Physics - Space physics - tuition notes

• Earth is a rocky planet, that orbits in a near circular orbit around the sun.
• It rotates on its axis, which is a line passing through the north and south poles.
• Axis is tilted at an angle about 23.4 degrees from the vertical
• Rotation of the earth on its axis creates day and night.
• Day is experienced by the half of the earth’s surface facing the sun and night is experienced by the half of the earth’s surface facing away from the sun.
• Earth’s rotation on its axis makes the sun look as it moves from east to west.
• Earth orbits the sun once in approximately 365 days (1 year)
• Combination of the orbiting of the earth around the sun and the tilt of the axis creates seasons
• Hemisphere that is tilted to the sun gets daylight hours more than darkness hours, these seasons are spring and summer
• Hemisphere that is tilted away from the sun has shorter days than nights, these seasons are winter and autumn
• Countries on the equator don’t experience seasons because the sun’s rays always hit them at the same angle
• Moon is the natural satellite of earth.
• Moon orbits the earth in a roughly circular orbit, once in a month (27 to 28 days)
• Moon shines with reflected light from the sun, it does not produce its own light
• New Moon – moon between earth and sun, hence sunlight falls only on the opposite phase of the moon, so the moon is unlit as seen from earth or not visible.
• Full Moon – earth is between the moon and sun, side of moon facing earth is completely lit by sunlight and appears as a circular disk.
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