Earth Sciences 🌍

Objects in the Universe:

The Universe Everything that exists, including all forms

of matter and energy

Galaxies Galaxies are large systems of stars,

typically containing several million to
some million stars.

Stars A star is a massive, luminous ball of

matter that is held together by its gravity.

Planets Planets are large objects which orbit a

star and have a spherical shape.

Comets Comets orbit the Sun and are mostly

made up of ice and dust.

Asteroids Are rocky and metallic objects that orbit

the Sun but are too small to be
considered planets.

Meteor A meteor is a small piece of matter in the

solar system that enters the Earth’s
atmosphere and burns up.

Stars and Planets Differences

Planets Stars

Smaller Much larger (10 000 times bigger)

Use heat from stars Produce Nuclear Heat

Less Gravity - revolve around stars. More Gravity - smaller planets orbit
around them.

Meteors, Meteorites & Meteoroids

-​ Meteoroids are pieces of rocky space debris

-​ Meteors are Meteoroids that hit the Earth’s atmosphere
-​ Meteorites are meteoroids that reach the Earth’s surface

Solar Systems
Solar Systems are made up of the sun and the planets that are bound to it by gravity.
Planets travel around the sun and together they form the Solar System.

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the closest planets to the Sun. These are known as
terrestrial planets. All these planets are rocky with hard surfaces.

The outer planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are huge balls of gas with small
and rocky cores. They are commonly known as gas giants.

The order of the Solar System from the sun are:

1.​ Mercury
2.​ Venus
3.​ Earth
4.​ Mars
5.​ Jupiter
6.​ Saturn
7.​ Uranus
8.​ Neptune
​

Gravity
Gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the centre of planets and stars.
The larger the mass of the object, the greater the gravitational force it has. For example, the
gravity on the Earth is less than the gravity on Jupiter. The force of gravity holds the planets
in their orbit around the Sun and the moon in orbit around the Earth.
Orbits
When a planet completes one full orbit around the Sun, that planet has completed one
calendar year. The Earth takes 365 days to complete its orbit around the Sun. The further a
planet is from the sun the longer it takes for the planet to complete one orbit. -
 The Moon and its Phrases

Waxing means that it is growing or beginning its cycle.

Waning means it shrinking(dying) or ending or the last parts of the cycle.
1.​ The Moon orbits the Earth about once every 27-29 days
2.​ The Moon orbits at an angle with respect to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
3.​ Moon is lit by the Sun, which means that half of the Moon is lit and half is dark.
4.​ We can see different amounts of the lit part of the moon depending on where the
moon is in relation to the Earth and the Sun.

Solar eclipses
Definitions:
Scientists use the words “umbra” (meaning full shadow) and “penumbra” (meaning part
shadow) to describe solar eclipses. These words come from the Latin words “pen” which
means almost, and “umbra” which means shade, or shadow.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is directly between the sun and Earth and only
happens on a New Moon. Occur 2 a year and are rare.
There are three types of solar eclipses: Annular, Partial, and Total.

Total Solar Eclipse: Observers are in the “umbra” shadow and see a total eclipse.
The eclipse only lasts a few minutes.

Annular Solar Eclipse: When the Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the
Sun, and the Sun appears as a donut around the Moon.

Partial Solar Eclipse: An observer standing in the penumbra sees only a partial solar
eclipse, where the moon only passes through part of the sun.

Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipses only occur when there is a full moon, and when the Moon’s orbit means that
the Earth is directly between the Sun and Moon. There are three types of Lunar eclipses:
Total lunar eclipse, Partial lunar eclipse, and Penumbral lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur
two to three times a year, and to see a lunar eclipse you have to be on the nighttime side of
Earth.

Total lunar eclipse: When the entire Moon passes through the umbra of Earth’s shadow
Partial lunar eclipse:​ When part of Moon passes through the umbra of the Earth’s shadow
Penumbral lunar eclipse: When the Moon only passes through the penumbra of the
Earth’s shadow.​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
 Tides
The tide is the rise and fall of ocean water caused by differences in how much the moon’s
gravity pulls on different parts of Earth. The moon orbits the earth about once every 27 days
whilst the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. This means that the tides rise and
fall every 12.5 hours, where the sea level rises for 6 hours and then falls for 6 hours.

High tides occur on the side of the Earth closest to the moon due to the moon’s gravity
pulling on the water. High tides also occur on the side of the Earth farthest from the moon
because the moon’s gravity pulls on the Earth more strongly than it pulls on the water
leaving it behind. In between the two high tides and low tides occur.

Spring Tides
The Sun’s gravity also pulls on Earth’s waters. When the moon, earth, and sun are in line (a
new moon or a full moon) the gravity of the sun and moon pull in the same direction. This
combination of forces produces a tide with the greatest difference between low and high tide,
called a spring tide, and occurs twice a month.

Neap Tides
When the moon is at right angles to the earth and sun (during the moon’s 1st and 3rd
quarter), the sun and moon are pulling at right angles to each other. This produces a tide
with the least difference between low and high tide, called a neap tide, and occurs twice a
month.
 Seasons
We have seasons because as the Earth revolves around the Sun, its axis is not vertical but
tilted at an angle of 23.5°. This changes how intense sunlight is on different parts of the
Earth, giving us seasons on Earth.

Summer
In summer the southern hemisphere (including Australia) is tilted towards the Sun. This
means that the sunlight is more direct and intense, making the southern hemisphere warmer.
This also means that the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, making sunlight
here less intense and cooler.

Winter
In winter the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun. This means that the sunlight
is less direct and intense, making the southern hemisphere colder. This also means that the
northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, making sunlight here more intense and
warmer.

Spring and Autumn

In spring and autumn, the Earth hasn’t tilted away from or towards the Sun. This means that
the sunlight is at an average intensity, giving moderate temperatures.

Characteristics of winter and summer

Summer Winter
●​ The sunlight is more concentrated ●​ The sunlight is less concentrated
●​ The days are longer and the nights are ●​ The days are shorter and the nights are
shorter longer
●​ Temperatures are warmer ●​ Temperatures are cooler