The Changing Night Sky

1. What is a constellation?

• A. a group of stars that cannot be seen from Earth

• B. a group of stars in a pattern that suggests another shape

• C. the moons surrounding the planet Jupiter

• D. the stars that are closest to Earth

2. What causes constellations to appear to rise and set in the sky?

• A. Earth’s position in space

• B. the moon’s orbit

• C. the sun’s position in space

• D. Earth’s rotation

3. Read these sentences from the passage.

“As Earth moves around the sun, different constellations can be seen during different parts of the year. That’s because during the summer, you are seeing a different part of space at nighttime than you see during the winter.”

What can you conclude about the constellations based on this information?

• A. Different constellations are in different parts of space.

• B. All constellations can be seen from Earth all the time.

• C. Many constellations stay in the same place all year.

• D. Constellations move, but Earth does not move.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

4. What happens to the Taurus constellation during the months of April through October?

• A. It moves farther east in space so it can’t be seen.

• B. It stays where it is, but it can’t be seen from the Northern Hemisphere at night.

• C. It moves closer to the Earth, but it can’t be seen.

• D. It stays where it is and it can still be seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

5. What is the main idea of this passage?

• A. Because of the movement of the Earth, the constellations you can see depends on where you are on Earth and what time of year it is.

• B. The Big Dipper constellation is a circumpolar constellation, which means it can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere throughout the year.

• C. Earth rotates from west to east, so the whole sky, including the stars, looks like it’s rising in the east and setting in the west.

• D. The Taurus constellation can only be seen from the Northern Hemisphere between November and March.