the UK in these pictures?

How do we see the sun and moon? The sun is a star. This means it makes its own light from the chemical reactions that happen inside it. What about the moon?

What is the moon made of? The moon is made of rock. Do rocks make their own light? No! The reason we can see the moon is that it reflects the light from the sun.

Light from the sun hits the moon and reflects (bounces off). It is this light that we see – so moonlight is actually reflected starlight! Although we sometimes only see part of the moon, the rest is still there – it’s just hidden…

What happens when the light from the sun, or the reflected light from the moon, gets blocked by something? We get an eclipse.

Solar Eclipse Penumbra Umbra

What is a ‘solar eclipse’? After this one, how many years is it until the next partial eclipse in the UK? Where is the best place to view the eclipse? What should you do to protect your eyes when looking at the sun during the eclipse? What part of the sun can be seen during a solar eclipse? How do you know that people were once frightened of solar eclipses? Which number of the ‘conversation starters’ is important for your safety? What is meant by ‘elliptical’? Which of the ‘conversation starters’ did you find most interesting and why? Why is some of the print in bold?

What is a ‘solar eclipse’ What is a ‘solar eclipse’? When the moon moves directly between the sun and the earth After this one, how many years is it until the next partial eclipse in the UK? 11 years Where is the best place to view the eclipse? Faroe islands / further north / somewhere with a clear horizon What should you do to protect your eyes when looking at the sun during the eclipse? wear eclipse glasses or make a pinhole projector What part of the sun can be seen during a solar eclipse? the corona How do you know that people were once frightened of solar eclipses? They thought it heralded the end of the world / apocalypse / ancient folklore Which number of the ‘conversation starters’ is important for your safety? 2. Those glasses are important! What is meant by ‘elliptical’? oval Which of the ‘conversation starters’ did you find most interesting and why? pupils own opinion Why is some of the print in bold? sub-headings

Fill in the blanks using this word bank & then color in the diagram: Earth – (BLUE) the planet on which we live. Moon – (WHITE) the natural satellite of the Earth. Penumbra – (GRAY) the area in which the shadow of an object (the moon on the Earth) is partial, and the area in which a partial solar eclipse is experienced. Sun – (YELLOW) the star in our Solar System.