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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
Terrestrial Planets – 4 planets closest to the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars),
made up of rock
Jovian Planets – 4 planets furthest from the sun (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune), made up of gases
Mercury – closest to the sun, planet with the shortest year, smallest planet,
covered with craters
Venus - second planet from the sun, covered with thick clouds, very rocky surface
Earth – third planet from the sun, only planet with life, ¾ is covered with water,
solid and rocky
Mars – fourth from the sun, has seasons, Mar is red because of dust storms,
nickname is ‘red planet’
Jupiter – fifth planet from the sun, largest planet, first of the Jovian planets
Saturn – sixth from the sun, surrounded by rings made up of ice and rock, planet
is slightly tilted
Uranus - seventh from the sun, lies almost completely on its side when rotating
Neptune – eighth planet from the sun, very cold, has violent storms
star – a gigantic ball of very hot gasses that gives off light
constellation – a group of stars that form a pattern
galaxy – a huge system of stars, planets, dust and gas held together by
gravity…we live in the galaxy called Milky Way
Planet Order:
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
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