The Earth-Moon System

Chapter 9
p. 295
 Earth in Space
 Chapter 9-1

 The Lengths of Days and Years
Rotation
 Revolution

 Astronomy- the study of the
moon, stars, and other
objects in space
 Axis- the imaginary line that
passes through Earth’s
center and the North and
South poles
 Rotation- Earth’s spinning
on its axis
 Earth’s rotation on it’s axis
causes night and day
 Revolution- the movement
of one object around
another object
 One complete revolution
around the sun is one
year
 Orbit- Earth’s path as it
revolves and rotates
around the sun
 Earth’s orbit is an oval
shape
 Calendar

 Egyptians determined there are 365 days

in a year
 Earth’s orbit around the sun takes 365 ¼
days
 Every 4 years we add a day to make 366
days; this is a leap year
 Romans borrowed the calendar and made
changes
 Changes in Seasons
How Sunlight Hits the Earth

Earth’s Tilted Axis

 Sunlight hits Earth’s
surface more directly at
the equator
 Near the poles, sunlight
hits the Earth at an
angle and over a
greater area
 It is warmer near the
equator
 Earth has seasons
because its axis is tilted
as it moves around the
sun
 Earth’s axis is tilted at an
angle of 23.5 degrees
 When the northern
Hemisphere is tilted
toward the sun, it is
summer
 Changes in Seasons

Earth in June
 Earth in December


 In June, the north end of  The southern hemisphere

Earth’s axis is tilted receives the most direct
toward the sun
 Latitude- a measurement of sunlight- summer!
distance from the equator  The northern hemisphere
expressed in degrees receives fewer hours of
north or south
 Hemispheres tilted toward daylight and indirect
the sun have more hours light- winter!
of daylight
 More hours of sunlight and
direct rays heats the
surface more
 Changes in Seasons

June and December

 Earth in March and


September
 Solstice- two days each  Equinox- days in which
year when the noon the lengths of nighttime
sun is overhead at and daytime are about
either 23.5 degrees the same as the noon
south or 23.5 degrees sun is directly overhead
north
the equator
 December 21- shortest
day of the year in the  Vernal equinox- spring;
Northern hemisphere March 21
 June 21- longest day of  Autumnal equinox- fall;
the year in the northern September 23
hemisphere