Why is the crescent moon sometimes lit on the bottom?

It is all a result of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, and the Earth's orbit around the Sun. ... This is why we have seasons here on Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question43.html - 8k

Can you tell me about the other solar systems being discovered?

Located in the Milky Way about1,500 light-years from Earth, the nebula formed from collapsing gas clouds, yielding many new stars. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question10.html - 11k

StarChild: The Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on the Space Shuttle on April 24, 1990. It is a very special telescope which orbits far above the Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level1/hubble.html - 7k

What is happening with Mars this month?

What is happening with Mars this month? Answer: On August 27, 2003, Mars and Earth will be separated by a mere 55.76 million km (34.65 million miles). ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question60.html - 6k

Why is there day and night?

These days, we know that the Sun appears to move across the sky because the Earth rotates on its axis. So how does the turning of ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question31.html - 6k

What is space trash?

Answer: Some of it floats in space; much of it orbits Earth. ... Space trash moving in orbits lower than 600 km normally falls back to Earth within a few years. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question22.html - 8k

Total Eclipse

In a solar eclipse, the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. ... Shadow Bands are caused by the irregularities in the Earth's atmosphere. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/total_eclipse.html - 6k

StarChild: Meteoroids

If a meteoroid falls into the Earth's atmosphere, it will begin to heat up and start to glow. ... A meteor is called a "falling star" as it falls to Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/meteoroids.html - 7k

StarChild: Multidisciplinary Solar System Activities: A Song for ...

Italian composer and violinist, Antonio Vivaldi, used the Earth's seasonal relationship to the Sun as inspiration for his masterpiece "The Four Seasons". ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/activity/song.html - 9k

StarChild: Multidisciplinary Solar System Activities: Moonlight ...

The revolution of the Moon around the Earth causes the Moon to appear to change shape in the sky. ... New Moon: lighted side of the Moon faces away from the Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/activity/moonlight.html - 11k

StarChild: The Space Shuttle

As the Space Shuttle returns to Earth from space, its belly glows red hot for about 10 minutes. ... The first Shuttle to orbit Earth was called Columbia. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level1/shuttle.html - 8k

StarChild: Facts about the Moon

Earth Distance, 356,000 to 407,000 km. Revolution Period, 27.3 Earth days. Rotation Period, 27.3 Earth days. ... Gravitational Pull, 0.16 times the Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/moon_facts.html - 4k

StarChild: Facts about the Sun

Facts about the Sun. Revolution Period Around the Galaxy, 250 million Earth years. Rotation Period, Equatorial Region - 25 Earth days Polar Regions - 36 Earth days ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/sun_facts.html - 4k

Nicolaus Copernicus

The Church taught that Earth was the most important body in the sky. It also taught that the Sun and all the planets revolved around Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level1/copernicus.html - 7k

What is meant by the "life zone" or the "green zone"?

On Earth, for example, many living things have developed because we get just the right amount of heat and light from the Sun. Most ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question25.html - 6k

What is gravity?

Gravity is not just the attraction between objects and the Earth. ... Yet, it is the Sun's gravity that keeps the Earth in its orbit! ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question30.html - 7k

Parallax

stellar parallax. This method that relies on no assumptions other than the geometry of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. You are ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/parallax.html - 5k

Archive of Questions

[June 1999]. Will an asteroid hit the Earth? [July 1999]. What causes a "falling star"? ... [December 2002]. When is Earth closest to the Sun? [January 2003]. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/archive.html - 14k

How can we fly through the tail of a comet?

The International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3) spacecraft, renamed the International Cometary Explorer (ICE), made the first ever direct cometary measurements ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question27.html - 11k

What are constellations?

However, keep in mind that constellations are not real objects; they are just patterns as seen from our observation point on Earth. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question9.html - 7k

The Phases of the Moon

From the Earth, we can only see the part of the Moon that is facing toward us at any time (which is often called the near side of the Moon) and we cannot see ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/phases.html - 4k

StarChild: Space Travel

Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth. In ... spacecraft. He was followed by John Glenn, who orbited the Earth three times in 1962. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level1/travel.html - 7k

StarChild: Multidisciplinary Solar System Activities: Solar System ...

G. This dirty snowball can be seen from Earth every 76 Earth years. ... I. The only space body in our solar system, other than Earth, where humans have visited. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/activity/solar_system_shuffle.html - 8k

StarChild: Multidisciplinary Universe Activities: Star Art

sky. They were seen from Earth by a brave and magical hunter named White Hawk who wished to have one of them for his wife. White ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/universe_level2/activity/star_art.html - 14k

function CheckForWinner

var correct = new Array ("", "MERCURY", "EARTH", "MARS", "MARS", "VENUS", "SATURN", "URANUS", "JUPITER", "MERCURY", "VENUS", "JUPITER", "MARS", "VENUS ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/javascript/planet_tac_toe.js - 2007-02-23