EARTH, MOON & SUNmswrsc.weebly.com/.../1/1/4/8/11488051/earth_moon__sun.pdfThe Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon but is 400 times further away! The Moon rises and sets just

EARTH, MOON & SUN

THE UNIVERSE

• The Universe is everything that exists. It is all the space and

everything that is in it. The edge of the Universe is about 14

thousand million light years away. It has taken light this many

years to reach the Earth.

• The Universe consists of galaxies, which are huge clusters of

billions of stars, planets, moons, rocks, dust and gases, held

together by gravity. Galaxies are the building blocks of the

Universe.

THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE

I don’t

think so!

Copernicus

Hundreds of years ago,

people thought that the

Earth was the centre of

the Universe and that

the Sun and planets

rotated around the Earth!

Nicholas Copernicus, was a Polish astronomer

who lived in the 17th century, He studied the stars

and discovered that the Earth and the other

planets actually rotate around the Sun.

W/S: Copernicus Comprehension Task

STARS

• All the stars in the night sky are

gigantic nuclear furnaces like

our Sun. They convert hydrogen

into helium and release huge

amounts of energy (this is

known as nuclear fusion).

• The closest star to Earth is the

Sun.

Surface

Temperature of 6000⁰C

Inner Core

Temperature of 14 million ⁰C

Lighter stars, like our Sun, follow this life cycle:

Nebula

collapses due

to its own

gravity.

Forms a

star like

our Sun. Expands

to form a

red giant.

Outer layers of star drift

away to leave a dense

white dwarf.

Very small nebulae

form failed stars.

SMALL STARS

Stars that are much heavier than our Sun follow this life cycle:

Larger nebula

collapses due to its

own gravity.

Forms a star

more massive

than our Sun.

Expands

to form a

massive red

giant.

Red giant

collapses violently

in a supernova

explosion. Very dense neutron

star formed.

MASSIVE STARS

The end of the life cycle of really massive stars is different to

that of massive stars.

After a really massive red giant collapses in a supernova

explosion, it leaves a star so dense that not even light can

escape its gravitational pull. This is called a black hole!

Some scientists believe

that there are black

holes at the centre of

galaxies.

REALLY MASSIVE STARS

This causes the

‘nebula’ to collapse.

Gravity causes a dust and

gas cloud to condense

into a smaller volume.

As the nebula collapses,

temperatures and pressures

inside the nebula increase.

When the temperature and

pressure are great enough

nuclear fusion starts.

Eventually gravity and

the outward pressure

of escaping energy is

balanced. At this stage,

it is called a star.

What is the correct order for these sentences about how a star is formed?

LEARNING TASK:

Use these words below to complete the life cycles of

different stars:

COMPARING THE LIFE CYCLES OF STARS

nebula small nebula

large nebula

white dwarf

star like our Sun

red giant

neutron star

massive red giant

star larger than our Sun

supernova

COMPARING THE LIFE CYCLES OF STARS

nebula small nebula

large nebula

white dwarf

star like our Sun

red giant

neutron star

massive red giant

star larger than our Sun

supernova

• Constellations are names of groups of stars that appear to form

shapes in the sky. Astronomers recognise 88 constellations

covering both the Northern & Southern Hemispheres.

THE CONSTELLATIONS

THE CONSTELLATIONS

• A planet is a body that orbits the

Sun and produces no light of its

own. It reflects the light of the

Sun or star.

THE PLANETS

The four inner planets are small, dense and mostly

made of rock.

The outer planets, apart from Pluto, are made of liquefied gases such as hydrogen,

carbon dioxide and ammonia.

The asteroids, between Mars and Jupiter, are pieces of

rock with diameters from a few km up to 1000 km.

Pluto, the outermost planet, is believed to be made of rock and

ice.

THE PLANETS

rocky

planets

gaseous

planets

Click on the Sun and each planet to learn more.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Click on Each Planet to

Find Out About it.

Sun Mass

[x Earth] 333000

Diameter [km]

1392000

Surface temp [ºC]

6000

Sun viewed in ‘soft’ X ray

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – THE SUN

Mercury Mass [x Earth] 0.05

Diameter [km] 4,880

Distance from Sun [Million km]

58

Time taken to travel around Sun

88 days

Time taken to spin once on axis

59 days

0 moons Surface temp [ºC] 350

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – MERCURY

Venus Mass [x Earth] 0.81

Diameter [km] 12,112


107.5


224 days


243 days

0 moons Surface temp [ºC] 460

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – VENUS

Earth Mass [x Earth] 1



149.6


365 days


24 hours

1 moon Surface temp [ºC] 20

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – EARTH

Mars Mass [x Earth] 0.11

Diameter [km] 6,790


228


687 days


24h 37m

2 moons Surface temp [ºC] - 23

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – MARS

Jupiter Mass [x Earth] 318



778


11.9 years


9h 50m

63 moons [+ 1 ring]

Surface temp [ºC] -120

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – JUPITER

Saturn Mass [x Earth] 95



1,427


29.5 years


10h 14m

46 moons [+ rings]


THE SOLAR SYSTEM – SATURN

Uranus Mass [x Earth] 14.5



2,870


84 years


10h 49m

27 moons [+ rings]


THE SOLAR SYSTEM – URANUS

Neptune Mass [x Earth] 17.5



4,497


165 years


15h 48m

13 moons Surface temp [ºC] -220

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – NEPTUNE

Pluto System

Mass [x Earth] 0.003

Diameter [km] 2,284


5,900 [variable]


248 years


6.4 days

1 moon Surface temp [ºC] -230

THE SOLAR SYSTEM – PLUTO

WHICH PLANET?

• We live at number 3. Our house has a big pool and a big grassy lawn, and we own one car. Our neighbours don’t have a pool or a lawn, in fact we don’t really have neighbours, the houses on both sides are empty. No-one else lives in any of the houses in our street, so I don’t have any friends to play with. At the beginning of the street is a huge shopping centre. If we didn’t have that near us we couldn’t live where we do because it’s too far to any other shops. Our street is so long I’ve never been down to the end of it, and Mum won’t let me go to the shopping centre because she says it’s dangerous. I really like where we live at number 3 though, it’s the only home we’ve got…

WE LIVE AT NUMBER 3……

• We live at number 3. Our house has a big pool and a big grassy lawn, and we own one car. Our

neighbours don’t have a pool or a lawn, in fact we don’t really have neighbours, the houses on

both sides are empty. No-one else lives in any of the houses in our street, so I don’t have any

friends to play with. At the beginning of the street is a huge shopping centre. If we didn’t have

that near us we couldn’t live where we do because it’s too far to any other shops. Our street is

so long I’ve never been down to the end of it, and Mum won’t let me go to the shopping centre

because she says it’s dangerous. I really like where we live at number 3 though, it’s the only

home we’ve got…

Questions…

• How many houses are there in my street?

• Which house has the most cars?

• Do any other houses have a pool or a lawn?

• Which is the biggest house in the street?

• What does the shopping centre represent?

• Why does no one else live in the street?

• What features of the solar system can we include in our street – how?

WE LIVE AT NUMBER 3……

Your Task:

• Create an analogy of the solar system.

• For example: A street where the houses are the planets, cars are moons, etc ..

Contents:

• A description and picture of each ‘planet’:

• Size

• What its made of

• Colour

• Atmosphere

• An indication of how many moons it has

• Any other interesting features

YOUR TURN ….

SIZE IN THE UNIVERSE

a star

a planet

a galaxy

the Universe

the Solar

System

There are nine of these in our

Solar System. The Earth is one.

Our Sun is one.

Billions of stars together - ours

is called the Milky Way.

The Sun, planets, moons,

asteroids and comets make up

this.

All the galaxies and everything

else.

MATCHING WORDS AND DEFINITIONS

a galaxy a star the Universe

IDENTIFY THE DIFFERENT BODIES

How long is one day?

24 hours

How long is one year?

365¼ days

The Earth spins on its axis, which is tilted at an

angle of 23.5°, and also orbits the Sun.

This causes day and night and the seasons.

DAY & NIGHT

sun

ligh

t

It take the Earth 24 hours to complete

one rotation about its axis.

DAY & NIGHT

THE SEASONS

Summer Winter

THE SEASONS

• The seasons are the result of the tilt of the Earth's axis. The

Earth's axis is tilted an angle of 23.45°. This tilting is what gives

us the four seasons of the year - spring, summer, autumn and

winter. Since the axis is tilted, different parts of the globe are

oriented towards the Sun at different times of the year.

• Summer is warmer than winter because the Sun's rays hit the

Earth at a more direct angle during summer than during winter

and also because the days are much longer than the nights

during the summer. During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the

Earth at an extreme angle, and the days are very short. These

effects are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis.

WHAT IS THE SEASON?

The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite.

The Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon but is 400 times further away!

The Moon rises and sets just like the Sun. It rises about 50 minutes later each day. The Moon is in the

sky during the day as well as at night, but it is harder to see then.

sun

ligh

t THE MOON

ACTIVITY: A MODEL OF THE EARTH & MOON

HOMEWORK:

What is the ‘far side’ of

the Moon?

Research the answer and have it

ready for Thursday.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?

sun

ligh

t

These are called the

phases of the Moon

These are the views of the Moon from Earth.

THE PHASES OF THE MOON

This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

New Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – NEW MOON


Crescent

Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – CRESCENT MOON

Half Moon


THE PHASES OF THE MOON – HALF MOON


Gibbous

Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – GIBBOUS MOON


Full Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – FULL MOON


Gibbous

Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – GIBBOUS MOON


Half Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – HALF MOON


Crescent

Moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON – CRESCENT MOON

PHASES OF THE MOON ACTIVITY

1. The Moon does not produce its own light - how can we

see it?

2. How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth?

3. Why do we always see the same side of the Moon?

4. Why do we only see a full Moon once a month?

5. What is a new Moon?

6. What force keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth?

7. Why is there very little atmosphere on the Moon?

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MOON

THE TIDES

THE TIDES

• The oceans rise up and fall back again twice everyday, due to the Moon’s

gravitational pull.

• These water movements are called the tides. As the Earth rotates it

experiences two cycles of high and low tides, roughly thirteen hours apart.

• High tides: the Moon’s gravity causes a bulge of water on the side of the

Earth closest to the Moon and another on the opposite side of the Earth.

• Low tides: in between bulges there is less water and the tides are low.

• Spring tides: the extra large tides that occur twice a month when the Sun,

Moon and Earth are lined up. The pull on the oceans due to gravity is

stronger then.

• Neap tides: are small, weak tides that occur twice a month when the Sun,

Moon and Earth are at right angles to one another. The Sun and Moon’s

gravity cancel each other out so the pull on the oceans is weaker.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the

Sun and the Earth. This casts a shadow over the Earth.

The last solar eclipse over the Australia was in 2002. Solar

eclipses do not occur very often. Our next one is in November

this year.

A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the

Sun and the Moon. This casts a shadow over the Moon.

Lunar eclipses happen in most years.

ECLIPSES

Where must the Moon be for a solar eclipse to take place? During a solar eclipse the Moon moves directly between the Sun and the Earth.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING A SOLAR ECLIPSE?

During a solar eclipse the Moon blocks the Sun’s rays from reaching part of

the Earth.

12 – 13TH NOVEMBER, 2012

Where must the Moon be for a lunar eclipse to take place? During a lunar eclipse the Moon is on the opposite side of

the Earth to the Sun.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING A LUNAR ECLIPSE? During a lunar eclipse the Earth blocks the Sun’s light

from reaching the Moon.

1. Why do eclipses only last a few minutes?

2. Why do you think ancient people were frightened of eclipses?

3. What causes an eclipse of the Sun (a solar eclipse)?

4. What causes an eclipse of the Moon (a lunar eclipse)?

5. What would a lunar eclipse look like if you were an astronaut standing

on the Moon?

6. Draw simple ray diagrams of a:

a) solar eclipse

b) lunar eclipse

QUESTIONS ABOUT ECLIPSES

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ

ANAGRAMS

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ

Documents

EARTH, MOON & SUNmswrsc.weebly.com/.../1/1/4/8/11488051/earth_moon__sun.pdfThe Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon but is 400 times further away! The Moon rises and sets just