Unit 4: Patterns in the Sky Vocabulary

Unit 4 Test is on 1/29

Sun

A star that gives Earth light and heat

Moon

A natural object that orbits Earth and reflects sunlight

Star

A large ball of hot gases that gives off light

Day

The time when the Sun is visible in the sky

Night

The time when the Sun is not visible in the sky

Rotation

The spinning of Earth on its axis

Axis

An imaginary line Earth spins around

Day and Night

The pattern caused by Earth’s rotation

Shadow

A dark area made when an object blocks light

Light Source

An object that gives off light

Angle of Sunlight

The position of the Sun in the sky that affects shadows

Moon Phases

The different shapes of the Moon seen from Earth

New Moon

The phase when the Moon is not visible

Full Moon

The phase when the Moon appears completely lit

Crescent Moon

A Moon phase that looks like a curved slice

Quarter Moon

A Moon phase where half of the Moon is visible

Gibbous Moon

A Moon phase that is more than half lit

Constellation

A group of stars that form a pattern

Pattern

Something that repeats again and again

Orbit

The path an object follows around another object

Revolution

The movement of Earth around the Sun

Year

The time it takes Earth to revolve around the Sun

Seasons

Changes during the year caused by Earth’s tilt and revolution

Weather

Short-term conditions like rain, temperature, or wind

Climate

The usual weather in a place over a long time

Predict

To use patterns to guess what will happen next