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Chapter 12
Exploring
Space
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Earth rotates on an axis which causes day
and night.
Rotates means to spin once on its axis.
Axis is an imaginary line that goes through
the center of Earth from the North Pole to the
South Pole
This line is not up and down. It is tilted at an
angle of 23 ½ degrees.
What Causes Day and
Night?
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It takes Earth 24 hours to
rotate, or make one complete
turn. This time period is called
a day.
The side of Earth facing the Sun
is experiencing daytime. The
side of Earth facing away from
the Sun is experiencing
nighttime.
Earth moves around the Sun. One full trip around
the Sun is called a revolution. This process takes 1
full year.
 Because Earth’s axis is tilted, some parts of Earth tilt
toward the Sun during a revolution. The other parts
tilt away from the Sun.
 This tilt causes the seasons.
 It is summer when part of Earth tilts towards the
Sun. It is winter when part of Earth tilts away from
the Sun.
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SUMMER SOLSTICE
WINTER SOLSTICE
June 21 or 22, the longest
day of the year in the
Northern Hemisphere.
 The North Pole points
towards the Sun
 Marks the start of summer.
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December 21 or 22, the
shortest day of the year in
the Northern Hemisphere.
 The North Pole points
directly away from the Sun.
 Marks the start of winter.
VERNAL EQUINOX
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March 21 or 22, when the
number of hours of
daylight and darkness are
the same.
This marks the start of
spring.
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX
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September 22 or 23, when
the number of hours of
daylight and darkness are
the same.
This marks the start of fall.
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The Moon is considered
a satellite which is an
object that revolves
around Earth.
The shape of the Moon is
a sphere.
The Moon is smaller
than Earth and is 80
times lighter.
The Moon does not have
a strong gravitational
pull and there is no
atmosphere around the
Moon.
The Moon only looks large at night because it is so
close to Earth. It is actually much smaller than it
appears!
 The Moon looks bright at night, however, it does not
produce any light. It only looks bright because the
Sun is shining on it.
 The Moon rotates on an imaginary axis just like
Earth. The only difference is it takes 27 1/3 days to
make one full rotation.
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MOON PHASES
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Shapes created by the changing
amounts of visible lighted areas
of the Moon.
A complete cycle of the moon
phases take about 1 month.
First phase: New Moon
Second phase: First Quarter
Third phase: Full Moon
Fourth phase: Last Quarter
In between each phase there are
other smaller phases going on.
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In between each phase there are other smaller
phases going on.
Waxing Crescent- the right side is starting to be
visible.
Waxing Gibbous- the moon is almost full, except for
a small part on the left side that is not lit.
Wanning Gibbous- the right part is starting to go
dark.
Wanning Crescent- all that is visible is a small part
on the left side.
When one object
passes into the shadow
of another object.
 Solar eclipse takes
place when the Moon
passes between the
Sun and Earth. The
moon blocks the light
from the Sun. This
causes a shadow on
Earth.
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Lunar eclipse takes
place when Earth
passes directly
between the Sun and
the Moon. The moon
then moves into
Earth’s shadow.
 The Moon can still be
seen during this but it
will have a reddish
color.
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The shadow from an eclipse has 2 parts.
 The darker part of the shadow is called the
umbra.
 The lighter part of the shadow is called the
penumbra.
The inner planets are
small, ball-shaped, and
made of rock.
 In order from the Sun:
Mercury, Venus, Earth,
and Mars.
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About the size of Earth’s moon.
Very, very hot during the day because it is so
close to the Sun and cold at night.
Moves through space quickly but rotates
slowly.
Mass: .0553
Has no moons.
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About the same size as Earth.
Spins so slowly that its “day” is longer than its
year!
Mass: .815
Has no moons.
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Where we live!
Only planet in our solar system that we know
can have living things.
The air around Earth keeps it from getting
too hot or too cold.
Mass: 1.0
Has one moon.
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Called the Red Planet because it is covered with red
rocks
Scientists think living things may once have lived on
Mars but no signs of life have been found yet.
Spins about the same speed as Earth.
A year on Mars is almost twice as long as a year on
Earth.
Mass: .107
Has 2 moons.
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It is difficult for scientists to study the planets
because they are so far away from Earth.
For years they have used telescopes.
Now they use space probes which are crafts
that help scientists explore outer space.
Space probes carry tools instead of people.
They also have cameras and other tools for
taking pictures.
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Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
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All four are considered
gas giants. A gas giant
is a very large planet
made up of gases.
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Biggest planet. If you put all the other
planets together, Jupiter is still bigger!
Jupiter has a big storm called the Great Red
Spot. It is the size of two Earths!
Spins fast. Its day is only about 10 hours long.
Mass: 317.8
Has at least 63 moons. Scientists are still
searching for more.
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Second largest planet.
Has rings around it that are made of pieces of
ice, dust, and rocks. Most of the pieces are
small but some are big.
Spins fast. Its day is only about 11 hours long.
Mass: 95.2
Has 60 moons.
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Third largest planet. About 64 Earths could fit into
Uranus.
Only planet that spins on its side. This makes the
planet have “day” for half of the year and “night”
for the other half.
The gas on Uranus makes it a blue-green color.
Mass: 14.5
Has at least 27 moons.
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Fourth largest planet but the smallest of the
gas giants.
Takes 165 Earth years to rotate around the
Sun because it is so far away.
Very cold and has very strong winds.
Mass: 17.1
Has at least 13 moons.
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For many years Pluto was considered a
planet. Pluto is now a dwarf planet.
Made of rock and ice.
Pluto’s orbit is very different from the orbits
of the other planets.
Has 3 moons.