The Night Sky, the Solar System, Moon Phases and Eclipses
Patterns in the sky become understandable when we track rotation, orbit and sunlight.
Big idea: Earth rotates and orbits the Sun, while the Moon orbits Earth. These motions and the way sunlight falls on the Moon explain familiar sky patterns, phases and eclipses.
Learning goals
- distinguish a star, planet and constellation pattern;
- name the Sun's role and place the eight planets in order;
- explain why the Moon shows phases without producing its own visible light;
- compare solar and lunar eclipses;
- observe the sky safely and record changes over time.
Reading the night sky
A star is a distant hot object that produces its own light. A planet travels around a star and is visible mainly by reflected light. A constellation is a useful pattern that people recognize among stars; stars that look close in the pattern can be at very different distances.
Across one night, many stars appear to move from east to west because Earth rotates from west to east. The stars are not circling Earth once every day; the observer is turning with Earth.