Earth and Beyond By Denise Carroll

Earth’s Surface How do we know what Earth’s surface looks like? http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/landsat/intro1.html Tracking LANDSAT: http://landsat.usgs.gov/java/Locate7.php

Astronaut An astronaut is a person who travels in space to explore. On July 2, 1969,Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first two people to walk on the moon. Scientists have studied rocks and photographs these astronauts brought back.

Stars A star is a big ball of hot gases which give off light. How bright a star is depends on . . . - the size of the star - how hot the star is - how close the star is to Earth

Why do people in the cities see fewer stars than people who live in the country? There are too many lights in the city. These lights prevent people from seeing thousands of stars each night.

Constellations A constellation is a group of stars that form a star picture.

Sun The sun is the closest star to Earth. The sun is a big ball of hot gases. The sun gives off two kinds of energy: light and heat. This is called solar energy. The sun never moves. All nine planets orbit, or move, around the sun. The sun is so large that more than a million Earths could fit inside it.

With out the sun, there would be no life. Why? Plants use the sun’s light to make food. Animals and people use the sun’s light to see in the daytime. Plants and animals need light and heat to live and grow. The sun’s heat warms water, land, and air. The sun’s heat warms all living things on Earth. All the other planets go around the sun, too, but Earth is the only planet where we can live. The sun gives us just the right amount of heat and light.

Planet A planet is a large ball of rock or gas that follows a path round the sun. There are nine planets. Sun  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto ( My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas! )

The solar system includes the sun and nine planets.

Earth Earth is the planet that we live on. It is the 3rd planet from the sun. It is called a “Rocky Planet,” because it is made of rocks. Sometimes Earth is called the “Water Planet,” because it is the only planet with the water we need to live. Earth orbits, or circles, the sun in 365 days, or one year. While it is orbiting the sun, it also spins like a top! It spins 1 time in 24 hours, and that is why Earth’s day lasts for 24 hours. Earth is the only planet where plants and animals live

Earth has day and night. Rotation is when something spins round in round. It takes about 24 hours for the Earth to rotate, or spin. This is one full day. This rotation causes the Earth to have day and night. http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Earth/Seasons/Seasons.htm

Seasons A season is a time of year that has a certain kind of weather. - winter, spring, summer, and fall (autumn) Earth follows a path around the sun. This path is called an orbit. As the earth moves around the sun, Earth has different seasons. The sun shines on different parts of the Earth at different times which cause the seasons.

Revolution Remember that the Earth is tilted all the time that it is moving around the Sun. It takes the Earth one year to move around the sun. This is called a revolution. It follows an orbit, or path.

The Moon The moon is the largest object you can see in the night sky. The Earth has one moon. The moon travels around the Earth. It takes the moon about 4 weeks, one month, to travel around the Earth. A crater is a hole, valley, or indentation on a planet or moon made by a large rock. There is no life on the moon because there is no air. Moonlight is the light of the moon. This light comes from the sun. Which part of the moon is lighted by the sun? - The part of the moon that is facing the sun.

Phases of the Moon We have all noticed that the Moon looks different from night to night. Sometimes it is in a different position in the sky or has a different shape or phase.

Congratulations! You have learned about the solar system. Can you name the nine planets, in order?

Resources http://images.search.yahoo.com http://office.microsoft.com/clipart