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Shadows are shortest at noon and longest at sunrise and sunset. The sun appears to rise in the east and set in
the west because of the counterclockwise rotation of the earth. The sun shines on every planet, but the time
from one sunrise to the next one full daynight cycle is different for each planet. In 1851, French physicist
Jean Foucault's demonstration of the continual change in the plane of a swinging pendulum gave evidence that
Earth must be rotating. Although the changing position of the sun throughout the day makes it look like the
sun is moving, it is really the earth that is moving. The rotation of earth around its axis causes the 24hour
cycle of day and night. The axis is an imaginary line through the center of the earth, from the north pole to the
south pole. One complete turn of earth is called a rotation. The earth spins or rotates counterclockwise on its
axis. The sun appears to rise on the eastern horizon, move across the sky from east to west, and set on the
western horizon. In spring and fall, day and night are about equal in length at 12 hours each. Sun sticks and
sundials were used by early civilizations to indicate time. Shadows are shortest at noon and longest in the
early morning (sunrise) and late evening (sunset). Sunrise on the east coast is about three hours earlier than on
the west coast, creating the need for time zones or standardized time. A time zone is an area of the world
where all clocks are set to the same time. Earth is divided in 24 major times zones, while the U.S. is divided
into 4 different time zones. Due to earth's tilt at 23.5 degrees, the length of daylight varies throughout the
year. A year is the amount of time it takes a planet to make one complete trip around the sun. The term revolve
is used to describe this movement. The path that a planet follows around the sun is called its orbit. One
complete orbit around the sun is called a revolution. Earth's year is about 3651/4 days long. The earth's orbit
around the sun is nearly a circle. The farther one goes from the equator, the greater the seasonal variation in
temperature and the variation in daylight length. Latitude refers to how far a city is north or south of the
equator. The angle of the light hitting a surface affects the intensity of energy hitting the surface. It takes
much longer for Earth to revolve around the sun than to rotate on its axis. During each year, the cycle of
seasons takes place. When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it experiences summer. When the
northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, it experiences winter. The seasons in the southern
hemisphere are exact opposite of the northern hemisphere. The earth's tilt puts the sun's rays at different
angles. The longest days and the highest angle of sunlight occurs around June 21. The shortest days and the
lowest angle of sunlight occur around December 21. If earth were not tilted, most places would have very little
difference in average daily temperature over the year. If the earth were tilted even more, the difference in
temperature and daylight hours between summer and winter would be even more extreme. The different
shapes of the moon visible from earth are called the phases of the moon. When the moon appears as a
completely lighted circle it is called a full moon. When the moon appears completely dark and is not visible, it
is called a new moon. At any point in time, half of the moon is lit by the sun and half is dark. During a new
moon, the moon is in the same general direction in the sky as the sun, meaning that the moon is in our
daytime field of view and not within our nighttime field of view. Waxing refers to the phases of the moon
between new moon and full moon seeing more and more of the moon. Waning refers to the phases of the
moon between full moon and new moon seeing less and less of the moon. A crescent moon is when we see
less than half of the moon, or a sliver (between new and 1st quarter). A gibbous moon is when we see more
than half of the moon (between full and 3rd quarter) The changing of the phases of the moon is called the
lunar cycle. A complete lunar cycle takes approximately 29.5 days. The moon's rotation time equals its
revolution time causing the same side of the moon to always face the earth. There are on average two or three
lunar eclipses each year. Just as the earth orbits the sun in a counterclockwise orbit, the moon moves
counterclockwise around the earth. Just as half of the earth is always lighted by the sun and half is in
darkness, half of the moon is lighted by the sun and half is in darkness. The tides are the regular, noticeable
risings and fallings of the surface of the oceans. Earth's tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon
and the sun on the oceans and the earth itself. The tidal cycle does not correspond perfectly with the 24hour
day so the cycle of the tides shifts by about 50 minutes later each day. Extreme tides, when there is the
greatest daily variation between the heights of the low and high tides, are known as spring tides. Extreme tides
occur when the sun, earth , and moon are positioned in a straight line. When there is the least variation
between low and high tides, that phenomena is called the neap tide. Some calendars have been closely linked
to the changing light from the sun, or solar year, while others have been based on the moon's cycle, or lunar
cycle. The calendar that the U.S. and most of the world uses for their daily affairs is an example of a solar
calendar it keeps the year closely in step with with earth's solar year. Calendars also vary in such ways as
how they determine the first day of the year and how they count the years. The seven day week may be based
on the seven heavenly bodies (sun, moon, and five planets) visible to the ancient Babylonians. Every planet
rotates on its axis and revolves around a star. The time it takes to rotate (day night cycle) and revolve (year)
can be very different from planet to planet. Some planets have tilted axis and others do not (tilt creates
seasons). Some planets have moons and others do not (moons create tides)