The Sun
How much does the sun move in space?
It doesn't!
True or False: Seasons are the same everywhere on our planet.
False! The seasons a place experiences depend on its location related to the equator, or the center, of the Earth.
Day and night is the same everywhere on the planet.
Kind of! Everywhere on the planet has a day and night! It is caused by the same thing! But the amount of time that day and night last will change depending on the season and the place.
True or False: Everything has a shadow.
False! Solid objects have shadows. But some objects can be touched, yet light can shine through them. These objects make no shadows.
Hint: There is at least one of these objects in this classroom. Can you figure out what it is?
How many planets are in our solar system?
8
True or False: Is it possible for humans to go to the sun to learn more about it like we do on Mars?
False! The sun is very, very hot! We have sent spaceships close to the sun, but we built them knowing that they would take pictures, send them, and ultimately melt because of the heat. At the moment we cannot make anything that deal with the heat of the sun.
True! It is currently summer in Australia!
True! This is because all planets in our solar system rotate on their axis! Interestingly, our sun also does this!
True or false: If the sun got closer to earth, the shadows of things on earth would get longer.
True! The closer something is to the source of light, the longer its shadow will become. You can experiment with this at home using a flashlight and stuffed animal.
True or false: The planet's location in the solar system change
True! They rotate around the sun so their exact spot in space will change in a pattern.
True or False: The sun could fit about 600 of the entire solar system put together side by side across its middle?
What are seasons like closer to the equator?
The closer you are to the equator, the less the temperature will drop. For example, in Singapore, it is currently hot. It will also be hot in July, and June, and October, and so on. These places may have different seasons that relate to rain or wind.
True or false? The Earth's rotation around the sun causes day and night.
False! The rotation around the sun causes seasons. The spin of our planet causes day and night.
True or false? A long time ago people used shadows and the sun to make some of the world's first clocks.
True! They were called sundials, and are quite interesting to learn about!
True or false? The space robot on Mars can sing happy birthday to itself.
True! There are videos of this on youtube :)
How does the sun help, or not help, life in our solar system?
It helps on Earth because we have a "goldilocks" position. That means Earth is in the perfect spot for life to flourish. The sun gives energy to planets and warmth to the planet.
If we were too close to the sun it would be too hot for us! If we were further it might be too cold!
How are seasons and the Earth's rotation related?
The Earth rotates in space. This slow rotation on a tilted axis causes different areas of the planet to get different amounts of sunlight during different times of the year. More sunlight - summer! Less sunlight - winter!
Throughout human history, many people have thought the sun was a God or special. Why do you think they thought that?
1. Many people noticed the special relationship between the sun and things that grow (like food!)
2. When there is less sun, people tend to get cold and there is less food
3. The sun is obviously important to our planet. But, before telescopes were invented, people had no way to tell what it was or where it came from. So they made stories to explain what they noticed in nature.
How do shadows change throughout the day?
The closer it is to noon, when the sun is directly overhead in the sky, the shorter the shadow is. This is because of the angle of the light hitting the object, or thing, that has the shadow.
True or false? There used to be water on the planet Mars.
True! Even more interesting is that over our winter holiday scientists found more proof and evidence of this! You can look online to read or see pictures about this.
False! Our sun is actually a medium-sized star. There are larger stars in the galaxy and universe that we have found using telescopes. However, there are NOT larger stars in our solar system. Do you know why?
What do you think would happen if the planet only had one season?
We would probably have less biodiversity. Biodiversity is how many different types of things that can live on the planet.
What is the relationship between the sun and day/night?
The sun causes it to be daytime or nighttime. As the Earth spins it will receive sunlight (day) or not receive daylight (night).
You can tell in two ways. The first is by how long the object is in general. A shorter object will make a shorter shadow. You can compare your shadow to a pencil's shadow to see this.
The second way is by where the sun is in the sky. The further the sun looks from being directly above you, the longer the shadow will be.
True or False? Many asteroids and comets hit our planet.
False! They often hit our moon, which does not have an atmosphere to protect it. While many astroids can get to Earth, it's unusual for them to land on the planet. This is because they burn in our atmosphere, or end up hitting the moon instead.