Definitions
Astronomical Phenomena
Observable events that happen among objects in space.
This term describes Earth's spinning on its axis, causing day and night.
Rotation
This colorful display in the sky is also known as the Southern Lights.
Aurora Australis
The season experienced when Earth's axis tilts toward the Sun.
Summer
Indigenous cultures often use this type of calendar, based on the phases of the Moon.
Lunar calendar
Cyclically
Repeated over and over in the same order.
The path Earth takes around the Sun, leading to the changing seasons.
Revolution
A phenomenon where the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth.
Solar Ecplise
The season when Earth's axis tilts away from the Sun.
Winter
Many Indigenous cultures have used the position of this celestial object to help track time, predict seasons, and guide navigation.
Moon
Summer Solstice
The date each year with the most daylight hours.
The tilt of Earth's axis is approximately this many degrees.
23.5 degrees
When Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon.
Lunar Eclipse
The term for the shortest day of the year.
Winter Solstice
This Indigenous group has stories explaining the Northern Lights as spirits playing in the sky.
Inuit
New Moon
We cannot see any side of the Moon lit up. It appears there is no Moon
This term refers to the two times a year when day and night are of equal length.
Equinox
The waxing gibbous is between which 2 moon phases?
1st quarter and full moon
In which month is the first day of Spring?
March
The Anishinaabe and other Indigenous groups have long recognized this natural light display in the sky as spirits communicating.
Aurora Borealis
The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and rearing of animals to provide food and other products.
Agriculture
The phenomenon when the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, occurring twice a year.
Solstice
A stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, which can cause disruptions to Earth's magnetic field and technology.
Solar wind
The phenomenon causing different constellations to be visible at different times of the year.
Earth's Revolution around the Sun
The Cree tell a story about the Big Dipper, where the three stars in the handle represent hunters chasing this animal.
Bear