Sun & Other Stars
What is the name of the ONLY star in our solar system?
The sun
This force pulls objects toward the center of Earth.
Gravity
This season usually has the shortest daylight hours.
Winter
Day and night are caused by Earth doing this.
Rotating
This phase occurs when the Moon cannot be seen from Earth.
New Moon
A massive, glowing sphere of hot plasma—mostly hydrogen and helium—held together by its own gravity.
A Star
How much gravity an object has depends on its ____________.
Mass
What month usually has the longest daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere.
June
Earth takes about this long to complete one full rotation.
24 hours
The Moon does not make its own light. It ____.
Reflects
Objects that produce their own light are known as _______ objects.
Luminous Objects
True or False: Gravity helps the Earth to stay in orbit around the Sun.
The amount of daylight changes because of Earth’s ______ and its movement around __________.
Tilt
the sun
What direction does earth rotate?
counterclockwise
How much of the moon illuminated at any given time in space?
50% or half
Even though many stars are larger than the Sun, why do they appear dimmer?
Because other stars are farther, thus making them APPEAR dimmer.
Gravity pulling objects in space toward the center from all directions causing planets to become _______.
Spheres
Scientists collect and organize daylight information using this type of display.
Line graph
At what time of day are shadows usually the shortest?
Noon (When the sun is directly over us)
What does waxing mean? What does waning mean?
Waxing = growing
Waning = Shrinking
Explain why the Sun appears larger and brighter than other stars in the night sky.
because the Sun is much closer to Earth than other stars
Expain: What is the difference between rotation and revolution?
Rotation is the spinning of an object around its own internal axis (like a top), causing day and night over 24 hours.
Revolution is the movement of one object around a different, external object (like a planet orbiting the sun), taking 365.25 days to create a year.
Explain why daylight hours change during different seasons.
When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, we are experiencing summer, but when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, we experience less daylight and the season winter.
Shadows change length and direction during the day because _________. Explain.
The Earth's rotation on its axis. This rotation causes the Sun's position in the sky to appear to move, changing the angle of sunlight hitting objects
Explain why the Moon appears to change shape during the month.
The phases of the Moon are caused by the changing positions of the Moon, Earth, and the Sun.
As the Moon goes around the Earth, different parts of it are illuminated by the Sun.