Patterns in the Sky
In the morning, the Sun is low in the east. At dusk before nighttime, the Sun is low in the west. What causes this change?
The Earth's rotation on its axis.
When arriving to school the Sun is slightly above the horizon in the east. Where would your shadow be pointing?
The west.
The Sun is an averaged sized star, but in our perspective it is the largest stay in the sky. Why is this?
How could you model the Earth's rotations with a globe and flashlight? (Globe as the Earth and flashlight as the Sun)
By rotating the flashlight around the globe.
By orbiting the globe around the flashlight while the flashlight is still.
By spinning the globe around its axis and keeping the flashlight in the same place.
By spinning the globe on its axis and keeping the flashlight in the same place.
Since shadows follow the same pattern everyday of changing the direction it is pointing in and changing their lengths, we can follow that pattern to find out what time it is.
During the day, the only star we can see is the sun. This does not meet that other stars are not there, why can we not see them?
Why is it dark during nighttime?
If your back is to the south with your shadow pointing directly north and is very short. Is the sun high or low in the sky?
High in the sky
During the night time you are able to see planets like Jupiter and Saturn. They look like tiny pebbles in the sky to us, does this mean that the Earth is larger?
False, Jupiter and Saturn are much larger than the Earth. They appear small because they are millions of miles away from us.
Dan lives in America and his Dad is on a trip in Japan, which is on the other side of the Earth then America. When Dan wakes up in the morning, what time period would it be for his Dad in Japan?
It would be nighttime. Since Japan is on the other side of the Earth, when we in America are facing the Sun, Japan will be facing away from the Sun.
Why do shadows follow the pattern that they do?
Because the Earth rotates and causes the sun to be in different positions in the sky, this causes shadows to also point in different directions and change their lengths.
Georgia looked through her telescope at night and found Vega. Vega is twice as wide as the Sun, but through her telescope Vega looks tiny. Why is this?
It is because of the distance between Earth and Vega. Vega is 25 light years away, which makes it appear smaller.
You go outside at 7 O'Clock to observe the Big Dipper. If you go back outside at 9 O' Clock, will the Big Dipper be in the same position in the sky? Why or Why not?
No, since the Earth is rotating like the Sun, stars will also change their position in the sky over the course of the night.
There is a stick stuck in the ground and the shadow is pointing towards the east with a long shadow. Describe where the Sun must be in the sky (which direction and if it's high or low in the sky)
The Sun will be in the west and low in the sky.
When looking at a star during the night time, are you looking at the light it is producing right at that moment?
No, since most stars are very light years away it will take years for the light to reach us. We are looking at light that could have been produced thousands of years ago.