science 7 earth, moon, sun

Apollo's Mission

1960-1970s astronauts were sent to the moon 6 times. they wore space suits. the collected data and samples.

planet with beautiful shiny rings

Saturn

earth

inner planet. the only planet we know that supports life. has water and oxygen. earth's atmosphere keeps it from getting too hot or too cold

Neptune

outer planet. gas giant. has a great dark spot like Jupiter's. has rings and 8 moons.

moon light

the moon does not make it's own light. it is really light from the sun. sunlight strikes the moon and reflects onto earth

waxing gibbous moon #4

the moon is almost full

full moon #5

the moon is now half way around the earth, you can see all of its lighted side

last quarter moon #7

the moon is three quarters of the way around earth

"the red planet"

Mars

constellation

a pattern of picture outlines by stars. as the earth travels in it's orbit, you see different constellations because you are looking into space in different directions.

satellite

an object that moves in orbit around another larger body. they are not stars. they are smaller and cooler than stars. cant make light

comets

chunks or ice mixed with bits of ice and dust that move around the sun in long narrow orbits. they are sometimes called "dirty snowballs" most stay on the outer edge of the solar system. few get pushed towards the sun which causes them to grow tails of gas and dust.

the earth rotates (spins) on it's axis

creates day and night, 24 hours or one day

the earth revolves around the sun

creates seasons and 365 1/4 days

Big Dipper

one of the most familiar constellations.

Uranus

outer planet. gas giant. a blueish fog covers the planet, has faint grey rings, and 22 moons. rings may be made of graphite (pencil)

365 1/4 days

the earths trip around the sun takes 365 1/4 days or 1 year.

first mission to Mars

used robots and space crafts without astronauts.

crescent moon #8

the lighted side has almost disappeared and a new moon will begin the cycle again.

rotate

as the earth moves around the sun, it also spins or rotates.

night time

as the earth rotates or spins, part of the earth where you live moves away from the sun and faces the dark outer space which is nighttime.

seasons

because the earth's axis is tilted, it produces autumn, winter, spring, and summer. as the earth revolves around the sun, its axis is always tilted in the same direction.

moon phases

it takes about 29 days for the moon to show all of it's phases. as the moon travels around the earth, we see different amounts of its lighted half which makes the moon appear to change shape. the cycle starts over and over.

meteors

looks like shooting stars but are really small pieces of ice, rocks, or metal that have broken off of colliding comets or asteroids. they usually fly through the sky and burn off from friction

moon's orbit

moon travels in an orbit just as earth does. earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the earth. the moon's trip around the earth takes only 28 days.

sun and stars

not solid, made of gas, hydrogen. the sun uses hydrogen to make heat and light energy.

summer

occurs when the earth's axis is tilted towards the sun's rays. this increases the amount of energy absorbed in the area, there is more daylight hours

winter

occurs when the earths axis is tilted away from the suns rays. this reduces the amount of energy absorbed, days become shorter.

Pluto

outer planet. dark, cold, made of rocks and frozen gas.

Jupiter

outer planet. largest planet in the solar system and a gas giant. has 60 moons, a thin ring of dust, thick icy clouds of ammonia and water, and a great red spot.

Saturn

outer planet. second largest planet, gas giant, has 30+ moons, famous for it's shiny rings that are made of ice and rock.

five outer planets

planets that are far from the sun. they are dark and cold. mostly made of gas. each have moons and a ring system

planets

satellites of the sun. each rotates on an axis and revolves around the sun. they all rotate at different speeds for example, a day on earth is 24 hours long but a day on Venus is 243 earth days long. they revolve around the sun at different speeds also.

why is the earth's axis tilted?

scientists think that a large object such as a big chunk of rust or dust pushed the earth onto its side and it has stayed titled

first quarter moon #3

sometimes called a half moon. the moon is a quarter way around the earth.

moon

the biggest and brightest object in the night sky. the moon is smaller than stars and planets. it looks so big and bright because it is earth's closest neighbor in space. the moon is 1/4 as wide as the earth. gravity on the moon is weak because it has less mass than earth

inner planets

the closest plants to the sun. warmer and smaller than the other planets. solid and rock like. they have craters and few satellites if any

solar system

the earth, sun, 8 planets, their moons, and smaller objects make up this system

gravity

the force that holds things to the ground. the pull of gravity between earth and the moon keeps the moon in its orbit around earth. gravity determines how much things weigh.

crescent moon #2

the lighted side of the moon begins to show. the moon is waxing meaning the part you see is growing larger

waning gibbous moon #6

the moon is waning meaning the part you see is getting smaller

orbit

the path a revolving object moves along. the earths orbit is shaped like an ellipse or flattened circle. the earth moves in an orbit around the sun.

revolves

to revolve is to move in a circular or nearly circular path around something else. the earth not only spins on an axis, but it revolves around the sun. as the earth revolves around the sun, it keeps spinning on it's axis

David R. Scott

walked on the moon. an Apollo Mission astronaut

meteorite

when a meteor hits the earth. they are usually small. a crater in the Arizona desert was made when a meteorite crashed into the earth thousands of years ago

new moon #1

when the moon is between the sun and the earth so you cant see the lighted half of the moon

craters

a hollow area or pit in the ground. the moon has craters that may have formed from ancient volcanoes or chunks of rocks or metal from space crashing into the moon.

star

a hot glowing sphere of gasses that give off energy. the sun is a star

sun

a medium sized star. it looks bigger and brighter than any other star because it is much closer to earth

axis

a real or imaginary line that a spinning object turns around. as the earth rotates, it turns or spins about its axis like a toy top. unlike a top, the earth's axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees

Venus

inner planet, almost the same size of earth. no water, covered in gas which traps heat making it the hottest planet in the solar system.

Mercury

inner planet. closest to the sun. has a hot side and a cold side. no water and very little air

Mars

inner planet. smaller than earth but has 2 moons. thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide. strong winds, dust storms, known as the "red planet". has craters and active volcanoes covering it's surface

largest planet, most moons

Jupiter

planet closest to the sun

Mercury

"great dark spot"

Neptune

blueish foggy planet

Uranus

hottest planet

Venus

asteroids

chunks of rock or metal that orbit the sun. there are thousands of them. most are found in an asteroid belt which is an area between the inner and outer planets. they maybe planets that never fully formed or maybe pieces of planets that broke apart. most are the size of a house or smaller.

day time

during the day, part of the earth where you live faces the sun.

what is the moon like?

dusty, lifeless, no air, no liquid water. daytime is so hot that a persons blood would boil. at night, it is colder than any place on earth.

day and night

earth's rotation changes day into night, one complete rotation of earth takes 24 hours or one day.

uses of constellations

farmers studied them to tell seasons, sailors looked at them to tell direction at night, and people told stories about them. scientists believe there are 88 constellations.

Halley's Comet

first reported more than 2200 years ago. its crosses the earths orbit and can be seen in the sky once every 76 years. it will next appear in 2061

9 planets

from the sun: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto

moon's gravity

gravity is 6 times stronger on earth than on the moon. on the moon, you would weigh 1/6 of your weight on earth