Learning A–Z level U Multi-level N/A

Grade
Lexile
4
930L
Word Count
Nonfiction • Informational
1,211

The Sun,
Refer to the Focus Question on page 2 of this title to guide
discussion and support additional learning connected to the text.
Earth,
The Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are constantly
interacting with each other in a complex dance. The Sun,
and Moon
Earth, and Moon describes the effects of the movements
of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, including what causes high
and low tides, why we have different seasons, and what
happens during solar and lunar eclipses. The text is
supported by descriptive photographs and informative
diagrams. Readers will be able to hone their nonfiction
reading skills by using labels to help navigate their way
through the text. Students will also have the opportunity
to make inferences and draw conclusions and to identify
complex sentences in the text.

Photo Credits:
Front cover, page 4: © iStockphoto.com/Dan Wood; title page: courtesy of NASA; page 3: courtesy of NASA/JSC; page 5: courtesy of NASA/
GSFC/NSSDC; page 6: © Fontana, Lavinia (1552-1614)/Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library; page 7 (top): © Mark Garlick/Science
Source; page 7 (bottom): © Jupiterimages Corporation; pages 8, 9: courtesy of NASA/JPL/USGS; page 10: © Dorling Kindersley; page 11
(main): courtesy of NASA/GSFC/Visible Earth; pages 11 (top inset, bottom inset): © Francois Gohier/Science Source; page 13: © AnastasiiaM/
iStock/Thinkstock; page 14: © iStockpho-to.com/Dan Kite; page 15: All Canada Photos/Alamy Stock Photo

For more great books visit

Written by David L. Dreier
www.learninga-z.com
© Learning A–Z, all rights reserved.
 The Sun, Focus Question
What is the relationship between the

Earth,
movements of the Earth, Moon, and Sun?

and Moon
Words to Know
eclipse rotation
gravity tides
revolution

Connections
Writing
Create a poster that explains how lunar and
solar eclipses are alike and different. Present the
information to your class.
Science
Why does the Moon appear to change shape
throughout the month? Research the phases of the
Written by David L. Dreier Moon. Create a model or diagram that explains the
phases and why they occur.
 Sun, Earth, and Moon

Three Important Celestial Bodies

Craters on Earth’s Moon
The solar system is our home in the Milky Way
Table of Contents Galaxy, a huge spiral of stars, gas, and dust . The
solar system consists of the Sun, the planets, their
Three Important Celestial Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
moons, and various kinds of debris . But to us, the
The Movements of the Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 three most important objects in the solar system are
the Sun, our own planet Earth, and Earth’s Moon .
The Rotation and Revolution of the Moon . . . . . . . 8
The planets and their moons are always
The Tides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
moving—the planets circle the Sun, and the moons
Lunar and Solar Eclipses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 circle the planets . It is a ballet of movement that
has gone on for billions of years . In this book,
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
we will examine the movements of the Earth and
Glossary/Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Moon in relation to each other and to the Sun .

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 3 4

 The Movements of the Earth Earth’s revolution is its long orbit around the
Earth, as all planets and moons in the solar Sun, which takes about 365 days . One full year
system, undergoes two main movements: thus corresponds to one complete orbit of Earth
rotation and revolution. around the Sun . Actually, a single revolution of
our planet around the Sun takes 365¼ days . That
Rotation is the turning of Earth around its axis, is why a leap year must be added to the calendar
an imaginary line that runs vertically through the every four years . A leap year contains one extra
center of the planet . A single rotation of Earth day—February 29—which absorbs those four
takes 24 hours . It is Earth’s rotation that produces extra quarter days and keeps the calendar in line
the endless cycle of day and night . When one side with the seasons .
of the planet is rotated toward the Sun, it is day
on that half of the planet . At the same time, it is Leap years date to the reign of Julius Caesar in
night on the other half of the planet . ancient Rome . In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII further
refined the calendar to make up for a slight error
The Earth from space that accumulated over centuries with leap years .
We still use Pope Gregory’s system, which skips
three leap years every four centuries .

Earth’s axis Pope Gregory XIII, the man responsible for our current calendar

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 5 6

 Northern Hemisphere Summer and Winter The Rotation and Revolution of the Moon
Just as Earth turns on its axis and revolves
Northern
hemisphere around the Sun, the Moon turns on its axis and
winter
revolves around the Earth . But there is one big
difference between the movements of the Earth
Sun
Northern and Moon . The Earth’s periods of rotation and
hemisphere
summer
revolution are very different: 24 hours and
365 days . For the Moon, these two movements
each take the same amount of time—just over
Earth’s orbit
around Sun 27½ days . Every 27½ days, the Moon revolves
once around Earth and turns once on its axis .
Because of that, the Moon always has the same
The near-circle out in space that Earth traces face turned toward Earth .
in its orbit around the Sun is called its orbital plane .
The full Moon
Earth’s axis is tilted about 23½ degrees away from Earth Moon’s axis
from its orbital plane . This tilt is what causes
the seasons . When the northern hemisphere—
the northern half of the planet—is tilted toward
the Sun, it is summer in that part of the world .
At the same time, it is winter in the southern
hemisphere . Half a
year later, it is the
southern half of the
planet that is tilted
toward the Sun . Then
it is summer there and
winter in the northern
hemisphere .

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 7 8

 There is nothing mysterious about these two The Tides
movements occurring in the same amount of time . Both the Sun and Moon affect Earth with their
They are a result of the pull of gravity between gravity . It is the Sun’s enormous gravity that keeps
Earth and the Moon . The matching of rotational Earth in orbit around the Sun . Earth’s gravity
and orbital periods is called synchronous rotation, keeps the Moon in an endless orbit around our
and it is common in the universe . planet . However, the Moon, though small
Many people think that there is a permanent compared to the Earth and Sun, also exerts a
“dark side” of the Moon, but that is wrong . It is gravitational pull .
correct to speak of the “far side” of the Moon— The gravitational pulls of the Sun and Moon
the side always turned away from Earth . That produce the tides in our planet’s oceans . The Moon
side receives just as much sunlight as the side that is much closer to us than the Sun . For that reason,
faces us, just at opposite times . When we see a full it has a stronger tidal effect than the Sun does .
moon, the far side is in darkness . But when there
is a new moon, and we see the Moon as dark, the The pull of the Moon’s gravity causes the
far side of the Moon is in full sunlight . oceans to bulge toward the Moon . Because of the
way tidal forces act, the Moon’s gravity also causes
Moon’s axis a bulge to occur on the opposite side of the planet .
The far side
of the Moon
Moon

big
bulge

Sun Earth orbit

little
bulge

The Moon affects the tides on Earth.

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 9 10

 Full solar
eclipse

high tide
Daytime
Sun

Moon The Moon passes between

the Earth and the Sun.

Full lunar
low tide eclipse

Moon Night time

Earth The Earth’s shadow passes

shadow across the Moon.

Lunar and Solar Eclipses

As the Earth and Moon move through space,
they sometimes get lined up with the Sun . When
As Earth rotates, the high point of a bulge that happens, the result is a dramatic effect called
reaches any particular shoreline once every 12 an eclipse . There are two kinds of eclipses, lunar
hours . The rising water that this causes is called (Moon) eclipses and solar (Sun) eclipses . A lunar
high tide . When the bulge passes and the water goes eclipse occurs when the Moon is in Earth’s shadow
out again, it is called low tide . There are two high from the Sun . A solar eclipse occurs when the
tides and two low tides in each 24-hour period . Moon passes between Earth and the Sun .

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 11 12

 A lunar eclipse is a phenomenon of haunting
beauty . As a full moon passes through Earth’s
shadow, it is illuminated only by rays of sunlight
that are scattered through our planet’s atmosphere .
This light has a reddish cast, so the Moon turns a
deep red . A lunar eclipse is visible from the entire
side of Earth experiencing night time and can last
for more than 1½ hours .

A total solar eclipse

There is no more spectacular sight on Earth

than a total eclipse of the Sun . By a coincidence
of nature, the Sun and Moon, as seen from Earth,
have exactly the same diameter . Because of that,
when the Moon passes between Earth and the
Sun, it perfectly blocks the Sun’s disk . The disk
is then blocked for several minutes . During that
time, the Sun’s corona—its outer glowing gases—
becomes clearly visible .

During a solar eclipse, only people in a fairly

narrow path on the Earth can see a total eclipse .
Most people see a partial eclipse, with part of
the Sun’s disk still showing . But even with a
Steps showing how Earth casts a shadow over the Moon during
total eclipse, people are advised to view the
a lunar eclipse phenomenon with special protective glasses .

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 13 14

 Glossary
eclipse (n.) page 12
the partial or complete hiding or darkening of one
celestial body, such as the Sun or the Moon, by
another

gravity (n.) page 9

the natural force that tends to pull objects toward
each other, such as objects being pulled toward
the center of Earth

revolution (n.) page 6

one complete circle made by a planet along its
orbital path around another celestial body
A full Moon rises over Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. rotation (n.) page 5
a single turn of something around an axis or
Conclusion
a fixed point; spinning
The movements of the Earth and Moon seem
somehow exactly right . A day is just long enough tides (n.) page 10
to accomplish some work, have a relaxing evening, the regular rise and fall of the ocean produced
and then get enough sleep to start a new day . The by the gravity of the Moon and Sun
length of one year also seems right . Who would Index
want it to be half its length or twice as long? As for
Julius Caesar, 6 Pope Gregory XIII, 6
the Moon, its 29½-day cycle of phases is almost
equal to a month . We mark our days, months, and leap years, 6 seasons, 7
years with the movements of our planet and our lunar eclipse, 12, 13 solar eclipse, 12, 14
Moon . And sometimes the Sun and Moon provide Moon, 8–10, 12, 13 synchronous rotation, 9
us with rare, beautiful displays that we remember orbital plane, 7 tidal bulge, 10, 11
for the rest of our lives .

The Sun, Earth, and Moon • Level U 15 16