Earth, Moon, and Sun
What is rotation? What does rotation cause here on Earth?
Rotation is the turning of an object on an axis.
The rotation of the Earth causes our days and nights. It takes 24 hours for the Earth to make a full rotation.
What causes the phases of the moon?
The moon reflects light from the sun. The amount of light we see depends on the part of the moon that is facing us.
What is an asteroid?
An asteroid is a piece of rock and metal that orbits the sun.
What are the inner planets?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
What is the name and shape of the Galaxy we live in?
The milky way and it is spiral shaped.
What is revolution and what does it cause on Earth?
Revolution is the movement of one object in an orbit around another object.
The Earth revolves around the sun, which causes our seasons.
Which side of the moon is lit during the 1st quarter moon phase?
The right side of the moon.
Where are most of the asteroids located in our solar system?
Most of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
What are the outer planets?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What is the Big Bang Theory?
That the universe was created by a big explosion called the big bang and over time the matter created stars, galaxies, planets, etc.
What are the 2 different types of eclipses and define both?
Solar Eclipse-when the moon blocks sunlight from the Earth. The order is Sun, Moon, and Earth
Lunar Eclipse-when the Earth blocks sunlight from the moon. The order is Sun, Earth, Moon
Which side of the moon is lit during the 3rd quarter moon phase?
The left hand side of the moon is lit.
What are comets and what is the name of the comet that passed by Earth in 1986?
Comets are balls of ice, rock, and frozen gases that orbit the sun.
Halley´s comet passed by Earth in 1986 and will pass by again in 2061.
What are planets like Pluto called?
Dwarf planets
What are the 4 different types of galaxy shapes?
Spiral, barred spiral, elliptical, and irregular
What is a neap tide?
A neap tide occurs when the sun and moon form a right angle with Earth. This pull makes the high tides lower and the low tides higher.
What happens during a new moon?
During a new moon we can only see an outline of the shape of the moon because the lit side of the moon is facing away from us.
What is a meteor? Why do most meteors never hit Earth's surface?
A piece of rock, smaller than an asteroid, that enters Earth's atmosphere.
Meteors burn up as they travel through Earth´s atmosphere and do not reach the ground.
What do the inner planets have in common?
They all have layers: crust, mantle, and core.
They all have an atmosphere.
What is a supernova and what are 2 things it can do?
A supernova is the result of a star that has exploded or died. Supernova can either create another smaller neutron star or collapse on itself creating a black hole.
What is a spring tide?
A spring tide occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon are lined up. This pull causes higher high tides and lower low tides.
What happens during a full moon?
We can see the moon fully lit because it is facing us.
What is a meteor called when it hits the Earth?
A meteorite.
Why our the Outer Planets called ¨Gas Giants?¨
The outer planets are made up of mostly hydrogen and helium gases.
What are the different star types we have discussed and define each of the types?
Main sequence Stars-can be blue, white, or red and range from dim to bright as well as hot to cool.
Supergiants-cool red stars that are very big. They are bright due to their size.
Red giants-cool red stars that are a little smaller than supergiants, but share the same characteristics.
White Dwarfs-small stars that are dim, but extremely hot.