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Vocabulary: revolves, orbit, eclipse, axis, satellite, rotates, solstice, planet, equinox,
asteroid, comet
Facts to know:
1) Earth and the moon are alike in that both are made of rock.
2) The first artificial satellite in space was Sputnik.
3) The inner planets are made of rock.
4) The sun is at the center of the solar system.
5) The Earth completes on rotation on its axis. This is called a day.
6) The Earth’s tilt combined with its orbit around the sun causes seasons to change
in the northern hemisphere.
7) The Earth spinning on its axis explains the pattern of day and night.
8) The sun and the planets that orbit round it are called the solar system.
9) The shape of the orbit of each planet is called elliptical.
10) When the north end of Earth’s axis is tilted towards the sun, North America will
experience more direct sunlight and longer days.
11) The Earth spins on an imaginary line running through its center called an axis.
12) Space junk that orbits the Earth is called debris.
13) The Earth’s orbit around the sun is called a revolution.
14) A mass too small to be considered a planet is a dwarf planet.
15) We use telescopes to study the planets and stars.
16) The first scientist believed to use a telescope to observe the sky was Galileo.
17) The first Americans were sent into space in the Mercury Program.
18) The moon landings were part of the Apollo space exploration program.
19) The historic order of tools used to study space is : telescope, satellite, space probe,
and space shuttle.
Place the planets in order from the sun.
Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
(Memory Trick: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas)
Study your diagrams of lunar and solar eclipses and the phases of the moon.
Essay : Why do scientist use a telescope to study objects such as planets and stars instead
of just looking with their eyes?
(Hint: Lesson 3 Think back to Galileo.)