SCIENCE EARTH and SPACE

Intermediate

People once thought that the sun moved around the Earth.

After all, the sun seems to rise in the east and set in the west.

Today we know that the Earth rotates, or spins, not the sun.This spinning causes day and

night.It is the reason that the sun

seems to rise, move across the sky, and then set.

Have you ever been on a merry-go-round?

It turns around a pole in its center.

Earth is like a giant merry-go-round,

but the pole is imaginary.This imaginary pole is

called Earth’s axis.

How long does it take for the Earth to complete one full

rotation?

Rotation is counterclockwisewhen viewed from the North Pole.

The axis runs through Earth’s center,

from the North Pole to the South Pole. Earth rotates on its axis once about every 24 hours.

South Pole

The axis is not at a 90 degree angle. The Earth’s axis is tipped

over at an angle of 22.5 degrees.

This is why we experience seasons.

South Pole

22.5

As Earth rotates, only one side of it faces the sun. This part of Earth is having daytime. The

other side of the Earth faces away

from the sun and is having nighttime.As the Earth rotates, we have day

and night over and over again and again.

What is responsible for Americans having daytime while it is

nighttime in Australia?

The time it takes a planet to rotate

once on its axis is 1 full day.

The rate of rotation is different for

each planet, so each planet has a

different number of hours in one of its days.

One Earth day = 24 hours.

The Earth rotates on its axis from

WEST to EAST.It takes 24 hours for the Earth to make one complete rotation

on its axis.

WE

As the Earth continually rotates on

its axis, tilted over at about 23 degrees, it is also moving in

another way.

It is revolving.To revolve is to follow a path

around the sun.

Earth takes about 365 days to make one complete orbit around

the sun. As Earth moves around the sun, Earth’s axis stays tilted in

the same direction.The tilt of Earth’s axis plus its

orbit causes the seasons.

The path that the Earth travels on is called its orbit.

Earth’s orbit around the sun follows

the same path.N

But not every planet has the same

number of hours in their day.Some planets have shorter days

while others have longer days.The amount of time it takes the

planet to complete one full rotation

determines the length of each planet’s day.

Earth is divided into halves called hemispheres. The upper half is

the Northern Hemisphere. The lower half is called the

Southern Hemisphere.

The hemispheres are divided into halves by the imaginary line called the Equator. Equa = Equal Hemi = Half

There is also the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere. The Earth is cut in half from North to South.

Because of the tilt of the Earth, the Northern Hemispheres is

tilted toward the sun during the

summer months and gets more rays of sunlight. There are also more

hours of daylight and it’s warmer.

Summer is here.

When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite season is

occurring in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and gets less sunlight. There are fewer

hours of daylight, and it’s cooler. It is winter.

In December, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from

the sun. It’s winter now. At the same time, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the

sun. Now it’s summer in the

Southern Hemisphere.

PATTERNS in the SKY

For thousands of years, people have

seen pictures in the stars.They connect the stars to make

a pattern or a shape.

This is the Big Dipper.

Star patterns are called constellations. Constellations are groups of stars that seem to form a pattern in the night sky.

The early Greeks named constellations

after animals or people from stories called myths.

The Big Dipper is part of a constellation called Ursa Major,

or The Great Bear. Orion is a constellation named

after a hunter in a Greek myth.

As Earth rotates on its axis, constellations seem to move

across the night sky. Like the sun, constellations seem

to rise in the east and

set in the west.Stars above the North Pole,

don’t seem to move as much.They move in a circle.

The positions of the constellations seem to change with the seasons. This is because we see different

parts of space as Earth revolves around the sun.

Stars do change over time, but it will take millions of years for a

constellation to change its shape.

Show What You Know1. Day and night are caused by Earth’s ______________________.

2. Earth revolves around the sun once every _____________________.

3. Earth’s seasons are caused by Earth’s revolution and _____________.

4. During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, there are ___________ ____________ and it is _____________.

5. When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is ______________ in the Southern Hemisphere.

6. Constellations appear to move across the night sky because of Earth’s

___________________________.

PLANETS and BEYOND

M-V-E-M-J-S-U-N (P - Little Pluto doesn’t count any more )

Earth Earth number 3 - Earth the perfect home for me!

MERCURY

Mercury is the closest planet to our sun.It’s only 36 million miles from our sun.

Mercury orbits the sun every 88 days and spins or rotates on its axis every 59 days.

Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System.

It is about the size of our moon.Mercury has no moons or natural satellites

of its own.There is very little atmosphere because of

the limited gravitational force.The gravitational force is about 1/3 of Earth.

Mercury is extremely hot during the day because it is so close to the sun.

It can reach 450 degrees C ( 840 degrees F) during the day and then plummet

to -170 degrees C ( -275 degrees F) at night.

Mercury is very similar to Earth in composition. It has a very rocky surface

and an iron core.

MERCURYRoman god

of commerce, travel and thievery

Mercury Mercury number 1! Mercury closest to the sun.

VENUS

Venus is the 2nd planet from our sun.It is located between Mercury and Earth,

about 47 million miles from our sun.Venus orbits the sun every 225 days.

It spins or rotates on its axis around the sun every 243 days. So each day is longer

than its year.

Venus rotates east to west instead of west to east, like on Earth.

Venus is called our “sister planet” because it is almost the same size as Earth.

Venus has no natural satellites or moons.The atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.

There is no magnetic field on Venus.

Venus is covered with thick clouds which hold in the heat. (greenhouse effect)

Temperatures range from about 500 degrees C (900 degrees F)

to -32 degrees C (-50 degrees F).Venus has a rocky, waterless surface with mountains, canyons, plains, and a 200 -mile

long river of hardened lava.

VENUSRoman godof love and

beauty

Venus Venus number 2. Too hot for me – too hot for you!

EARTH

Earth is the 3rd planet from our sun.It is located 93 million miles from the sun.Earth orbits our sun about every 365 days,

travelling at more than 67,000 mph.Earth spins or rotates on its axis every

24 hours.

Earth 5th largest of all the planets.It has one natural satellite, our moon.

The atmosphere is gaseous consisting of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.

Earth’s gravity is 9.8 meters per second squared.

Strong enough to keep us from floating away.

Over 71% of Earth is covered in water!Allowing life to flourish.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was 89 degrees C (-128 degrees F).

The hottest temperature was58 degrees C ( 136 degrees F).

EARTH

Earth Earth number 3! Earth the perfect home for me.

MARS

Mars is the 4th planet from our sun.The surface can be seen in detail from Earth. Mars is located 228 million km from our sun.

It takes 687 days to make a full orbit around the sun and it spins or rotates

every 24+ hours.

Mars is half the size of Earth.It is the 2nd smallest planet in our

Solar System.The atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.

The gravity is about 1/3 of Earth’s.

The temperature ranges from-140 degrees C (-220 degrees F) to

20 degrees C ( 60 degrees F).Mars has a hard rocky surface.

You can walk on Mars.It is covered with dry red dust.

Mars has 2 permanent polar ice caps.

MARSThe red planet.

Mars Roman god of war. Mars Mars number 4!

JUPITER

Jupiter is the 5th planet and is over 466 million miles away from our sun.

It takes 12 years for Jupiter to complete one orbit around the sun.

It takes 10 hours for Jupiter to spin or rotate on its axis.

Jupiter is the largest of all the planets in our Solar System.

At this time, 67 moons have been discovered.

The atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium.

Jupiter is a giant ball of gas.Temperatures range from

-163 degrees C to 121 degrees C.

JUPITER

Jupiter Jupiter number 5Jupiter largest in the sky.

SATURN

Saturn is the 6th planet in our Solar System.It is most remembered for the rings that

surround it.It takes 29+ years to make one complete

orbit around our sun.It takes 11 hours to spin or rotate on

its axis.

Saturn is the second largest planet.It is 10 times the size of the Earth.

Saturn has at least 62 moons.The atmosphere is made of hydrogen

and helium gases.Saturn is the windiest of all the planets.

Saturn average temperature is -178 degrees C.

It is composed of liquid and gas.The famous rings aremade of ice crystals.

Saturn was named for the Roman god of agriculture.

SATURN

Saturn SaturnNumber 6.

Saturn is the windiest!

URANUS

It is located 1,783,939,400 miles from the sun or 19.2 AU.

It takes 84 years to orbit the sun.It spins on its side at 98 degrees and

it also spins backward. It takes 17 hours to complete one rotation.

Uranus is the 7th planet and is the third

largest planet in our Solar System. It has 27 satellites.

The atmosphere consists of 83% hydrogen and 15% helium.

The average temperature is -197 degrees C or -323 degrees F.

Uranus is a gas giant.There is no solid surface on Uranus.

Uranus is surrounded by ringsand gets its blue green color from

methane gas.

URANUSGreek god of

the sky.Uranus flipped

over on its side.

NEPTUNE

Neptune is called a Blue Giant.It is located 2.8 billion miles from our sun.It takes 165 years to complete one orbit.

It takes 16 hours to spin or complete one rotation on its axis.

Neptune has 13 known satellites.Its atmosphere consists of 74% hydrogen,

25% helium, and 1% methane.Neptune is tipped on its axis at 28 degrees

so it has seasons.It is composed of gas and has rings.

NEPTUNERoman god of the sea.Neptune

number 8 for me.

PLUTO

Poor little Pluto is no longer considered one of the planets in

our Solar System.It has been demoted to a

“Dwarf Planet”.

It takes Pluto 6 days to spin or rotate on its axis.

It takes 248 years for Pluto to complete one orbit around the

Sun.

Pluto is about half the size of Mercury and has 5 known

moons.

Pluto’s average temperature is -233 degrees C or -382 degrees F.Pluto is composed of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, and

water ices.

Pluto was named by an 11 year old

girl for the Roman god of the Underworld.

PLUTOPLUTOIcy rockPluto – soonto be forgot…

Earth’s Moon

The moon is Earth’s satellite. A satellite is an object that moves

around another larger object in space. Earth’s moon is the

largest and brightest object in the night sky.

It looks large because it is close to Earth.

But the moon is small compared to Earth.

The Earth’s moon is a natural satellite.

The moon doesn’t have any light of its own. The light we see is

sunlight that hits the moon and is reflected back to Earth.

The moon has no air, no wind, and no liquid water.

The moon is about 1/4th the size of Earth.

The pull of Earth’s gravity keeps the moon in its orbit around

Earth.

We can only see one side of the moon from Earth. That is

because the moon takes the same

amount of time to rotate once around

the Earth as it does to orbit

the Earth once.

We can see the moon at night and

sometimes during the day.The surface of the moon has

been been transformed as rocks and

debris slammed into it and formed craters.

There are mountains and large, flat plains on the moon.

The flat plains on the surface are called maria (mah REE uh)

which is a Latin word meaning

“seas.”

Each time you look at the moon it looks differently.

One night it may be a tiny sliver.

Several nights later you might see a bright round circle.

As Earth orbits the sun, the moon

also orbits Earth. The moon reflects light from the sun.

That is the light we see from Earth.

As the moon travels in its orbit, different amounts of the moon’s

lit side can be seen from the Earth.

The moon’s shape does NOT change.

But the appearance of the moon does.

These changes in appearance are known as moon phases.

You know that sunlight reflects from the moon to Earth.

Yet the sun lights only half of the

moon at any given time. The motions of Earth and the

motions of the moon are responsible

for the moon phases you see.

As the moon revolves around the Earth, the amount of the lit part that we

see from Earth changes. These different amounts of the moon’s lighted side are

the different phases of the moon.Each phase of the moon has a different

shape. It takes about 1 month for the moon to complete all of its phases. This cycle repeats over and over again

and again.

The lit portion grows larger until we see a full moon. This happens

when Earth is between the moon

and the sun.

As the moon continues in its orbit,

we see less and less of its lit portion. When it is half lit

again, it is a third quarter moon.

For thousands of years, people used

the phases of the moon to make

calendars and track time.Earth’s orbit around the sun also has been used to make calendars

and track time.

These are called solar calendars.

Our modern calendar is based on Earth’s orbit around the sun.

Each month is based roughly on the

moon’s phases. Once in a while, there are two full moons in

one month.This is called a “ blue moon.”

The Aztec calendar is based on Earth’s orbit around the sun. Each part of the calendar has colorful animals or symbols.

These symbols marked important times of the year, such as

when to plant crops.

People have always looked up at the night sky. Early people built

monuments based on what they saw in the sky. When writing

was developed, people began to

record their observations.

Early Aztec and Egyptian astronomers

were limited to observing space with just their eyes.

They observed several planets using just their eyes.

Early astronomers also believed that

Earth was the center of the universe.

In the 1600’s the telescope was invented.

A telescope is a tool that uses lenses to make faraway objects

appear closer and larger.Galileo was one of the first

astronomers to study space by using a telescope.

The telescope led to many new observations about space.

Galileo observed four of Jupiter’s moons by using the telescope.

By the early 1600s, astronomers knew that the Earth revolved

around the sun.

However, they still believed that the sun was the center of

the universe.

EXPLORATION

Space probes are vehicles that move

through space, but are controlled

from Earth.Observatories have been built all

over the world to observe distant stars.

The launch of Sputnik was the beginning of the Space Age.

The Gemini 7 space capsule took two astronauts on a 14-day orbit

around Earth.

size of abeach ball

“That’s one small step for man, and

one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong spoke those words from the moon’s surface in July of 1969. He was the first person

ever to set foot on the moon.

Astronauts have lived on theInternational Space Station.

The International Space Station is a giant

space lab that orbits Earth.

Astronauts orbited Earth in the Space Shuttle, too.

The Hubble Space Telescope is another

example of technology in space.

The Hubble Space Telescope takes pictures of faraway galaxies.

Florida has had a major role in the exploration of space.

The space age began in Florida in the early 1960s. Florida’s space

center was called Cape Canaveral. Each of the moon missions launched

from Florida’s east coast.NASA renamed the space center in

honor of Presidents John F. Kennedy

in 1963.

The space race has affected the economy

and the culture of Florida.Many people work at the

Kennedy Space Center.Engineers design and build rockets.

Scientists study data.Astronauts train for space flight.

Tourists visit the Kennedy Space Center to see and experience the wonders

of space.

Our lives are different today because of space exploration.

Many things that were invented to

benefit the astronauts and the space program have directly

impacted our lives.

Satellites relay TV and phone signals across the world.

Communication is now world wide.

Benefits from space technology are called “spin-offs.”

Scientists developedcordless power tools.

Astronauts needed boots towalk and jump on the moon.

Today’s athletic shoes are based on moon boots.

Coolers are basedon a space cooling system.

They also invented freeze-driedfoods.

They alsoinventedTeflon.

Non stick.

Race car drivers’ suitsare spin-offs

of space suits.

Show What You Know

1. A person who studies space is an ________________.2. Name of an early astronomer is __________________.

3. A cordless power tool is an example of ___________.4. ___________________ was the first satellite in space.

5. The _______ is a large telescope that orbits in space.

6. A ____________ is a vehicle that moves through space but is controlled from Earth.

7. A tool that is used to make objects appear larger is

called a _______________________.8. ____________________ is the space center in Florida.