ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Smile and Learn English Eclipses and Movements of the Earth for kids – Solar and Lunar Eclipses – Rotation and Revolution
Greetings, Earthling! Are you ready for an exciting adventure? We have an important mission to save Earth from a gigantic asteroid! To do this, we need to learn about how Earth moves in space. Let’s dive in!
Just like all the planets in our solar system, Earth moves in two main ways: rotation and revolution. First, let’s talk about rotation. Imagine Earth spinning like a top around an invisible line called an axis. This axis goes through the North and South Poles. Earth takes 24 hours to complete one full spin, which is why we have day and night.
When the part of Earth you’re on faces the sun, it’s daytime. When it turns away, it’s nighttime. Pretty cool, right?
Now, let’s explore revolution. This is the movement of Earth as it travels around the sun. It takes one whole year for Earth to complete this journey. People used to think Earth’s path around the sun was a perfect circle, but it’s actually shaped like an oval, or an ellipse.
Because of Earth’s tilted axis, we have different seasons. When the axis tilts towards the sun, it’s summer, and when it tilts away, it’s winter. For example, when it’s summer in the northern half of Earth, it’s winter in the southern half, and vice versa.
Did you know that Earth’s revolution around the sun actually takes 365 days and 6 hours? That’s why every four years, we have a leap year with an extra day in February, making it 29 days long. This keeps our calendars in sync with Earth’s journey around the sun.
Now, let’s talk about something amazing called eclipses. Sometimes, the sun, Earth, and moon line up perfectly, creating an eclipse. There are two types of eclipses we can see from Earth: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between Earth and the sun, blocking the sunlight. During the day, the moon covers the sun, and it looks like a ring of light in the sky. Remember, it’s important to wear special glasses to watch a solar eclipse safely.
A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth comes between the sun and the moon. Earth’s shadow falls on the moon, making it look dark and sometimes red, which is called a “blood moon.”
Isn’t it fascinating how these celestial events happen? Now you know all about Earth’s movements and eclipses. Keep exploring and learning about our amazing universe!
Did you enjoy this adventure? There are many more exciting things to discover. Keep watching and learning!
Shadow Play: Create your own solar and lunar eclipses using a flashlight, a small ball (like a tennis ball), and a larger ball (like a basketball). In a dark room, use the flashlight to represent the sun, the larger ball as Earth, and the smaller ball as the moon. Try to create a solar eclipse by positioning the smaller ball between the flashlight and the larger ball. Then, create a lunar eclipse by placing the larger ball between the flashlight and the smaller ball. What do you notice about the shadows? How do they change when you move the balls?
Day and Night Diary: Keep a diary for a week, noting the time the sun rises and sets each day. Use this information to discuss how Earth’s rotation causes day and night. Try to predict what time the sun will rise and set the next day. How does the length of the day change over the week? What might cause these changes?
Seasonal Changes Observation: Go outside and observe the environment around you. What season is it currently? Look for signs of the season, such as the temperature, the clothes people are wearing, and changes in plants or animals. Discuss how Earth’s revolution and tilted axis cause these seasonal changes. Can you find any evidence of the upcoming season?
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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**[Music]**
Greetings, Earthling! I need you for a new adventure. I hope you’re ready because this is a very important mission. A gigantic asteroid is heading towards your planet, and we have to save it!
We need to study the rotation and revolution movements of planet Earth to find out whether it will impact Earth or pass at a distance. Would you help me?
Of course, I would! The mission commences now!
It’s been ages; I’ve missed you! There’s no time to lose. I need you to tell me everything you know about the rotation and revolution movements of planet Earth.
It’s your lucky day, my friend! This week, we learned all about it in class, and I scored top marks! Just like the rest of the planets in the solar system, planet Earth moves in two ways: rotation and revolution.
Can you see how the Earth is spinning around its axis? This movement is called rotation. The Earth spins around an imaginary line that passes through the poles. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the axis is a little inclined, almost 24 degrees. It takes planet Earth 24 hours to complete one rotation on its axis, which is the equivalent of one day.
Rotation explains day and night. As you can see, it’s daytime in the part of the Earth that faces the sun and nighttime on the dark side. Do you understand?
Yes, I do! Rotation means the Earth is spinning around itself.
Exactly! Now I’ll explain revolution. The movement of the Earth around the sun is called revolution. The Earth takes one whole year to go around the sun.
Before, people used to think that the orbit of the Earth around the sun was cyclical, but they weren’t right. As you can see here, the orbit is elliptical. Thanks to revolution and the inclination of the rotation axis of the Earth, we have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
The more the axis is inclined towards the sun, the more directly the sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface. It’s warmer, and that’s why it’s summertime. By contrast, the other hemisphere is less inclined, so sunlight is less direct, which is why it’s colder and wintertime.
Here we can see that it’s summertime in the northern hemisphere and wintertime in the southern hemisphere. The opposite will occur in six months. Sunlight will reach the southern hemisphere in a more direct way, and it will be summer while in the northern hemisphere it will be winter.
**[Music]**
Due to the fact that the revolution of the Earth around the sun doesn’t take exactly 365 days but 365 days and 6 hours, there are leap years, which have one more day—366 days. That’s why every four years, February has one more day, Day 29.
Wow, how impressive! So these calculations mean that planet Earth is doomed? The asteroid will impact Earth in one minute now!
Wait! Did you take into account that this is a leap year? Oops! Hold on! The Earth is safe from the asteroid; it will pass close by without hitting it. Yay! And it’s all thanks to the leap year! Impressive, right?
**[Music]**
Whoa, what’s happening? Hey, you know very well that levitating is not allowed in this school! Come back down here!
This spaceship rings a bell. Greetings! Hey, hello there! You scared me!
Yeah, apologies for abducting you without notice, but there’s an emergency.
Is there another asteroid about to hit the Earth?
No, worse! I have an exam tomorrow, and I’ve been told it’s about eclipses. Can you explain them to me?
Oh my! You did scare me! You’re lucky; just a few days ago, we learned about eclipses in class.
Awesome! Tell me everything about them!
Very well then, pay close attention. Sometimes the sun, the Earth, and the moon align together, forming an eclipse.
On Earth, we can see two types of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, blocking part of the sunlight or even the entire sun. This means that during daytime, the moon positions itself in front of the sun, covering it up. That’s why from Earth, we see something similar to a ring of light. It’s very important to know that to observe an eclipse, it’s necessary to use special eyewear.
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth positions itself between the sun and the moon, blocking sun rays from reaching the moon. During the eclipse, a shadow is formed, and the moon becomes dark in our view, changing its color to red. This phenomenon is known as a blood moon.
And that’s all about eclipses! It’s very interesting, isn’t it?
It’s incredible! Let’s see, read to me what you wrote to make sure you understood well.
An eclipse happens when the Earth, sun, and moon align together. We can observe two different types of eclipses from the Earth: solar eclipses occur when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth, forming a shadow that covers the Earth’s surface. Lunar eclipses happen when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, forming a shadow that covers the lunar surface, changing the color of the moon to copper red.
That’s amazing! You’ll pass with flying colors! I need to get going; I have a lot of studying to do.
You’re very welcome!
**[Music]**
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