THE EARTH ( UNIT 1)

THE UNIVERSE

Its all the matter and space that exists ( Celestial bodies: galaxies, stars, planets, satellites, comets, asteroids and meteorites)

Its also contains gases and cosmic dust

How did the universe begin?: The Big Bang Theory : all the matter in the universe was together. Then it exploded and the particles
travelled in all directions. Later, these particles formed the celestial bodies

GALAXIES

Its an enormous cloud of stars and other celestial bodies

There are billions in the universe. One of them its the Via Lactea or Milky Way.

Its got a spiral shape and it contains billions of stars, like the Sun

They have got different shapes: spherical, elliptical, spiral or irregular

STAR

Its a celestial body with a spherical shape

Its made of gases ( helium and hydrogen)

It produces light and heat

We can classify stars by :

- Colour: white, yellow, red or a combination of these colours. ----------- the Sun is yellow-orange

Size:

a large star is called a giant

A small star, like the Sun, is called a dwarf

The Sun and other stars move in two ways:

Rotation

Revolution

It rotates on an imaginary axis

It turns in an anticlockwise direction

2- THE SOLAR SYSTEM

it orbits around the Via Lactea ( 220 million

years)

Its part of the Milky Way Galaxy

It includes the Sun and all the celestial bodies that revolve around it: planets, natural satellites, asteroids, comets and meteorites

Planets:

Spherical bodies that revolve around a star

they dont produce their own light

Classification of planets:

The Inner planets ( near the Sun) : Mercury, Venus, The Earth and Mars

The Outer planets ( far from the Sun): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Venus: the Morning Star: Its the brightest object in the morning sky. Its similar in size to Earth
Mars: The Red Planet. Its about 50% the size of Earth
Saturn: its a gas giant. It has got a system of rings made of small rocks and dust
Mercury: its the smallest planet. Its the closest to the Sun
The Earth: the Blue Planet ( 75% is covered by water). The atmosphere has got oxygen and carbon dioxide that are essential for life
Jupiter: its giant. Its made of gas. Its the largest planet. It has got 16 natural satellites

Natural Satellites :

Smaller celestial bodies that revolve around planets.

Dont produce their own light

The Earth has got one: The Moon

OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES

Asteroids:
bodies of rocks

smaller than planets

the are part of an Asteroid belt

revolve around the Sun

The Halleys Comet

Comets:
bodies of rocks and ice

produce a bright tail of water vapour and gas

Meteorites:
small pieces of rocks from asteroids and comets that travel through the space. When they enter the atmosphere, they burn and
produce a bright tail of light. They are also called: shooting stars
3- HOW DOES THE EARTH MOVE?
1- Rotation: The Earth rotates on an imaginary axis from west to east ( in an anticlockwise direction)

from the North Pole to South Pole

the axis has an inclination of 23 degrees

it takes 24 hours

produces

day

night

2- Revolution: the Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit

It takes one year

365 days, 6 hours and 9 minutes

causes the changes of seasons

Summer solstice: 21th June

Vernal equinox: 21th March

Autumnal equinox: 23th September

THE MOON

Its the natural satellite of the Earth

Its moves in two ways:

Winter solstice: 22th December

Rotation

Revolution

On an imaginary axis

around the Earth

28 days

28 days

Lunar phases

Lunar phases :

New Moon

First quarter

Full moon

Last quarter

We cant see the Moon

we see one quarter

we see all of a side

we see one quarter. It gets smaller

It gets bigger

Eclipses

It happens when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are in a straight line

2 types

Solar eclipse

the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth

Lunar eclipse

the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon

THE EARTH

UNIVERSE

MOVEMENT

THE MOON

CELESTIAL BODIES

GALAXIES

ROTATION

STARS

ASTEROIDS
SATELLITES

PLANETS
COMETS

METEORITES

REVOLUTION

LUNAR PHASES

ECLIPSES