Earth, Sun and Moon

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Index

The Shape of the Earth, Sun and Moon

The Size of the Earth, Sun and Moon

The Sun – Facts

Shadows

Night and Day

The Earth – Facts

The Moon – Facts

The Solar System (names of planets)

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Earth, Sun and Moon

What shape is the earth?

Do you know?

Click on the telescope to find more information.

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When Christopher Columbus set

sail on his journey in 1492, he

encountered stiff opposition – it

is thought many people feared

he would fall off the edge of the

Earth (which many people

thought to be flat).

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In History

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The Bible

Many early Christians believed the Earth was flat

because of references found in the Bible. For

example:

“I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the

middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The

tree grew large and strong and its top touched the

sky; it was visible to the ends of the Earth.” Daniel

4:10f

However the Bible does not state that the Earth is

flat.

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Gleason’s New Standard Map of the World.

On the projection of J.S. Christopher,Modern College, Blackheath, England.Scientifically and Practically Correct.

Longitude and Time Calculator.Patent Allowed November 15, 1892

Applications made in England, Canada, France,

Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Austria

This map again reinforced the idea that the Earth was flat.

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During the last 40 years, we have photographic evidence from space to show the shape of the Earth:

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Satellite photographs, taken from: www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/satellite.html

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The Earth is a sphere.

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The Moon and Sun are also spheres.Index

Is the Sun bigger than the Moon?

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Earth, Sun and Moon

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The Earth is 12,742 km in diameter

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The Sun is 1,391,000 km in diameter

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The Moon is 3,476 km in diameter

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The Sun is over 10 times the size of the Earth and 40 times the size of the Moon.

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The Sun

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Earth, Sun and Moon

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The Sun is the largest object in the solar

system.

It is our closest star and is believed to be

over 4 billion years old.

There are storms on the surface of the Sun.

These storms are known as ‘sunspots’,

because they look like spots on the sun.

The Sun – Facts

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The centre (or core) of the Sun is very hot.

A process called ‘nuclear fusion’ takes

place there. Nuclear fusion produces lots

of energy. Some of this energy travels out

into space as heat and light. Some of it

arrives at Earth.

It is very dangerous to look directly at the

Sun.

The Sun – Facts

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ShadowsShadows

Shadows are formed when light from a source

is blocked. When the Sun shines on an object

it forms a shadow on the ground.

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Shadows change during the day.

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From the position of the shadow you can see

the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

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The Sun appears to move through the day but,

in fact, the Sun does not move. It is the Earth

rotating on its axis, which makes it seem that

the Sun is moving.

As the Sun appears to move and gets higher in

the sky, the shadows get shorter. In the

morning and evening the Sun is lower in the

sky so the shadows are longer.

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Night and DayNight and Day

As the Earth spins on its axis the part that is

facing the Sun will be in the light (day).

The part of the Earth not facing the Sun will

be in darkness (night).

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Earth, Sun and Moon

The Earth

Click on the telescope to find more information. Index

The Earth – Facts

The Earth is one of nine planets in the

Solar System.

It is over 149 million miles away from the

Sun.

The Earth spins around a line which goes

through it from the North Pole to the South

Pole. This is known as the Earth’s axis.

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The axis does not

point straight

upwards. It is tilted

slightly.

The Earth – Facts

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The Earth – Facts

It takes the Earth 24 hours (one day) to

spin round once on its axis.

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It takes the Earth 365 ¼ days

(one year) to orbit the Sun.

The Earth – Facts

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Earth, Sun and Moon

The Moon

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The Moon – Facts

The Moon orbits the Earth

It takes 28.3 days for one complete orbit

(lunar month)

The Moon does not make its own light.

You only see the Moon because it reflects

light from the Sun.

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The amount of the Moon seen changes from

day. These changing views are called the

phases of the Moon.

Phases of the Moon

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The Solar System

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There are nine planets in the solar system:

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto NextIndex

Each planet takes a different time to make

one complete orbit of the Sun.

You can find out more about the Solar System

using books, CD-ROMs and the Internet.

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