Observe, describe and interpret the movement of objects in the sky; and identify pattern and order in these movements.
1. Recognize that the Sun and stars emit the light by which they are seen and that most other bodies in space, including Earth’s Moon, planets and their moons, comets, and asteroids, are seen by reflected light.
1. Recognize that the Sun and stars emit the light by which they are seen and that most other bodies in space, including Earth’s Moon, planets and their moons, comets, and asteroids, are seen by reflected light.
- When something emits light it means it produces its own light.
- Sun, Stars, Galaxies, Nebulae, and Meteors in the Earth's atmosphere all produce their own light
- When something reflects light it means that light produced by something else is bouncing off of it.
- Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids in space, moons or natural satellites, and artificial satellites all reflect light
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/14718762/863876932.jpg?261)
2. Describe the location and movement of individual stars and groups of stars (constellations) as they move through the night sky.
- Groups of stars clustered together are called constellations. Depending where you are in the world and what season it is you will see different constellations, or the same constellations in different parts of the sky.
- One example of this is that The Big Dipper will appear in different parts of the sky depending on the season. The reason for this is the earth rotates on its' own axis and revolves around the sun. Refer to the picture below to see how the big dipper will appear in different spots depending on the season.
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/14718762/181673426.jpg)
- The picture above shows how the big dipper rotates around polaris (the north star). Watch the video below for a more detailed description of why The Big Dipper moves and polaris does not.
3. Recognize that the apparent movement of objects in the night sky is regular and predictable, and explain how this apparent movement is related to Earth’s rotation
- The Earth rotates on its' own axis. This means that there is an invisible line that goes through the centre of the earth, that the earth spins around. The Earth makes one full rotation every 24 hours. The invisible line starts at the North Pole and goes through the centre of the Earth and comes out at the south pole. This line sits at a 23.5 degree angle. As the Earth spins it makes it appear that objects in the sky are moving, even though they are staying still and it is Earth that is moving. This is why the Sun starts the day off low on the eastern horizon, raises throughout the day and finishes low on the western horizon. Visit THIS website for more information.
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/14718762/990404590.jpg)
4. Understand that the Sun should never be viewed directly, nor by use of simple telescopes or filters, and that safe viewing requires appropriate methods and safety precautions.
- Looking at the sun directly can be damaging to your eyes. Read more about the short and long term effects of looking directly at the sun HERE.
- There are many safe ways to view the sun including: a #14 welder's mask, a pin hole camera and filters for telescopes. Visit THIS website for more detailed description on ways to view the Sun.
5. Construct and use a device for plotting the apparent movement of the Sun over the course of a day; e.g., construct and use a sundial or shadow stick.
6. Describe seasonal changes in the length of the day and night and in the angle of the Sun above the horizon.
- As discussed previously, we know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. With this knowledge you should be able to make a hypothesis about what will happen when you create and use a SUNDIAL.
6. Describe seasonal changes in the length of the day and night and in the angle of the Sun above the horizon.
- As you know days are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. The reason for this is that the earth sits on a 23.5 degree angle, so when it rotates around the Sun more or less of the Earth's surface is exposed to the sun. Refer to the image below for a more detailed look.
7. Recognize that the Moon’s phases are regular and predictable, and describe the cycle of its phases.
- The different phases of the moon are created by the various angles of the Earth, Moon and Sun as the moon orbits the Earth. We can see part of the moon illuminated when the Sun's light reflects off of it and reaches earth. The phases change based on where the moon is in relation to the sun and the earth. For example the New Moon occurs when the moon is directly between the Sun and the Earth. The sunlight reflects off the moon and travels back towards the sun. This is why you can only see a slight outline of the Moon during the New Moon phase. Refer to THIS website or the picture below for more information about the phases of the Moon.
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/14718762/301069953.jpg?211)
8. Illustrate the phases of the Moon in drawings and by using improvised models. An improvised model might involve such things as a table lamp and a sponge ball.
- With a friend use a lamp and two balls to try to replicate the phases of the moon in the correct order.
9. Recognize that the other eight known planets, which revolve around the Sun, have characteristics and surface conditions that are different from Earth; and identify examples of those differences.
- There are 9 planets in the solar system, they are organized into two categories:
- The inner planets- Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
- The outer planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto
- For more information on the planets visit THIS website.
10. Recognize that not only Earth, but other planets, have moons; and identify examples of similarities and differences in the characteristics of those moons.
- Earth is not the only planet with a moon
- Some planets such as Mercury have no moons, while Jupiter has 67 moons
- Visit THIS website for more information on the moons of the other 8 planets
11. Identify technologies and procedures by which knowledge, about planets and other objects in the night sky, has been gathered.
- There are many different ways to gather information about the night sky including:
- Telescopes like the E-ELT
- Satellites like the International Space Station
- Rovers like the Mars Rover
12. Understand that Earth, the Sun and the Moon are part of a solar system that occupies only a tiny part of the known universe.
- As big as the Earth is, it is only a small part of a much bigger picture.
- The 9 planets discussed previously, their moons as well as the Sun all make up our solar system. Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy which has many, many more stars just like our Sun. There are billions of galaxies just like the Milky Way (some even bigger like Andromeda Galaxy) that make up the universe.
- For more information on Solar Systems, Galaxies and the Universe visit THIS website.
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/14718762/750905854.jpg)