Planets and Stars

EQ: How do Earth and its moon move? Vocabulary Words Rotate Axis Moon Orbit Revolves phases

Day and Night We have the cycle of day and night because Earth rotates, or spins, on its axis.

Times Zones The United States has 7 time zones from Puerto Rico in the east to Hawaii in the west.

Seasons Earth revolves, or travels in a path around the sun. An orbit is the path of one object in space around another. Earth takes about 365 days to orbit the sun. The seasons change as Earth orbits the sun.

Phases of the Moon Over 29 ½ days the moon shape seems to change. These different shapes are called phases.

Let’s Review What time zones do we live in ? How do we get day and night? How do we get the seasons? Demonstrate orbiting and rotating. What are the phases of the moon? How many days does it take the Earth to rotate? the Earth to orbit? the moon to complete its phases?

EQ: What objects are in the solar system? Vocabulary Words solar system planet comet

Solar System A solar system is a group of objects in space that travel around a star.

The sun is the star in the center of our solar system.

Planet A planet is a large object that moves around a star. Earth is one of the 8 planets. Can you name the other planets?

Comet A comet is a ball of rock, ice, and frozen gas.

These are the four Inner planets.

Inner Planets 2nd planet from sun. 1st planet from sun. Hottest planet in solar system. Small with rocky surface. 1st planet from sun. Small with rocky surface. Mercury is very hot it can be 840°F.

Inner Planets 3rd planet from sun. Earth is the only planet with liquid water and lots of oxygen. Earth is a small planet with a rocky surface with 1 moon. 4th planet from sun. Called the “Red” planet. Small, about half of Earth’s size with rocky surface

These are the 4 Outer planets.

Outer Planets 5th planet from sun. 6th planet from sun. largest planet in our solar system & made of gas has at least 63 moons and Great Red Spot caused by a storm. 6th planet from sun. Has rings and 31 moons. Has no known solid surface. Made of gas helium, and hydrogen .

Outer Planets 7th planet from sun. 8th planet from sun. Rotates on its side Has a t least 27 moons Large and made of gases 8th planet from sun. Very windy Has at least 13 moons Made of gas helium, and hydrogen .

Balls of gas with no solid surface Inner Planets Outer Planets Rotates slowly Rotates quickly Orbit the sun quickly slowly Few moons Lots of moons No rings Lots of rings Have a solid surface Balls of gas with no solid surface Small planets Huge planets

What about Pluto? Pluto is made of ice and rock. It use to considered an Outer Planet, but it very different from the Outer Planets. Now Pluto is called a “Dwarf Planet”.

There are 2 other Dwarf Planets called Eris and Ceres. What about Pluto? There are 2 other Dwarf Planets called Eris and Ceres.

Small Solar System Bodies There are 2 other kinds of objects that revolve around the sun, asteroids and comets.

Asteroids Comets Comets are ball of rock, ice and frozen gas. Most are smaller than asteroids. Asteroids are made up of rock and metal. Most asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter . Comets can change when they get close to the sun. Some of the frozen matter turns into gas, which looks like a tail.

Let’s Review What is the solar system? What is in the center of our solar system? Name the planets in the correct order. How is a planet defined as a inner or outer planet? Name the inner and outer planets. Describe the other objects that orbit the sun other than planets.

EQ: What can we see in the sky? Vocabulary Words Star Sun Constellation Galaxy Universe

Star A star is a huge ball of very hot gas.

Sun The sun is a star in the center of our solar system.

The Sun and Other Stars a blue star a red star A star is a huge ball of very hot gases. Star may be different sizes and colors. Red = coolest star Blue = hottest star Yellow = between hottest and the coolest

Constellation A constellation is a group of stars that form an imaginary picture in the sky.

Galaxy A galaxy has billons of stars. A galaxy is a huge system of gases, dust, and stars. Our solar system is on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

Universe The universe is everything in space.

Smallest to Largest 2. Galaxy 1. Solar System 3. Universe

Seasonal Star Positions At night star seem to move. Their position seem to change from season to season. This is due to Earth’s movement.

Let’s Review What is a star? What does a star color tell about it? What are 2 ways people classify groups of stars? Why do constellations seem to change their positions in space?