Science - Earth And Space Flashcards
Which direction does the earth rotate?
Where does the sun rise and set?
The earth rotates from west to east
Sun rises in east sets in west
How does the earth move around the sun?
It orbits the sun
Revolve means:
To do around something. The earth takes 365.5 days to revolve on around the sun.
The earth revolving around the sun causes the seasons
The earth follows a path as it travels around the sun
Rotate means:
To spin or turn; the Earth takes 24 hrs to rotate on it’s axis
Earths rotation causes day and night
What does the Earth’s axis causes?
The seasons and day and night
How long does it take Earth to complete one full rotation on it’s axis?
24 hours
What causes earth’s seasons?
The earth’s axis (23.5 degree tilt)
How long does it take the moon to orbit the earth?
29.5 days in an almost circular pathway
What angle is the earth’s axis on?
23.5 degrees
How long does it take Earth to complete one orbit around the sun?
365.5 days
What are the 8 phases of the moon
1 - new moon (moon is opposite the sun) 2 - waxing crescent 3 - first quarter 4 - waxing gibbous 5 - full moon 6 - waning gibbous 7 - last quarter/third quarter 8 - waning crescent
What is an eclipse?
An eclipse is when something passes in front of the sun, blocking its light. This can be either the earth or the moon.
Why do we have a leap year?
Because the 0.25 from each year is left out for 4 years and then counted on the fourth yea, giving us an extra day
What’re lunar eclipses?
When the earth casts a shadow on the moon causing a full moon
These happen more often than solar eclipses
What’re solar eclipses?
When the moon casts a shadow on part of the earth causing a new moon
When do solar eclipses occur?
SME (When the moon is between the sun and the earth)
When do lunar eclipses occur?
SEM (When the moon is opposite the sun behind the earth)
When the moon is located between the sun and earth it’s called a _______ moon.
New moon
What types of solar eclipses are there?
Partial, total and annular
What types of lunar eclipses are there?
Partial, total and penumbral
Who sees which eclipses?
Solar - only one part of earth gets to see for a few minutes because moon is too small to block all light from the sun.
Lunar - anyone who is facing the moon can see it
What is the moons shadow
The umbra and penumbra
Why don’t we have eclipses every month?
Because the orbit of the moon is tilted
What is the difference between total and annular eclipses
Total eclipses completely cover the sun but a small part of the sun can be seen during annular eclipses because the moon doesn’t cover the sun entirely
What is the umbra and the penumbra?
Umbra - The dark inner portion of the shadow cone. Complete shadow
Penumbra - The lighter outer portion of the shadow cone. Partial shadow
Both occur during lunar and solar eclipses
What is a lunar month and how long do they go for
The period of time it takes for the moon to go around the earth; 29.5 days
What causes moon phases?
The light illuminated from the sun which causes the moon to change shape each lunar month.
The moon rotates around the earth and the sun’s light reflects off the moon at different angle.
Why does the moon glow?
It reflects light from the sun
Lunar eclipses can only happen during what moon phase?
Solar eclipses can only happen during what moon phase?
Full moon
New moon
What side of the moon can you never see from earth?
The dark side or far side
How much of the moon is covered in light during:
A. a half moon phase
B. a full moon phase
A. Half
B. The whole moon
Why do we only every see one side of the moon (the dark side)
Because the earth and the moon rotate at similar rates
What is a natural and artificial satellite?
Natural - something that naturally orbits something else (moon)
Artificial - something that is man made but still orbits something
What does the following mean:
Orbit Rotate Waning Waxing Gibbous Crescent
Orbit - a regular, repeating path that one object takes around another one Rotate - spinning on it’s axis Waning - shrinking Waxing - growing Gibbous - more than half lit Crescent - less than half lit
