Vocabulary
Moon Phases
Revolution and Rotation
Moon and Planets
Sun
100
What does the word ROTATE mean?
Rotate means when the earth or another object spins or turns around on its axis.
100
What does the moon look like when it is a full moon?
100
What causes day and night to occur?
The earth rotates around its axis. Half of it is in the sun's light, while the other half is in the shadow. It takes 24 hours for one turn. The line that separates the light and dark is called the terminator line.
100
Who were the first people to walk on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
100
Is the sun a star? Give two details to explain how you know.
The sun is a star. It is made up of gas and gives off energy and heat.
200
What does the word AXIS mean?
The imaginary line that goes through the center of the Earth from the North Pole to South Pole. It is slanted at 23.5 degrees.
200
What does the moon look like when it is a new moon?
200
When are shadows the shortest? What direction do they point?
Shortest shadows are at solar noon. They point north.
200
What is gravity like on the moon?
Gravity on the moon is 1/6 less than the earth's gravity. This means that things are lighter, so bouncing is easy. A man weighing 180 pounds on Earth would only weigh 30 pounds on the Moon.
200
What season does the sun reach its highest point of the year?
The sun is at its highest point in the summer.
300
What does the word ORBIT mean?
An orbit is the path of an object as it circles or goes around another object.
300
What does the word WANING mean?
waning means the lit part of the moon is decreasing, shrinking from a full moon back to a new moon,
300
What time of day are shadows the longest?
To see a very long shadow, it would have to be early morning and early evening.
300
Why does Venus appear larger and brighter than Jupiter in the night Sky?
Venus is much closer, so it appears larger and brighter!
300
Why does the sun appear lower in the sky during the winter?
During the winter in the northern hemisphere, the Earth is tilted away from the sun, making the sun appear lower in our sky.
400
What is Sirius?
Sirius is the star that shines the brightest in the night sky because it is one of the closest stars to us. It is located to the left of Orion, in the dog constellation.
400
What does the word WAXING mean?
Waxing means the moon's illuminated (lit) part is increasing, growing from a new moon towards a full moon.
400
What is an equinox, and when does it happen?
An equinox is when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. The equinoxes happen around March 21st and September 21st. On these two days, there is 12 hours of day, and 12 hours of night all over the Earth!
400
Why does the moon have different phases?
The moon appears to look different to us on Earth because the moon orbits the Earth. Half of the moon is always lit, and half is always dark. Depending on where the moon is in space compared to the Earth, what we see on the Earth looks different each night.
400
Why does the sun appear to be the brightest star in our sky?
The sun appears to be the brightest star in the sky because it is the closest. The sun is less than one light year away. Other stars are really far. Arcturus, which is the next closest star, is still almost 37 light years away, so it is dimmer than the sun.
500
What does the word CIRCUMPOLAR mean?
Circumpolar means when an object moves around the pole star, which is located right above the Earth's north pole. It looks as though all the stars circle Polaris.
500
What is this moon phase called?
This is a gibbous moon.
500
What is the solstice, and when does it happen?
A solstice is an astronomical event, occurring twice yearly (June 21 and December 21), when the Earth's axial tilt causes the Sun to reach its northernmost or southernmost point in the sky, marking the longest day (summer solstice) or shortest day (winter solstice) for a hemisphere, signaling the start of summer and winter respectively, with seasons reversed in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
500
If you are trying to land safely on the moon what will you need to know or think about?
Possible Answers:
- The moon has less gravity than the earth
- You will need something to slow your spacecraft down
- There is no atmosphere on the moon
500
How far away is the sun from earth?
The sun is 93 million miles, or one astronomical unit (AU).