Planetary Motion, Eclipses, Tides, & Phases of the Moon

Astronomy
How the planets move…

 Rotation – the spinning of a body (an

object) on its axis
 Orbit – the path that a body takes as
it travels around another body
 Revolution – one complete trip
around an orbit.
 Johannes Kepler – ancient astronomer
that studied how planets move.
 1st Law – planets do not move in a circle;
they move in an elongated circle called
an ellipse.
 2nd Law – planets move faster when they
are closer to the sun.
 3rd Law – planets that are farther from the
sun take longer to orbit the sun
 Pull of
gravity (like
a shorter
string)
Faster orbit

Pull of gravity
(like a longer
string) slower
orbit
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/physical_science/physics/
mechanics/orbit/ellipse.html
 What allows planets close to the sun
to move faster and also to keep
bodies (like the moon) in orbit?
Gravity
 24 hours – the time required for Earth
to rotate once on its axis
 It takes 23 hours & 56 minutes.
 Axis – the imaginary line that runs from
the North Pole to the South Pole
Earth is tilted at 23.5
 Earth spins in which direction?
Counterclockwise. Therefore the sun
rises in the east and sets in the west.
Seasons
Seasons are caused by Earth’s tilt and its
rotation around the sun.
Equinox– occurs when the sun is directly
above the equator. The number of daytime
hours and nighttime hours are equal.
 Vernal equinox – March 21st is the beginning of
spring.
 Autumnal equinox – Sept. 23rd is the beginning
of Fall.
Solstice – when the sun is the furthest from
the equator.
 Summer solstice – beginning of summer – June
Eclipse

 Solar Eclipse – when the moon comes

in between the Earth and the Sun
 The shadow of the moon falls on part
of the Earth
 Solar Eclipse – What we
see

http://www.iayc.org/eclipse/sofi_composite_2_crop.jpg
Eclipse

 Lunar Eclipse – when the Earth

comes in between the sun and moon.
 The shadow of the Earth falls on the
moon.
Lunar Eclipse – What we
see
Ocean Tides

 What do you know about ocean

tides?

 How do you think the moon might

affect the ocean tides that we have?

 Let’s watch a Brain Pop to find out…

http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsys
/
Tide

 Tide - The rise and

fall of the water
level in the oceans The Moon is
caused by the force pulling the
of gravity between Water on this
the Earth and the
moon
 High Tide – when
water facing the
moon and water on
the opposite side of The moon is pulling the
the moon bulges. Earth
Away from the water on
 Low Tide – happens this side.
between the 2 high
 Spring tide – both
the sun and moon
pull on the ocean
water (High tide is
more extreme.)

 Neap tide – the sun

and the moon pull
opposite of each
other (High tide is
less extreme.)
The Moon

 Satellite
– any natural or man-made
object that revolves around a planet

 The moon is a satellite of Earth

 Earth only has one satellite.
 Some planets have several, some
have none.

 Luna – the name of the Earth’s moon

Facts about the Moon

 Rocks from the moon have been

found to be 4.6 billion years old.
 The moon has no atmosphere, so
there is no wind & no weather.
 The surface therefore remains
unchanged – Neil Armstrong’s
footprint is still there!
 The moon appears to be the largest
object in our night sky, but that’s
only b/c it’s the closest.
Facts about our Moon

 It isonly ¼ the size of Earth.

 The sun is 400 times larger than the
moon even though the sun appears
smaller in our sky.
 The moon looks bright in the sky, but
it does not give off its own light. The
moon reflects light from the sun like
a giant mirror.
 We only see the same side of the
moon b/c the moon rotates on its
axis and revolves around the Earth at
Phases of the Moon

 The Moon seems to change shape as

different parts of the moon are lit by
the sun.
 These are called phases of the moon.

 Demonstration
Phases of the Moon
 Full Moon - when the moon's disk is light
 Gibbous Moon - when we can see roughly ¾
of the moon's disk
 Quarter Moon – (half moon) when we can
see one half of the moon's disk (one-quarter
of the entire moon's surface)
 Crescent Moon - when we can see only a
sliver of the moon's disk (the side of the
moon facing us)
 New Moon - when the moon's disk is dark
(and invisible to us)
 Waning Moon - when the moon seems to be
getting smaller
 Waxing Moon - when the moon seems to be
getting bigger
Phases of the Moon