Space & Solar System Quiz for 8L

8L Space & The Solar System

• The Moon appears differently depending on location on Earth, due to the planet's curvature and your position relative to the Moon's orbit.
• The phases of the Moon (new, waxing, full, waning) are the same globally, but the timing differs based on location and time zone.
• In England (Northern Hemisphere): The Moon appears upright with the dark side at the top during a full moon.
• In Australia (Southern Hemisphere): The Moon looks upside down, with the dark side at the bottom. This difference is due to the Earth's curvature and your viewpoint from different hemispheres.

Night-time and Daytime

• Night-time is when Britain is in Earth's shadow, and daytime is when Britain is in sunlight.
• Earth spins or rotates on its axis, causing day and night.

Planets and Their Orbits

• The table below shows information about five planets and their distance from the Sun and the time it takes for them to orbit the Sun.
• The greater the distance from the Sun, the longer it takes for a planet to orbit the Sun.

Observing the Moons of Jupiter

• Galileo observed four bright moons near Jupiter in 1610.
• The moons moved each night.
• Light from the Sun, reflected from the moons' surfaces, travels to our eyes.

8La Gathering Evidence

• Ptolemy (2000 years ago) thought Earth was the center of the universe (geocentric model).
• Copernicus (500 years ago) suggested the Sun was the center (heliocentric model). Religious scholars were unhappy about this.
• Kepler (450 years ago) realised planetary orbits are elliptical, not circular.
• Herschel (300 years ago) thought stars are like the Sun.
• Galileo invented the first telescope, allowing him to see planets/moons.

8Lb Seasons

• Seasons occur because the Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees from the vertical.
• This tilt causes different parts of the Earth to receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year.
• When the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it is summer in Europe. When tilted away from the Sun, winter is in Europe.

8Lc Magnetic Earth

• The Earth has a magnetic field which is created by the movement of molten metal inside the Earth's outer core.
• This field protects us from harmful Sun radiation.
• The Earth's geographic and magnetic north poles are not in the same place.
• The magnetic north pole is a point where the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward.

8Ld Gravity

• Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object.
• Weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity (Weight = Mass x Gravity).
• A gravitational field is a region of space around a mass where another mass would experience a force.

8Le Beyond the Solar System

• Constellations are patterns of stars.
• Stars are huge balls of gas.
• Galaxies are vast systems of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bound by gravity.
• Galaxies are the largest structures in the universe, containing billions or trillions of stars.
• The sun is in the Milky Way galaxy.
• Distances between stars are measured in light years. (One light-year is the distance light travels in one year, approximately 10 million million km).
• Galaxies come in different shapes: spiral, elliptical, irregular, and lenticular. Features of each galaxy type are described.