Space Science Part 1

Space Science Part 1

By Abby Fancsali

Earth's Moon

• We know more about the moon than any other body in our solar system

• The moon is much smaller than earth

  • Too small to have enough gravity to form an atmosphere

    • No weather on the moon

• Surface was once molten rock, but it cooled too quickly for tectonic plates to form like on Earth

  • Craters formed by meteorites hitting the Earth​

One side of the moon always faces us

• Recall: Every object exerts a gravitational pull on another object, and the distance between the objects changes the amount of pull

• One side of the Earth​ is closer to the moon, so it exerts more gravity on that side

  • As the moon moves around the Earth, the pull towards the closer side causes torque on the moon

    • it constantly aligns so it faces the Earth​

Phases of the Moon

• As Sunlight hits the moon's surface, only one half of the moon is illuminated at all time

• As the moon Circles the Earth, the way light is seen on the Earth changes​ into different Moon Phases

  • ​Each cycle of the moon lasts 28 days

Phases of the Moon

• New Moon: The first Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • The sun is illuminating the far side of the moon, with no light hitting the ​ close side

  • We don't actually see the moon during this time

Phases of the Moon

• Waxing Crescent: The second Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • As the moon orbits the Earth, more sunlight hits the side of the Earth that faces the sun

  • Waxing: increasing

• First Quarter: the Third Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • One half of the moon is illuminated and visible

  • Angle between the sun, moon and Earth is 90 Degrees

Phases of the Moon

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• Waxing Gibbous: The Third Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • More than half of the moon is illuminated

• Full Moon: the Fourth Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • The sunlight directly hits the side of the moon that faces the Earth

• Waning Gibbous: The Fifth Phase

  • More than half the moon is illuminated, but everyday less and less is illuminated

Phases of the Moon

• Last Quarter: the sixth and final Phase of the Moon's cycle

  • One half of the moon is illuminated and visible

  • Angle between the sun, moon and Earth is 90 Degrees

• Waning crescent: The final phase of the Moon's cycle

Eclipses

• The sun is much larger than the moon, but is also farther away so it looks like it is the same size

• When ever the Earth, Sun, and Moon line up, an eclipse occurs

  • This happens every 18 months, but you can only see it if you are in the area that is facing the sun

• Solar Eclipse: The moon passes in front of the sun​ and blocks it out

  • occurs at a new moon​

  • Total darkness means a total eclipse

  • Lasts about 2-3 minutes

Eclipses

• Lunar Eclipse: The Earth passes in front of the moon​ and blocks it out

  • Usually follows a solar eclipse by two weeks

    • occurs at a full moon

  • The face of the moon is not completely dark because the Earth's atmosphere refracts light

Multiple Choice

A solar Eclipse occurs at this stage of the moon cycle

• New Moon

• First Quarter

• Full Moon

• Last Quarter

Multiple Choice

This word means increasing, and is used to describe the first half of the moon's cycle

• waxing

• waning

• growing

• gibbous

Multiple Choice

This word means decreasing, and is used to describe the first half of the moon's cycle

• waxing

• waning

• growing

• gibbous

Multiple Choice

A lunar Eclipse occurs at this stage of the moon cycle

• New Moon

• First Quarter

• Full Moon

• Last Quarter

Overview of the Solar System

• ​The Sun is the center of the solar system

  • 99% of the Mass in the solar system

• The Inner Planets

  • Mercury, Venus, ​Earth, & Mars

• Asteroid Belt

• Outer Planets

  • Jupiter, Saturn,​ Uranus, Neptune

• Kuiper Belt

• Oort Cloud​

• Most of the Solar System is empty space, and is impossible to draw to scale

• All planets travel in an elliptic orbit​, with the longer orbits occurring farther away from the sun

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How Did the Solar System Form?

• ​Nebular Theory: Sun and planets formed out of a nebula

  • Nebula: cloud of gas and dust​

    • Gravity Pulls the Nebula inwards, causing it to shrink