1D3 Earth, Sun and Moon relationships Flashcards
Explore the dynamics between Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, including day and night, seasons, lunar phases, eclipses, and tides.
What are some of the interactions between the sun, earth, and moon?
- The moon orbits Earth once approximately every 27.3 days.
- Earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days.
The gravitational forces between these bodies create various phenomena, such as tides and eclipses.
What causes the phases and eclipses in the sun-earth-moon system?
- The sun always lights up exactly half of the earth and exactly half of the moon, resulting in different moon phases and solar eclipses.
- Eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon align in a straight line.
The phases of the moon depend on its position relative to the Earth and Sun, while eclipses require alignment of these bodies.
What causes the seasons on Earth?
The earth’s rotational axis being tilted relative to the sun.
The tilt is approximately 23.5 degrees, leading to varying sun angles and day lengths throughout the year. It determines which hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the Sun, leading to variations in sunlight and temperature.
What is the solar wind and how does it affect Earth?
A stream of charged particles blown towards Earth by the sun. It can affect electronics and cause radiation exposure.
What is tidal locking and how does it relate to the moon and Earth?
It’s when the moon spins at the same rate as it orbits the earth, causing one side of the moon to always face the earth.
This synchronous rotation means we only ever see one hemisphere of the moon from Earth.
How does the earth’s tilt change over time?
Going up and down by about 2.5 degrees in its orbit around the sun.
What is the name of the wobbling movement of the earth in its orbit around the sun?
Precession
The earth wobbles like a spinning top over a period of 26,000 years.
What causes the phases we see in the moon?
Such as new moons, crescent moons, half moons, and full moons.
The sun always lights up half of the moon and half of the earth, but we don’t always see the part of the moon that is lit up from our vantage point.
As the moon orbits Earth, we see varying fractions of its illuminated half, creating the phases.
What is the name of the phenomenon when the moon blocks out the sun from our vantage point?
Solar eclipse
What causes the tides to rise and fall each day in the oceans?
The moon and sun pull on the oceans, causing them to rise and fall.
What interaction between the sun and the earth causes the seasons?
The angle of the sun as the earth orbits over the course of a year due to the earth’s tilt.
What natural phenomenon is created by the interaction of solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field?
The aurora borealis.
(the northern lights)
Auroras are visual displays of light in the polar regions caused by charged particles colliding with atmospheric gases.
What long-term effect does gravity have on the sun-earth-moon system?
Changes in the earth’s tilt, wobbling, and affecting rotation rates over tens of thousands or millions of years.
How long does it take for the Earth to rotate once on its axis?
Approximately 24 hours.
What causes one Earth year to have 365 days?
It takes the Earth 365 days to complete one orbit around the Sun.
A year is the time it takes for Earth to return to the same position relative to the Sun.
What causes day & night on Earth?
The rotation of the Earth on its axis.
What force keeps the moon in orbit around the Earth?
The gravitational pull of the Earth.
What force keeps the Earth in orbit around the sun?
The gravitational pull of the sun.
How often does the moon orbit the Earth?
Once per month.
What is a new moon?
When the moon is between the Earth and the sun, and the side facing Earth is in shadow.
During a new moon, the moon is not visible from Earth.
How does Earth’s magnetic field interact with solar wind?
It deflects most of the charged particles, protecting Earth.
What is an equinox?
When day and night are approximately equal in length, occurring twice a year.
What is a solstice?
When the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.
Describe the sunspot cycle.
It’s the approximately 11-year cycle during which the number of sunspots on the sun’s surface increases and decreases.
Sunspots are cooler, darker areas on the sun’s surface associated with intense magnetic activity.
What are the types of solar eclipses?
- Total
- Partial
- Annular
Total eclipses occur when the moon completely covers the sun; partial eclipses when it only partially covers it; and annular when the moon is too far to cover the sun completely, leaving a ring of sunlight.
What are the types of lunar eclipses?
- Total
- Partial
- Penumbral
Total lunar eclipses occur when the moon is fully in Earth’s shadow; partial when only part of it is in shadow; and penumbral when the moon passes through Earth’s penumbral shadow, causing a subtle darkening.
What are sunspots?
Sunspots are cooler, darker areas on the sun’s surface associated with intense magnetic activity.
What is Earth’s rotation, and how does it influence daily phenomena?
- Earth’s rotation refers to its spinning motion about its axis.
- It influences phenomena such as day and night, as different parts of the Earth face the Sun at different times due to rotation.
