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Astronomy
-Astronomy: the study of the moon, stars, and other objects in space -The first people to study the stars and moon were the Egyptians -Egyptian famers wanted a method to calculate when the annual flood of the Nile River would occur -They observed the stars and realized that Sirius, a star, first became visible shortly before the flood -This was the first time anyone observed space at all and this took place at around 3000 B.C.
Calendars
-Calendar: is a system of organizing time that defines the beginning, length, and division of a year the study of the moon, stars, and other objects in space -The first people to develop a calendar, were the Egyptians who decided that the year consisted of 365 days -To divide the year, early people used the moon cycles into smaller parts -A full moon cycle takes about 29 and a half days, but the Egyptians developed a calendar consisting of 12 months, 30 days each, leaving 5 extra days -Later the Romans developed the leap year system based off of the Egyptians 365 day year
Seasons
-Seasons are caused by the tilt of the earths axis -If the axis were straight, then there would be no seasons -What ever is happening in the Northern Hemisphere is the opposite of what is happening in the Southern Hemisphere -The seasons begin with the equinoxes and soltices
Solstices
-Solstices are when the sun is most north or south of the equator -The northern solstice is June 21st (Summer Solstice) -The southern solstice is December 21st (Winter Solstice)
Equinoxes
-Occurs twice a year -When the tilt of the Earths axis is inclined neither away nor towards the sun -The center of the sun is on the same plane as the Earths equator -The sun is at one of the two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect -Only times when the subsolar point is on the earths equator
Types of Equinoxes
-Vernal Equinox: or spring equinox, marks the first day of the season of spring -Night and day are the same length as the Sun crosses the Earths equator moving northward -Autumnal Equinox: marks the first day of the season of autumn -The sun is now crosses the celestial equator, moving southward -This equinox corresponds with what occurs during the vernal equinox -The vernal equinox is around September 22 -The autumnal equinox is around March 20 -The times vary depending on the year
Equinox Diagram
Moon Phases
Full Moon
New Moon
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Third Quarter
Waning Gibbous
Waxing Crescent
Waning Crescent
-The changing relative positions of the moon, Earth and sun cause the phases of the moon eclipses, and tides -The phase of the moon you see depends on how much of the sunlit side of the moon faces Earth.
Tides
-Tides: the rise and fall of ocean water that occurs every
12.5 hours or so -Tides are caused mainly by differences in how much the moons gravity pulls on different parts of the Earth -The moons gravity causes a high tide on the side closest to the moon -The force of gravity pulls the Earth toward the moon, leaving the water behind
Spring Tides
-The gravity of the sun and the moon pull in the same direction -This creates a tide with the greatest difference between consecutive high and low tides -A spring tide occurs twice a month where there is a new moon or full moon -Spring Tides have nothing
Neap Tides
-During the moons quarter phases the sun and the moon work at right angles that cancel each other out.
-The tides that have the least difference between consecutive high and low tides
-Antumbra is when an object blocks direct sunlight from reaching a certain place, but the place is too far from the object to be completely dark. -Happens during an annular solar eclipse (below)
Solar Eclipses
-Solar Eclipse: An eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon. -Total solar eclipses can be expected about every year and a half or so -In any one calendar year, there are at least two and as many as five solar eclipses which can be partial, total and annular -Often only visible from isolated regions of the Earth, which is why they seem so infrequent.
Lunar Eclipses
-Lunar Eclipse: An eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow -Total lunar eclipses come in clusters. -There can be two or three during a period of a year or a year and a half, followed by a lull of two or three years before another round begins -Visible from the whole of our planet, making them seem more frequent
Vocabulary
-Axis: an imaginary line that passes through the earths center and the north and south poles about which the earth rotates. -Rotation: The spinning of a planet on its axis. -Orbit: a planets path as it revolves around the sun. -Revolution: the movement of an object around another. -Season: a period of the year characterized by particular conditions of weather, temperature, etc. -Solstice: The day when the sun is farthest north or south of the equator -Equinox: the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth
Vocabulary
-Moon Phases: A lunar phase or phase of the moon is the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. -Solar Eclipse: An eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon. -Lunar Eclipse: An eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow. -Umbra: The very darkest part of the moons shadow. -Penumbra: The larger, less dark part of the shadow. -Tides: the rise and fall of ocean water that occurs about every 12.5 hours -Spring Tide: A tide with the greatest difference between consecutive low and high tides -Neap Tide: A tide with the least difference between consecutive low and high tides.
Bibliography
http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/ http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml-
http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/S easons.shtml http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/revolution.html http://www.athropolis.com/sunrise/def-sol2.htm
http://www.space.com/3974-summer-solstice-seasons-change.html