Vocabulary
large natural objects that orbit the sun
planets
this cause the seasons
Earth's revolution around the sun
This causes day and night
The Earth's rotation on its axis
The planets are named after ________ gods.
Roman
a person who studies space
astronomer
the path that an object takes in space when it goes around a star, a planet, or a moon.
orbit
The number of days it takes Earth to revolve around the sun
365 1/4
How many hours does it take the Earth to make one rotation?
24 hours
Name the planets in order
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
the astronomer who said the planets orbit the sun, not the earth
Copernicus
natural satellite of the earth
The Moon
Why do we have a leap year?
How many days does it take the Earth to complete one rotation on its axis?
1 day
You would weight something different on another planet because of this force.
gravity
This astronomer proved that the Earth revolved around the Sun by using a telescope
Galileo
an object that orbits a planet
satellite
Some parts of the Earth have four seasons and some only have two. Why do you think that is?
The four seasons happen because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. At different times of the year, the sun's rays hit different parts of the globe more directly. The angle of the Earth's axis tilts the Northern Hemisphere towards the sun during the summer.
What makes the sun rise and set?
The sun stays in its position at the center of our solar system. It doesn't rise and set. But it appears to rise and set because of the Earth's rotation on its axis. It makes one complete turn every 24 hours. It turns toward the east.
This red planet is the fourth planet from the Sun and was named after the Roman god of war.
Mars
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Sun was what?
a god (named Ra-Atum-Khepri) rowing a boat across the sky.
an imaginary line about which a body rotates
axis
If the Earth were not tilted, what would happen?
Without the tilt of the earth's axis, we wouldn't have seasons. Instead, the areas around the equator would receive the most sun and the northern and southern hemispheres would be stuck in a gradual gradient of hot to cold. The seasons would not change, it would be about the same temperature year round and there would be no seasons.
If Earth did not rotate, would there be day and night on Earth?
Yes, there would be day and night, but not in the way we know it. Even if the Earth stopped rotating, it would still be revolving around the Sun. This means that we would have half a year in day and half in night.
Every planet in our solar system, including the Earth is orbiting (or revolving around) the Sun. Why then do you think the years on some planets are longer than on Earth's?
Some planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune) are farther away from the Sun. Therefore, they have a longer orbit and their year is longer.
According to the video we watched, what happened to Galileo after he proposed that the Earth revolved around the Sun?
Galileo was put under house arrest for the rest of his life because he proposed this.