The document discusses patterns in the night sky and how they change throughout the year. It explains that the Earth's rotation causes constellations to appear to drift east to west at night, and its revolution around the sun means different constellations are visible during different seasons. It also provides information about the planets in our solar system, the phases of the moon, eclipses, and tides. Suggested topics for further astronomical research are listed at the end.

1. The Night Sky
What are the patterns in the sky and why do they change throughout
the year?

2. The Night Sky – two important observations
• The star patterns (constellations) appear to drift across the sky (East to
West) during the night
• Different patterns appear at different times of the year

3. Earth spins on its axis once
every 24 hours (1 day)

4. The Earth also moves around the Sun (1 year)

5. As we move around the Sun, different patterns of
stars become visible as others become impossible
to observe

6. Summer

7. Concentrate on….

8. Autumn

9. Concentrate on…..

10. Winter

11. Concentrate on….

12. Spring

13. Concentrate on….

14. Planets

15. Actual relative sizes

16. Planets = “wanderers”
Eg. Mars (over several weeks)

17. Interesting facts about the Planets
• Mercury: fastest planet, orbiting the Sun in just 88 days
• Venus: hottest planet (nearly 500 oC)
• Earth: only planet we know of with life
• Mars: has the largest volcano in the Solar System (Olympus Mons)
• Jupiter: larger than all the other planets put together
• Saturn: less dense than water (so would float on it)
• Uranus: tilted almost onto its side (so it rolls around the Sun)
• Neptune: discovered using a mathematical calculation

18. Sun and Moon
• Lunar Phases
• Eclipses
• Tides

19. Phases of the Moon – a lunar month

20. Lunar Eclipse

21. “Blood Moon”

22. Solar Eclipse

23. “Diamond Ring”

24. Tides – two high and two low daily

25. Suggested topics to research
• A planet in our Solar System
• Comets
• The Apollo 11 Mission
• The Andromeda Galaxy
• Pluto
• Meteors
• The Voyager 2 Mission
• A supernova
• The Seven Sisters cluster
• The Cassini Mission
• Exoplanets
• The Orion Nebula
• Titan
• The Hubble Space Telescope
• Black Holes
• The Crab Nebula

26. Further information
• Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/)
• Royal Astronomical Society (https://www.ras.org.uk/)
• Society for Popular Astronomy (http://www.popastro.com/)
• The Sky at Night (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mk7h)
• Royal Greenwich Observatory (http://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-
observatory)