Earth, Moon and Sun
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The Earth, Moon, and Sun
The Earth, Moon, and Sun are like a giant team in space. They all work together to create our days, nights, and years!
1. The Sun: Our Big Star The Sun is a massive ball of burning gas. It is a star, and it is at the center of our Solar System.
- Job: It gives the Earth heat and light. Without the Sun, our planet would be a frozen ball of ice.
- Size: The Sun is huge! You could fit over one million Earths inside it.
2. The Earth: Our Home The Earth is the planet we live on. It is the only place we know of that has life, liquid water, and air to breathe.
- Movement (Rotation): The Earth spins like a top. This is why we have day and night. When your side of the Earth faces the Sun, it is day. When you spin away, it is night.
- Movement (Orbit): The Earth travels in a big circle around the Sun. It takes 365 days (one whole year) to go all the way around!
3. The Moon: Our Neighbor The Moon is a big, rocky ball that travels around the Earth. It does not make its own light; it reflects the light from the Sun like a mirror.
- Orbit: It takes about 28 days (one month) for the Moon to go around the Earth.
- Phases: Because the Moon moves, we see different amounts of its lighted side. This is why it sometimes looks like a tiny sliver (Crescent) and sometimes like a big circle (Full Moon).
How They Move Together Think of it like a dance:
- The Sun stays in the middle.
- The Earth circles the Sun.
- The Moon circles the Earth while the Earth is circling the Sun!
Why Do We Study Them?
- To Understand Time: Our clocks and calendars are based on how these three move.
- To Understand Seasons: The way the Earth tilts as it goes around the Sun gives us Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.
- To Appreciate Nature: Knowing how the Sun helps plants grow helps us take care of our world.
Lesson Summary
- The Sun is a star that gives us light and heat.
- The Earth is our planet that spins for day/night and orbits for years.
- The Moon is a rocky satellite that orbits the Earth once a month.
