Vocabulary
What is a star?
-A huge ball of glowing gas
How large is Earth compared to the sun?
-The Sun is bigger than the Earth
What is the name of our galaxy?
-The Milky Way
What is a hemisphere?
Half of a sphere/globe (or Earth)
If someone in the Northern hemisphere on Earth is experiencing summer, what is someone all the way south of them in the Southern hemisphere experiencing?
Winter
What is a galaxy?
-A large system of dust, stars, and gas that has a certain shape
How does the moon move?
-The Moon revolves around the Earth
Why do astronomers need to use models to study the universe?
-because it is too big/expensive to study in person
What is the universe made up of?
Everything - all time, space, matter is a part of the universe
What is responsible for the length of a year?
That's how long the Earth takes to travel, or revolve, around the Sun
What is an asteroid?
-A piece of rock or metal that orbits the sun
What is responsible for the length of a day?
-The rotation of the Earth on its axis
Put these in the correct order from SMALLEST to LARGEST: Galaxy, Universe, Solar System, Planet
-Planet, Solar System, Galaxy, Universe
What is a moon?
A naturally occurring solid object that orbits a planet
What causes a SOLAR eclipse?
the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth and fully or partially blocking the Sun's light
What is an orbit?
-The curved path of an object around another one
What is responsible for the length of a month?
-The length of time it takes the moon to revolve around the Earth.
What are the three shapes of galaxies?
-Spiral, Elliptical, Irregular
What is an axis?
An invisible line through the North and South Pole of a planet or moon
Name 2 things that gravity influences in our Universe.
*Could be a wide range of responses-- included but not limited to:
- Sun's gravitational force causing our planets to orbit
- Planets gravitational force causing their moons to orbit
- Gravity draws interstellar gas and dust together to form stars, galaxies, and planets.
- Our moon's gravity impacts our oceans and causes tides.
What is the difference between rotation and revolution?
-Rotation is when something spins on its axis, a revolution is when something travels around something else
What causes seasons?
-Earth’s tilted axis
What is our universal address?
Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, The Universe
What is the difference between a SPRING tide and a NEAP tide?
A Spring Tide has the greatest difference between high & low tide (the highest high tides and lowest low tides). A Neap Tide has the least amount of difference between high & low tide.
Both Wisconsin and Florida experience summer at the same time... why are their temperatures different?
The intensity of the sun-- Florida is closer to the equator.