Earth in Space
Earth in Space
Earth in Space
Key Concepts How does Earth move in space? What causes the cycle of seasons on Earth?
Key Terms
Astronomy Axis Rotation Revolution Orbit Calendar Solstice Equinox
another One complete revolution of Earth around the sun is a year Earth follows a slightly elliptical orbit around sun
Rotation vs Revolution
Checkup
How many rotations of Earth take
Calendars
A Calendar is system of organizing the
time that defines the beginning, length and divisions of a year People of many cultures have added to our idea of a calendar Egyptians determined that there are 365 days in a year Many people followed moon cycles there are about 29 days in a moon cycle or month Problem = 12 moon cycles of 30 days only adds up to 354 days.
Calendar
Romans borrowed Egyptian calendar of 365 days Problem: It actually takes the Earth 365 days to complete one revolution. The Romans added 1 day every 4 years. The 4th year is known as a leap year Problem: Roman calendar still off by 11 min. Over the centuries the minutes added up and by 1500s the beginning of spring was coming 10 days early Pope Gregory XIII dropped 10 days from the Calendar to correct. He also made other minor changes. This is the calendar we use today
Check up
What is a leap year?
an area is. Sunlight hits more directly and a smaller area at the equator so it is warmer Sunlight hits at an angle and over a greater area at the poles so it is colder
is tilted as it revolves around the sun. (23.5 from vertical) As Earth revolved around the sun, the north end is tilted towards the sun for half of the year and tilted away the other half Summer and winter are caused by the Earths tilt not by changes in Earths distance from the sun Earth is actually farthest from the sun during the northern hemispheres summer
Earth in June
North end of Earths axis
South end of Earths axis is tilted away Sun is low in the sky, days are shorter than nights Suns rays are more slanted It is winter in southern hemisphere
Earth in December
Southern Hemisphere receives most direct
Solstices
Solstice when sun is farthest north or south of
the equator Day when the sun is farthest north of the equator = about June 21 = Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and Winter Solstice in Southern Hemisphere Day when the sun is farthest south of the equator = about December 21= Winter Solstice in Northern Hemisphere and Summer Solstice in Southern Hemisphere
Equinoxes
Halfway between the solstices, neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from sun
Noon is directly overhead at the equator
Check up
If Earths axis were not tilted, what would happen to the length