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Earth Moon Sun
Earth Moon Sun Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
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Rotation | to turn around a center point or an axis. Earth rotates fully on its axis every 24 hours and that is why we have day and night. |
Revolution | to move around another object. The Earth revolves around the Sun, which takes 365 days. |
Orbit | the path followed by a planet, moon, or other heavenly body as it travels around another object. The shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun is elliptical. |
Axis | a real or imaginary straight line about which something turns. The imaginary axis of the Earth passes through the North and South Pole. |
Tilt | to slant or tip. The Earth is titled 23.5O |
Hemisphere | one half of a sphere or globe. The Earth is divided at the equator into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. |
Equator | an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth, at an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole. |
Solar Eclipse | is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon casts a shadow on Earth. This occurs during the New Moon phase. |
Lunar Eclipse | is a type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned during the Full Moon phase. |
Equinox | two days of the year when the amount of day and night are of equal length all over the world: Autumnal (Fall) Equinox and Vernal (Spring) Equinox. |
Tides | Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. |
Spring Tides | The exceptionally high and low tides that occur at the time of the new moon or the full moon when the sun, moon, and earth are approximately aligned. |
Neap Tides | A tide that occurs when the difference between high and low tide is the least; the lowest level of high tide. These tides occur during the first and third quarter phases of the moon. |
Solstice | When we experience the longest daylight of the year, and the Sun reaches its highest point. |