Download Phases of the Moon - Cold Lake Middle School

Sky Science Review Part 1:
Planet Characteristics and Order:
Know the order of the planets in our solar system and basic characteristics about them:
Remember this saying:
My Very Eyes May Just See U Now Pluto
Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
Planets are generally divided into two main types: large, low-density gas giants, and smaller,
rocky terrestrials. Scientists currently say that there are eight planets in the Solar System. In
order of increasing distance from the Sun, they are the four terrestrials, Mercury, Venus,
Earth, and Mars, then the four gas giants (or Jovian Planets), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune. Six of the planets are orbited by one or more natural satellites. Additionally, the Solar
System also contains at least five dwarf planets[3] (including Pluto which is also called a trans
neptunian object since it is farther from the sun than Neptune is.
Phases of the Moon:
Know the sequence of the phases of the moon and why experience them. Note the position of the moon
related to that of the earth and sun in each phase.
Other important moon facts:
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“Waning” means “getting smaller” and “waxing” means getting bigger
Although we call it our moon, technically it is a natural satellite since it orbits the earth
Like the earth, the moon also rotates on its axis, but it does so much more slowly than
the earth does. While the earth makes a full rotation every 24 hours, the moon takes
approximately the same period of time to rotate that it does to make one complete
revolution around the earth (i.e. approximately one month). This is why the same
portion of the moon is always facing the earth
A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon and direct
sunlight does not reach the Moon. This is rare because the orbit of the moon is slightly
inclined to the plane of the Earth and Sun and therefore only lines-up in just the right
way for a Lunar Eclipse to occur once in a while (I.e. not during every full moon).
A Solar Eclipse occurs on those rare instances when the moon is lined-up directly
between the Earth and the Sun. During these instances, the sun appears to disappear
briefly in the sky. Even during a Solar Eclipse, it is very dangerous and harmful to the
eyes to look directly at the sun.
Stars and Constellations
-Stars appear to form patterns in the sky. We call these patterns constellations. Since the earth
is tilted on its axis, different constellations are visible during different times of year and from
different parts of the earth.
- Constellations which are visible year-round from the Northern Hemisphere are called
circumpolar constellations because they appear to circle the North Pole throughout the year.
Other constellations come in and out of our view depending on the season and which way our
hemisphere is pointed in space.
- Constellations that you should be able to recognize include Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major
(including the big dipper) and Ursa Minor (Including the Little Dipper).
-Polaris is located at the end of the Little Dipper and is given its name because it almost directly
in line with our North Pole.
-Due to the Eastward rotation of the Earth, all visible stars (like our sun) appear to move in a
Westward direction through the sky.
-A galaxy is a cluster of stars in the sky. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way. Our sun is just one of
over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way. In addition, there are billions of known galaxies in the
Universe. Woa!
-The nearest star to our sun is the triple star Alpha Centauri (sometimes called Proxima
Centauri) which is 40 trillion km or more than 4 light years away from Earth. This means it takes
light over 4 years to reach us from that star. Light travels the distance of the Earth’s equator 7.5
times in 1 second. So although Alpha Centauri is the closest star, it is still very far away).
The Apparent Motion of the Sun, Shadows and the Seasons
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The sun appears to rise in the East and set in the West each day. Really, it’s the Earth
that’s rotating towards the East at a constant speed which makes the Sun appear to
move in our sky in a predictable way.
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Due to the Earth’s tilt, The Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience 4 seasons.
During our winter, the Northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and during our
summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun.
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Shadows cast by the sun onto the surface of the Earth are longest at the beginning and
end of each day (i.e. just after sunrise and just before sunset). They are shortest at Solar
Noon which is the time in the middle of the day when the sun appears to reach its
highest point in the sky.
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Shadows cast by the sun are somewhat shorter in summer than they are in winter
because the sun is higher in our sky during the summer months. Since the sunlight
strikes objects more directly in summer than in winter, smaller shadows are created.