1. Earth, Moon and Sun The Earth
Tilted on an axis (N-S pole) 23.5 degrees
Earth moves in space two major ways
Rotation- spinning of Earth on its axis
West to East, 15 degrees per hour or once per day, counterclockwise
This causes day and night—half the Earth is always lit and have it always dark
Stars rise in the East and set
in the West (btw, stars do not
really rise and set, they are
stationary, they just look like
they are moving, bc the Earth
is rotating—this is called
apparent motion)
Documented with star trails

2. Earth, Moon and Sun The Earth (cont.)
Revolution- Earth’s movement around the sun
Earth moves one degree per day
One year to complete one revolution around the sun
Counterclockwise
Evidence of revolution—movement of constellations
We see different
constellations
and different
times of the year
Ie. Orion can
only be seen in the
winter
Causes Seasons
Tilt and curves
surface of Earth
cause varying
amounts of
insolation = incoming solar radiation

3. Earth, Moon and Sun

4. Earth, Moon and Sun The Moon
The Moon revolves around the Earth once every days.
The Moon also
rotates on its
axis once every
27.3 days.
Because these
periods are the
same, we only
ever see one
side of the Moon
from Earth.
The Moon appears to rise 50 minutes later each night.

5. Earth, Moon and Sun **Complete the diagram on p. 540 Lunar Phases
Only the side of the Moon
facing the Sun is
illuminated...the other side
is dark.
When the Moon revolves
around the Earth, we see
varying amounts of this
illuminated side...this is why we see
the phases of the Moon.
The cycle of phases takes 29.5 days
Waxing means the illuminated
portion is getting bigger each
night.
Waning means the illuminated
portion is getting smaller each night.
**Complete the diagram on p. 540

6. Earth, Moon and Sun Eclipse Solar Eclipse Occurs during a new moon
Moons orbit around Earth is slightly tilted– the moon travels above and below Earth’s orbit
On rare occasions, Earth, the moon and the sun line up causing an eclipse
Solar Eclipse
Occurs during a new moon
Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun, blocking the sunlight from Earth
Moons shadow then hits the Earth
Umbra- full or darkest part of the shadow
Penumbra- partial or larger part of the shadow, people in penumbra see only a “partial” eclipse

7. Earth, Moon and Sun Solar Eclipse (cont.) Eclipse of 2017:
Totality path is 70 mi
wide
The sun will be
completely covered for
up to 2 min and 41 sec in
some places
Last eclipse on mainland
1979
Last total eclipse to cross
entire continent of USA 1918
Partial eclipse will last over
2 hours
Totality Path
Day will seem like night
Horizon will look like sunset
Stars will be visible
Suns’s corona (atmosphere) will
be visible

8. Earth, Moon and Sun Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipses only occur during the Full Moon phase.
A total lunar eclipse is sometimes referred to as a “blood moon” next Jan. 20, 2019
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon causing the Moon to be blocked out by the shadow of the Earth.
There Earth does create an umbra and penumbra just like in the solar eclipse
Unlike the total solar eclipse, a total lunar eclipse can be seen any where on Earth that the moon is visible
The next Lunar
Eclipse will occur
on January 31, 2018
Will be a partial
eclipse in
New Orleans with
max eclipse occurring
at 6:47am

9. Earth, Moon and Sun
Tides- the rise and fall of ocean water that occurs about every hours
2 High tides per day and 2 low tides per day, each 56 hours apart
Gravity pulls the moon and Earth toward each other
The gravitational
attraction of the moon
causes the oceans to
bulge out in the direction
of the moon. 
Another bulge occurs on
the opposite side, since
the Earth is also being
pulled toward the moon
(and away from the water
on the far side)

10. Earth, Moon and Sun
Tides occur because the moon’s gravity pulls the water closest to it
4 tides occur in 24 hours
Each day there are two high tides and two low tides
6 hours between high tide and low tide
12 hours between high tide and the next high tide
Spring Tide (has NOTHING to do with the spring season
Occurs when the
moon, earth and
sun are aligned
Greatest
difference
between high and
low tide heights

11. Earth, Moon and Sun Neap Tide
Occurs when the line between the moon and Earth form a right angle to the line draw between the Earth and Sun
Occurs only during
1st quarter and
3rd quarter
moon phases