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VARIOUS NOTES: SUN/EARTH/MOON SYSTEM

NEW BOOK  CHAPTER 11 STUDY GUIDE

 

 

SPHERE : A round, three-dimensional object. The surface is the same distance from its center at ALL points. Examples include basketballs, tennis balls, etc.

AXIS: Is the imaginary vertical line around which Earth spins. It cuts through the center of the Earth.

ROTATION: the spinning of earth on its axis. The earth rotates COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. Rotation of the earth on its axis causes DAY and NIGHT.

REVOLUTION: Earth’s yearly orbit around the sun. The revolution of the earth around the sun coupled with THE TILT ON ITS AXIS, CAUSES SEASONS.

ELLIPSE: Earth’s orbit, an elongated, closed curve. The Sun ISN’T the center but a little towards the end.

MOON PHASES: T he different forms that the Moon take in its appearance from Earth. It all depends on the positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon.

NEW MOON: Occurs when the Moon is between Earth and the Sun. The lighter side faces the Sun and the darker side faces the Earth. The moon rises and sets WITH the SUN.

WAXING: Means that more of the illuminated half of the Moon can be seen each night. About 24 hours after a new moon you can see a slice of the moon which is called the waxing crescent.

FULL MOON:  Occurs when ALL of the Moon’s surface facing Earth reflects light.

WANING: When less of the Moon’s illuminated half is showing each night. It begins after a full moon. The waning crescent also occurs right before a new moon.

SOLAR ECLIPSE: Occurs when the moon moves between the sun and earth and casts its shadow over part of the Earth. The Darkest part of the moon’s shadow is called the umbra. Someone standing under the umbra experiences a total solar eclipse. The only visible portion of the Sun is a white glow around the edges of the moon.

LUNAR ECLIPSE: When Earth’s shadows falls on the moon. It begins when the Earth moves into Earth’s penumbra. As it continues to move, it enters the umbra, the moon goes dark and signals a lunar eclipse has occurred.

 MARIA: Dark, flat, regions. They are 3 billion to 4 billion years old, and are found on the MOON.

IMPACT BASINS: The depression left behind by an object hitting the Moon.

THIRD QUARTER: Waning phase in which only one half of the lighted side of the Moon can be seen from Earth

EQUINOX: Reached when the Sun’s position is directly over Earth’s equator

SOLSTICE: The point at which the Sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator

MOON PHASES: The changing appearances of the moon as seen from our position on Earth

FIRST QUARTER: Waxing moon phase in which one half of the Moon’s lighted side can be seen from Earth

 

KNOW!!! : The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours.

 

KNOW!!! : The Earth rotates ‘counterclockwise’ on its axis.

 

KNOW!!! : The Earth revolves around the sun ‘counterclockwise’. It takes the Earth 365.25 days to do that. It is known as a year. ***Different planets have different lengths of time that it takes them to ‘revolve’ around the Sun. Therefore, each planet’s year is a different length of time.

 

KNOW!!! : The moon revolves around the Earth ‘counterclockwise’. It does not spin on its axis like the Earth. It takes about 29.5 days for the Moon to come to one full revolution around the Earth, thus revolving on its axis once every 29.5 dys roughly.

 

KNOW!!! : Telescopes are used to study distant objects in the heavens.

 

KNOW!!! : Reflecting telescopes and refracting telescopes are used to observe planets, moons, and stars.

 

KNOW!!! : The Hubble Space Telescope can take pictures of distant objects much more clearly because it is free of Earth’s atmosphere that may interfere with its lens and picture taking ability.

 

KNOW!!! : How to draw a diagram of a SOLAR ECLIPSE

 

KNOW!!! : How to draw a diagram of a LUNAR ECLIPSE

 

KNOW!!! : How to identify the phases of the Moon