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Section 22.2
22.2 The Earth-Moon-Sun System
1 FOCUS
Section Objectives
22.4 Describe the movements of Key Concepts Vocabulary Reading Strategy
Earth known as rotation, In what ways does Earth rotation Monitoring Your Understanding Copy
move? revolution the owchart below. As you read, complete it
revolution, and precession. to show how eclipses occur.
What causes the phases of precession
22.5 Explain how the moon goes the moon? perihelion
through phases. Why are eclipses relatively aphelion
Eclipses occur when
Build Vocabulary L2
b. ? c. ?
Word-Part Analysis List on the board
the following word parts and meanings:
helios, sun; ge or gee, earth; peri-,
around or near; ap- or apo-, away
from. Have students identify these
word parts in the vocabulary terms.
I f you gaze away from the city lights on a clear night, it will seem
that the stars produce a spherical shell surrounding Earth. This impres-
Discuss the terms meanings with sion seems so real that it is easy to understand why many early Greeks
students. Figure 11 On the summer
regarded the stars as being xed to a solid, celestial sphere. People have
solstice, the sun can be observed
rising above the heel stone of always been fascinated by the changing positions of the sun and moon
Reading Strategy L2 Stonehenge, an ancient in the sky. Prehistoric people, for example, built observatories. The
observatory in England.
a. Earth comes between the moon structure known as Stonehenge, shown in Figure 11,
and sun. was probably an attempt at better solar predictions. At
b. solar eclipse. the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere
c. lunar eclipse. (the summer solstice on June 21 or 22), the rising sun
comes up directly above the heel stone of Stonehenge.
2 INSTRUCT Besides keeping this calendar, Stonehenge may also
have provided a method of determining eclipses. In
this section, youll learn more about the movements of
Motions of Earth bodies in space that cause events such as eclipses.
Integrate
Language Arts L2
Motions of Earth
Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge The two main motions of Earth are rotation and revolution.
was built in three stages between about Rotation is the turning, or spinning, of a body on its axis. Revolution
3000 to 1000 B.C. Stonehenge was is the motion of a body, such as a planet or moon, along a path around
probably used as a religious center or a some point in space. For example, Earth revolves around the sun, and
type of astronomical clock or calendar. the moon revolves around Earth. Earth also has another very slow
Have students research information on motion known as precession, which is the slight movement, over a
the construction and possible purposes period of 26,000 years, of Earths axis.
for Stonehenge. Students should prepare
a short report and make a visual aid 622 Chapter 22
showing the layout of Stonehenge.
Verbal, Portfolio
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Use Visuals L1
Rotation The main results of Earths rotation are day and night.
Earths rotation has become a standard method of measuring time Figure 12 Have students examine the
because it is so dependable and easy to use. Each rotation equals about movement of Earth and the locations of
24 hours. You may be surprised to learn that we can measure Earths points X and Y carefully. Ask: What are
rotation in two ways, making two kinds of days. Most familiar is the the reference points for a mean solar
mean solar day, the time interval from one noon to the next, which day and a sidereal day? (A mean solar
averages about 24 hours. Noon is when the sun has reached its zenith, day is measured using the sun as a
or highest point in the sky. reference point. A sidereal day is measured
The sidereal day, on the other hand, is the time it takes for Earth to using a star other than the sun as a
reference point.) Why do these two
make one complete rotation (360 degrees) with respect to a star other
reference points give two different
than our sun. The sidereal day is measured by the time required for a
results? (The direction from Earth to a
star to reappear at the identical position in the sky where it was
distant star barely changes, but the
observed the day before. The sidereal day has a period of 23 hours, 56
distance from Earth to the sun changes
minutes, and 4 seconds (measured in solar time), which is almost 4
by almost one degree each day.) Why
minutes shorter than the mean solar day. This difference results
do astronomers choose to use the
because the direction to distant stars barely changes because of Earths
sidereal day instead of the mean solar
slow revolution along its orbit. The direction to the sun, on the other
day? (The stars appear in the same
hand, changes by almost 1 degree each day. This difference is shown in position in the sky every 24 sidereal
Figure 12. Figure 12 Sidereal Day It takes hours.)
Why do we use the mean solar day instead of the sidereal day as a Earth 23 hours and 56 minutes to Visual, Logical
measurement of our day? In sidereal time, noon occurs four min- make one rotation with respect to
the stars (sidereal day). However,
utes earlier each day. Therefore, after six months, noon occurs at after Earth has completed one
midnight. Astronomers use sidereal time because the stars appear in sidereal day, point Y has not yet
the same position in the sky every 24 sidereal hours. Usually, an returned to the noon position
with respect to the sun. Earth has
observatory will begin its sidereal day when the position of the spring to rotate another 4 minutes to
equinox is directly overhead. complete the solar day.
Day 1
Distant Suns noon rays Sun
stars X Y
2
Day rays
oon
Su ns n
Solar day
24 hr
Sidereal
Distant day 4 minutes
stars 23 hr X Y
56 min
(Not to scale)
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North Star
Vega
Observing Precession L2
Precession Precession Purpose Students will observe the
precession of a toy top.
23 1/2 Materials a toy top similar to the one
shown in Figure 14
Procedure Put a distinctive mark on
the top of the top where the axis of
rotation is located. This will give
students a specific point to observe.
Put the top in motion. Have students
observe the precession of the top.
Expected Outcome Students will
observe an object in precession, which
is similar to Earths motion.
Visual
A B
Precession A third and very slow movement of Earth is called pre- Figure 14 Precession
A Precession is similar to a
cession. Earths axis maintains approximately the same angle of tilt. But spinning top. It causes the North
the direction in which the axis points continually changes. As a result, Pole to point at different parts of
the axis traces a circle on the sky. This movement is very similar to the the sky during a 26,000-year cycle.
B Today, the North Pole points to
wobble of a spinning top, as shown in Figure 14A. At the present time, Polaris.
the axis points toward the bright star Polaris. In the year 14,000, it will Interpreting Illustrations What
star will the North Pole point to
point toward the bright star Vega, which will then become the North
in 13,000 years?
Star, as shown in Figure 14B. The period of precession is 26,000 years.
By the year 28,000, Polaris will once again be the North Star.
Precession has only a minor effect on the seasons, because the angle
of tilt changes only slightly. It does, however, cause the positions of the
seasons (equinox and solstice) to move slightly each year among the stars.
What is precession?
Answer to . . .
Figure 14 Vega
Precession is the slow
movement of Earths
axis over a period of 26,000 years.
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Path of moon
during partial eclipse
Penumbra
Umbra
Sunlight
Download a worksheet on eclipses
for students to complete, and find
additional teacher support from Earth
NSTA SciLinks. Path of moon
B during total eclipse
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Section 22.2 Assessment 4. The left edge of the moon is visible during 7. Sample answer: The difference between
the crescent phase that precedes the new perihelion and aphelion has little influence
1. Earth revolves around the sun, rotates on moon, while the right side of the moon is on the quantity of radiation received by
its axis, and moves slightly on its axis. It also visible during the crescent phase that follows Earth. The primary cause of seasons is Earths
revolves with the solar system around the the new moon. tilted axis, not its distance from the sun. So
Milky Way. 5. The moons orbit must cross the plane of any changes in summer or winter tempera-
2. rotation: day and night; revolution: seasons the ecliptic for an eclipse to take place. tures would be small. The overall impact on
3. the motion of the moon and the amount 6. During a solar eclipse, the moon is the biosphere and hydrosphere would also
of sunlight reflected from its surface that can between the sun and Earth. During a lunar be small.
be seen from Earth eclipse, Earth is between the sun and moon.