The Sun, The Earth and
The Moon
Facts about the Sun
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Diameter: 1,392,530 km across
the Equator.
Containing more than 99.8% of
the total mass of the Solar
System, the Sun is by far the
largest object in the Solar
System.
109 Earths would be required to
even fit across the Sun's disk,
and the Sun's interior could hold
over 1.3 million Earths.
Within the core of the Sun, the
temperature (15,000,000 K) and
pressure (340 billion times
Earth's air pressure at sea level)
is so intense that nuclear
reactions actually take place
where atoms of hydrogen
combine to produce atoms of
Helium.
Facts about the Sun
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The Sun's energy output, produced by these nuclear
fusion reactions, is approximately 386 billion billion
megawatts.
The process that takes this energy to the surface of the
sun following complex stages is called convection.
This energy, released as heat as well as light, takes a
million years to reach the surface.
The Sun also emits low density streams of particles, also
known as the solar wind. These winds blow through the
solar system at 450 km/sec and consist mostly of
electrons and protons.
The Sun consists of the core, photosphere,
chromosphere and corona, each with differing
temperatures and components.
Existing for about 4 and a half billion years, it has burnt
up about half of the hydrogen in its core. This leaves the
Sun's life expectancy to 5 billion more years, at which
time, the Sun's elements will "swell" up, swallow Earth,
and eventually die off into a small white dwarf.
Facts about the Earth
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Mean distance from the Sun:
149,597,870 km
Equatorial Diameter: 12,756 km
Mass:
5.987 x 1024 kg
Length of Year: 365 days and 6
hours
Orbital Speed: approx 30 km
per second!
Solar Day: 24 hours
Temperature Range: -308 K to
+328 K
Atmospheric Composition:
nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon
dioxide
Natural Satellites: 1 (Moon)
The Earth Orbits the Sun
Facts about the Moon
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Is a satellite of the Earth and orbits
around it.
Is the only object in space that man has
ever visited. One reason is that the
Moon is much closer to Earth than the
other planets (about 385, 000 km).
Has a diameter of about 3,476
kilometres.
Takes 28 days to make one orbit around
the Earth. It also takes the Moon 28
days to complete one rotation on its
axis.
Surface has many craters on it. These
were formed by meteor crashes a long
time ago.
Causes many of the tides in the Earth's
oceans. This is because of the gravity
force between the Earth and Moon.
Can be seen clearly with your eyes,
binoculars, or a telescope.
The Moon orbits the Earth
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The Moon orbits
the Earth once
every 28 days.
This is known as a
lunar month
The Earth and Moon orbit the Sun
together.
Phases of the moon
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The Moon appears
to change shape
over the course of
a month.
The changes of
shape are known
as the phases of
the moon.
This is because we
are viewing it from
a different angle
each time.
Day and Night
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The Earth rotates
once on its axis
every 24 hours
The side which is
lit up experiences
daylight.
The other side
which is facing into
deep space
experiences night.
The Seasons
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The Seasons are caused by a change
in the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
In winter the axis is tilted away from
the Sun.
In summer the axis is tilted towards
the Sun.
Solar Eclipse
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When the Moon
blocks the light
from the Sun, a
small portion of
the Earth
experiences a
Solar eclipse.
In an eclipse the
light from the Sun
is blocked, and the
Earth plunged into
darkness.
Lunar Eclipse
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When the Moon is
blocked by the Earth
we see a Lunar
eclipse.
The Moon is
temporarily hidden
from view by the
Earth’s own shadow.
The red colour is
caused by dust in the
Earth’s atmosphere.
The shade of red
varies on how much
dust there is.
The End