Download Exosphere

Earth Science Notes
Earth – 3rd planet from the sun, only planet known to support life
Atmosphere – blanket of air that protects the Earth
Layers of the atmosphere:
- Troposphere
 closest to the Earth
 where living things are found
- Stratosphere
 Where the ozone layer is found (ozone – absorbs the sun’s
heat which can be harmful to living things)
- Mesosphere
 Where meteoroids burn up (meteoroids – debris from
outer space)
- Thermosphere
 Layer where International Space Station orbits
- Exosphere
 Layer where man-made satellites orbit (man-made satellite
– take pictures and send information to scientists on Earth)
solar system – made up of the Sun, eight planets, moons, asteroids and comets
axis – an imaginary center line around which the Earth rotates
rotation – one whole spin of an object on its axis
*Earth rotates counterclockwise (Sunrises in the east and sets in the west)
revolution (orbit) - one full orbit of an object around another object
planetary year – how long it takes a planet to make one trip around the sun
planetary day – how long it takes for a planet to spin one time on its axis
sunrise – when our city begins to rotate towards the sun
day – when our city is facing towards the sun
sunset - when our city begins to rotate away from the sun
night – when our city is located in the Earth’s shadow
seasons – the change in weather due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis
Earth’s Moon –
- orbits the Earth every 30 days
- what we see each night is a phase of the moon (different shapes)
- you can see the moon because of the sun
Moon Phases –
Last Quarter
satellite – an object in orbit around another object
moon phase – an indication of the fraction of the Moon that is illuminated as
seen from Earth
crater – holes in the ground caused by meteor or asteroid that crashed into
surface of moon or planet