Vocabulary
What is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.
orbit
What are wandering stars?
Planetes, or planets
What phase of the moon happens after a new moon?
Waxing crescent
Is the sun a star? Why is it so special?
Yes, it is a star. What makes is special is that is it is the closest star to our earth and provides us with heat and light and is the center of our solar system.
How fast does the earth rotate?
Roughly 1000 miles per hour, or once every 24 hours (also acceptable: once every 23 hours, 56 minutes)
What is a name given to a group of stars in the sky that make up a certain pattern.
A constellation
Why do constellations appear different in the summer than in the winter?
What causes the phases of the moon?
As the moon orbits the earth the sun is blocked in different amounts. The more the earth blocks the sun the less we see of the moon.
At noon, you look down and see that your shadow is very short and close to your feet. What time of year is it? How do you know?
Summer, because the sun is high in the sky and your shadow is shorter
How long does it take the earth to revolve around the sun?
It takes approximately 365 days, or one year, for the earth to revolve around the sun.
What is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center.
Gravity
Who invented the telescope?
Galileo
What is the only phase of the moon that CAN NOT be seen during the day time?
The full moon because the sun and the moon are on opposite sides of the Earth
It is 5 PM and the light from the sun is already fading from the sky. What time of year is it? How do you know?
It is winter. The sun's path in the sky is lowest in winter and therefore the days are short.
If we were on a planet that had a slower orbit, would the day on that planet be longer or shorter than earth's day?
Longer
What is a particular appearance or state in a regularly recurring cycle of changes phases of the moon
A phase
Do stars move?
Technically yes, but they are so far away that their movement isn't seen by the naked eye.
What direction does the moon travel across the night sky?
It rises in the north-east and sets in the north west. (also acceptable: rises in the east and sets in the west)
In Australia, what direction does the sun travel across the sky?
No matter where you are the sun always rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west!
What is the Goldilocks zone?
The habitable zone where the temperature is just right for a planet to have liquid water and atmospheric pressure so that humans could survive.
What is an illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle of the moon?
A Gibbous
If you looked up into the night sky tonight, what 3 major constellations would you see?
Canis Major, Orion and Taurus
Why would you weigh less on the moon?
You would weigh less because the gravitational attraction on the moon is much less, as it has less mass than earth
Why is it cooler in the winter?
The path of the sun being lower in the sky it allows for less time for the sun to heat the Earth in that area (among other reasons such as the angle of incidence)
What is an AU? Bonus- how much is 1 AU
An Astronomical Unit.
Bonus: 1 AU= 93 million miles