Science NCEA Level 1
AS90954 (Science 1.15)
Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of astronomical cycles and their affects on earth.
What are Astronomical Cycles (and their relevance to the effects they have on Earth)?
Astronomical Cycles:
Astronomical cycles are mainly associated with orbits of a primary body (in this case the Sun) by a satellite (the earth). Astronomical cycles can also refer to the systems specific to a satellite (the spin and tilt of the earth). Astronomical cycle’s specific to earth serve as a reference for our measurement of time and play an important role in the earth’s climate and ecology. Things such as seasons, temperature increase and decrease, and weather cycles are all caused by the astronomical cycles relevant to earth; to be specific, the spin of the earth and the tilt of the earth.
Identification of Astronomical Cycles Specific to Earth:
The Cycles:
- The Spin of The Earth:
The spin of the earth refers to the rotation of the earth on its axis. The earth spins anti-clockwise on an axis which runs from the North Pole (the arctic) to the South Pole (Antarctic). It takes exactly 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds at a rate of 1,670 kph (at the equator) for the earth to complete a full rotation in context with the sun. This spin is caused by the conservation of angular momentum. Since space is a vacuum, the earth will continue with this momentum for as long as no significant forces disrupt the momentum.
- Effects It Causes:
Day and Night:
The spin of the Earth is the reason we have day and night. The logic is simple, when one side of the Earth is facing the sun we call that day and when one side of the Earth is facing away from the sun we call that night. Around half of the Earth experiences day an...
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... sun) affects the temperature we feel as well as how visible it is during the day. Days in the southern hemisphere during summer seem longer and generally have warmer and brighter days. As shown on the diagram to the right, the north hemisphere (during the summer) tilts towards the sun, therefore it has more exposure. The north hemisphere has a wedge of sunlight that sits in between the orbital axis and the rotational axis, When this is compared to the southern hemisphere which has a wedge of darkness (night), it shows that the north hemisphere has longer days than the south hemisphere. This is especially apparent when we take into consideration that the equator, which experiences equal length days and nights, sits on the intersection between the orbital axis (where day and night meet) and the rotational axis (the white line). This next diagram shows this perfectly.
for the breaking down of the power of astrology. The fact that the Earth rotates in
The theory of Geocentrism states that all planets as well as the Sun orbit the Earth. Even though we see the sun move across the sky and it feels as if the earth stands still I believe in Helocentrism; the theory that the Earth orbits the Sun. Due to the early natural philosophical assumptions of Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes I reject the theory of Geocentrism.
In the third book of Enoch “Astronomy” describes the roles of each of the luminaries. Uriel is Enoch’s guide through this experience and he shows him the dominions and seasons of the luminaries. This is where it is solidified that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It also explains the orbit of the sun and that it is a star, that is extremely hot. It also offers and explanation as to why the days in summer are longer while the nights shorter and vice versa in the winter and why there can be light in one place but not another, and that reason is portals. This is an explanation for daylight savings times, and they describe the days and shortening by one part, which can be interpreted as an hour. The moon is then explained as travelling the circumference of heaven as well (orbiting) where the cycle is similar to that of the sun. The conclusion is drawn that the world has 364 days in a year and that the cycles of the sun, moon and stars will repeat every 364 days. Enoch then depicts the winds that arise from the north, south, east and west, due to the portals of heaven opening. Each wind brought something different, each a plague. Uriel has shown Enoch everything within the stars and when he asks questions, Uriel explains that a righteous man will be blessed and that everything is happening for a reason because it was as God wanted it. Finally, to his son, Methuselahe, he explains his entire journey through the stars to gain this knowledge, and the guidance that had received from Uriel.
Furthermore, Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who put forth the theory that the Sun is at rest near the center of the Universe, and that the Earth, spinning on its axis once daily, revolves annually around the Sun. This is called the heliocentric, or Sun-centered, system. In Copernicus' lifetime, most believed that Earth held its place at the center of the universe. The sun, the stars, and all of the planets revolved around it. One of the glaring mathematical problems with this model was that the planets, on occasion, would travel backward across the sky over several nights of observation. Astronomers called this retrograde motion. To account for it, the current model, based on the Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy's view, incorporated a number of circles within circles — epicycles — inside of a planet's path. Some planets required as many as seven circles, creating a cumbersome model many felt was too complicated to have naturally occurred.In 1514, Copernicus distributed a handwritten book to his friends that set out his view of the universe. In it, he proposed that the center of the
Kepler created the Three Day Model in which the observed motions of the planets, or the 'wandering stars' were explained. However, Kepler was not able to find a clear criteria to find out which of these models actually correspond to the physical universe. However, each model can be used to predict the longitude and latitude of the 'wandering stars' in the future. However, as time progressed, these models became less
Phases of the moon are then created. We see a full moon, new moon, and everything in between. The sun always lights up one half of the moon. A new moon occurs when the moon is positioned directly between the Earth and the Sun. The part of the moon that is illuminated by the Sun is facing away from Earth. So we are only seeing the backside of the moon, which is dark. A full moon is the opposite of a new moon. It is positioned on the opposite side of Earth; therefore we see the illuminated part of the moon since it is facing us. The synodic period, which is the time it takes for the moon to completely orbit the Earth is exactly 29.53 days. We say it takes about a month, but it differs by one or two days. The sidereal period is the orbital period from outside of the solar system. This means the moon takes exactly 27.32 days to orbit Earth. There are certain times of the year where the moon and sun line up to create a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. A solar eclipse happens during a new moon and a lunar eclipse only happens during a full moon
Kepler’s third law, the Law of Periods, it states that the relationship between the period of two planets is connected to their distance from the sun. Kepler said that the square of the period was proportional to the cube of the radius of the planet (see figure 3).
The northern territory of Australia has more tropical influenced by the climate, hot and humid in the summer and makes it quite warm and dry in winter while the southern territory is cooler and sometimes rainy winters. As water moves in a different direction and as well as the earth turns clockwise the sun hits different countries heats the place. The
Two things that cause seasons on the Earth are the Earthś orbit around the sun, and the tilt that Earth has on its axis. First of all, the Earth orbits around the sun, while the Earth’s axis stays consistent throughout the revolution. This occurs because the sun is the center gravity of our solar system, and each planet revolves around it, including our planet. Therefore, the part of the Earth that is tilted toward the sun can change as the Earth orbits the sun. While the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, direct light hits it and the Northern Hemisphere has summer because it is closer to the sun and these countries receive longer hours of daylight. During this time of the year, the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing winter
Before advanced technologies were invented, the Earth was always thought as an object in the center of the universe with other planets and space objects orbiting around it in perfect circles. Nicolaus Copernicus discovered that the Earth rotates on its axis and that it is not the center of the universe. Based on his observations and measurements, Johannes Keeper created the three laws of planetary motions: 1) the elliptical shape the planet travels in, 2) the changing in the constant speed of planet movement around the sun through time, and 3) the ratio between the period and distance for each planet. Issac Newton expanded Copernicus and Keeper’s labor and focused his calculations with calculus as well as analyzing optics and expressing gravity through a mathematical expression. In his article, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Isaac Newton explained that the natural philosophy is built by the results of the qualities of objects that are used in experiments (Newton, 50) and not based on what one thinks or believes. He said that every experimental data gathered is through the senses (touch, hear, smell taste, feel) and not by reasons because all objects are
Earth's rotations is rotating on almost an imaginary line. This line is going threw the North and South Poles of the planet. This is called Earths axis of rotation. It takes one full day to complete a rotation around. The Earth rotates from the west towards the east. Therefore the Earth rotates counter-clockwise. Just like any other object that is moving there has to be something causing it to move. Earth moves due to angular momentum. Angular momentum is just a fancy word for things that tend to rotate. This is the short answer to why Earth rotates. Although the moon's tidal forces, slow down the rotation just a little bit bu...
As a result of seasons, it change the length of day and night can vary by a few hours. When you see the sun shining in the sky it is day time and when you don 't see the sun shining in the sky it is night time. This is why we see the sun moving across the sky starting in the east in the morning and moving towards the west in the evening. Also the sun moves across the sky because the earth rotates on it’s axis. In this diagram it shows the day and night of the earth, against sunlight directly shining on to one side of the
When looking at the Earth, it becomes readily apparent that cycles are an important theme. Earth is a closed system. Meaning only energy can pass into and out of its atmosphere with the exception with few meteorites that enter and the manmade objects we eject. Earth has the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the rock cycles and Earth itself cycles around the sun. It is easily understandable then that Earth climate also undergone many cyclic changes from one extreme to another within its vast history. In this paper, the focus in on the climate events that occurred from 65 Ma to present day Earth (Cenozoic era), some ways in which this information about climate can be collected and possible implications for the future
We all know that the tilt of the Earth accounts for the seasons, but many folks don’t know that the tilt, or obliquity, of the Earth has changed over time. During a period of 41,000 years, the tilt of the Earth’s axis changes from 22.1° to 24.6°. This wobble, like other facets of the Milankovitch Cycles, is caused by gravitational interactions with other planets.
Weather is always on the run and changing. Some factors includes heat, air pressure, wind and moisture. Sometimes weather can change and that can change your days plans. If it's hot, you might want to go swimming; but if it's raining you might want to stay inside. Earth get a constant stream of energy and heat from the sun. Earth also gives out energy, it's a process that also cools the planet down. The Earth is tilted, which means that the sun creates differences in the global distribution, that's what makes seasons, summer, fall, winter, spring.