Earth's Movement
Earth rotates on this imaginary line once every 24 hours.
What is the axis?
$100: The only star in our solar system.
Answer: What is the Sun?
$100: A group of stars that forms a recognizable pattern or shape.
Answer: What is a constellation?
$100: The force that pulls all objects toward the center of the Earth.
Answer: What is gravity?
$100: The reason we cannot see stars during the daytime.
Answer: What is the Sun's light is too bright?
This is why the sun appears to rise in the East and set in the West.
What is Earth's rotation?
$200: The sun looks much bigger and brighter than other stars because of this.
Answer: What is its distance from Earth? (It is much closer).
$200: Although they seem to move across the sky, stars are actually mostly stationary; this is moving instead.
Answer: What is the Earth?
$200: Because Earth is this shape, "down" is always toward the center, no matter where you stand.
Answer: What is a sphere?
$200: If you look at the stars at 9:00 PM and again at 3:00 AM, they will be in different spots because of this.
Answer: What is rotation?
This is the difference between rotation and revolution (orbit).
What is rotation (spinning on an axis) vs. revolution (traveling around the sun)?
$300: This term describes how bright a star looks from Earth, regardless of its actual size.
Answer: What is apparent brightness?
$300: We see different constellations in the Winter than we do in the Summer because of this.
Answer: What is Earth’s orbit around the sun? (We are facing different parts of space)
$300: If you are standing in Australia, gravity pulls you in this direction.
Answer: What is toward the center of Earth? (Not "down" into space).
$300: This star stays in roughly the same spot in the sky all night because it is located directly above the North Pole.
Answer: What is Polaris (The North Star)?
It takes Earth this many days to complete one full orbit around the sun.
What is 365 days (or one year)?
$400: A star that is technically larger than the sun but looks like a tiny dot is likely located where?
Answer: What is very far outside our solar system?
$400: These are the visual tools scientists use to predict which stars will be visible at a certain time.
Answer: What are star maps?
$400: This is why the Earth orbits the Sun instead of drifting away into deep space.
Answer: What is the Sun’s gravitational pull?
$400: This is the line where the Earth’s surface and the sky appear to meet.
Answer: What is the horizon?
The shape of the Earth's orbit around the sun.
What is elliptical?
It takes approximately this long for light from the sun to reach the Earth.
What is between 8 and 9 minutes?
This is the brightest light in the night sky that is NOT a planet or satellite.
What is Sirius?
The best way to test gravity.
What is dropping two objects and watching them fall?
The name of the rocket sent to the moon in April of 2026.
What is Artemis II?