4th Grade Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy

• ​Scientific study of space

• includes planets, stars, and other objects

• Astronomers have learned alot about Earth and other objects beyond our world

Multiple Choice

What is Astronomy?

• Scientific study of other cultures

• Scientific study of space

• Scientific study of fossils

• Scientific study of plants

The Planets

Our Solar System has Eight Planets and one dwarf planet

• Planets REVOLVE, move in oval-shaped paths, around the sun.

The Planets

Planets in order from the closest to the sun to the farthest

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

• "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles"

Reorder

Place the planets in order from closest to the sun to the furthest away.

• Mercury

• Earth

• Jupiter

• Uranus

• Neptune

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Open Ended

Create your own sentence to help you remember the order of planets.

Poll

Which planet do you think is the largest?

• Earth

• Jupiter

• Mercury

• Saturn

The Planets

Planets in order according to their size (largest to smallest)

• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury

• "Jason Sat Under Ninety-Eight Very Marvelous Monsters"

The Terrestrial Planets

• Mercury

• Venus

• Earth

• Mars

Small inner planets with solid surfaces and rocky cores

The Gas Giants

• Jupiter

• Saturn

• Uranus

• Neptune

Large outer planets with mostly made up of atmosphere (gas)

Pluto

• Used to be the 9th planet

• Now called a dwarf planet

• Main difference is the size

Dwarf Planet

Categorize

Options (9)

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto

Organize these planets into the right categories.

Terestrial Planets

Gas Giants

Dwarf Planets

Multiple Choice

What are the four large, outer planets called?

• Rocky planets

• Gas giants

• Terrestrial planets

• Dwarf planets

Multiple Choice

What are the four smaller, inner planets called?

• Rocky planets

• Gas giants

• Terrestrial planets

• Dwarf planets

Sun, Earth, and Moon

• Hot, yellow star made of gasses

• ​diameter is 110 times bigger than Earth's

• approx. 4.6 billion years old

• extremely hot, no life can survive

• solar energy gives Earth its warmth and light

• Solar: having to do with the sun

Sun

Sun, Earth, and Moon

• 3rd planet from the sun

• consists of large amounts of life-supporting water

• surface is constantly changing

• protective atmosphere, consisting mostly of oxygen, blocks out most of the sun's damaging rays

• approx. 150 million kilometers away from the sun

Earth

Sun, Earth, and Moon

• small rocky satellite that orbits the earth

• surface is rocky with craters and mountains

• appears white because it reflects the light of the sun

• extreme temperatures

• virtually no atmosphere or life and very little water

• diameter is 1/4 the size of Earth's with 1/6 of it's Earth's gravity

• Nasa's Apollo missions helped us learn about the moon

• Lunar: having to do with the moon

Moon

Categorize

Options (13)

hot star made of gasses

4.6 billion years old

provides solar energy

diameter is 110 times bigger than Earth's

3rd planet from the sun

consists of large amounts of water

150 kilometers from the sun

has an atmosphere made mostly of oxygen

orbits the earth

rocky with craters and mountains

diameter is 1/4 the size of Earth's

no atmosphere, life, very little water

lunar

Categorize these facts for the Sun, Moon, and Earth.

Sun

Moon

Earth

Multiple Choice

What is the distance of Earth from the sun?

• 100 million kilometers

• 125 million kilometers

• 150 million kilometers

• 175 million kilometers

Multiple Choice

What is the sun's diameter in comparison to Earth's?

• 10 times bigger

• 50 times bigger

• 110 times bigger

• 100 times bigger

Multiple Choice

Why does the moon appear white?

• It absorbs all light

• It emits its own light

• It reflects light from the sun

• It reflects light from the stars

Multiple Choice

What is the word lunar mean?

• Having to do with the stars

• Having to do with the planets

• Having to do with the moon

• Having to do with the sun

Multiple Choice

What is the word solar mean?

• Having to do with the stars

• Having to do with the planets

• Having to do with the moon

• Having to do with the sun

Multiple Choice

What is the diameter of the moon in comparison to Earth's?

• 1/4

• 1/2

• 1/8

• 1/6

Multiple Choice

What is the moon's surface like?

• Smooth and flat

• Rocky with craters and mountains

• Covered in water

• Covered in ice

Rotation and Revolution

• Earth has an Axis: imaginary line running from the North Pole to the South Pole

• Earth ROTATES (or spins) on this axis

  • it takes 24 hours/1 day to make 1 rotation

• Earth rotates from west to east making it look like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

• Earth rotates around it's axis, but it also REVOLVES (moves around) around the sun. It takes 365 1/4 days (1 year) to revolve around the sun.

• All planets and moons rotate and revolve at different rates.

​Rotating on it's axis

​Revolving around the sun

Open Ended

Does the sun move? (Explain your answer)

Multiple Choice

A basketball player is spinning a basketball on his finger. What is this an example of?

• The earth rotating on its axis

• The earth revolving around the sun

Seasons

• We experience 4 seasons due to the tilt of the Earth's axis

• Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5^o

• Because the earth is a sphere, the sun's rays hit it at different angles

• If the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it is getting more sunlight and is experiencing Summer.

• That means the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, receiving less sunlight, so it's Winter.

• The Earth's axis is ALWAYS tilted the same way no matter where it is in its orbit.

Dropdown

When the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun it is experiencing

Select answer

Dropdown

When the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun it is experiencing

​

Select answer

Multiple Choice

True or False: The Earth's axis is always tilted the same way no matter where it is in its orbit.

• True

• False

Phases of the Moon

• caused by the moon's position relative to the earth and sun

• Moon is always half illuminated, or lit up, but the sun

• As the moon revolves around Earth what we see illuminated changes

• 27.3 days (almost a month) to make 1 revolution around the earth

Phases of the Moon

• New Moon (illuminated half faces away from Earth)

• As it WAXES, we can see more of the right side leading to a full moon

• As the moon moves back toward the New Moon phase, it's WANING

Draw

Draw a picture of something you've learned from our Astronomy Unit.