With all our figuring out focused recently on the Moon, we switched gears to thinking about the role the Sun plays in all these patterns we've uncovered! We did some digging into thinking what the Earth and Moon do in relation to the Sun, as well as thinking about all the other stars that are out there! We started with this:
This got us thinking about how if all these other stars are out there, then....
1. Why don't we see them like we see the Sun during the day?
2. Where are they in relation to the Sun if we only see them at night (and not so well here in Chicago, actually, because of all the light pollution)?
We began thinking about how their size and distance (kind of like what we saw with the SuperMoon and Micromoon) plays a role! We were in agreement that stars are bigger than the Sun, and that if they're wayyyyyyy out there, that's why they're appearing so small to us. We also figured out that the other stars are still there during the day, but they're just not visible because the Sun is so close to the Earth.
We also began thinking about how the Earth is in a different spot in its orbit around the Sun, so we must see different stars at different times of the year. As a result, we're finishing our school year with a constellation project, connecting our figuring out to historical, cultural, and mythological ideas, too! Here are a few examples!
1. Why don't we see them like we see the Sun during the day?
2. Where are they in relation to the Sun if we only see them at night (and not so well here in Chicago, actually, because of all the light pollution)?
We began thinking about how their size and distance (kind of like what we saw with the SuperMoon and Micromoon) plays a role! We were in agreement that stars are bigger than the Sun, and that if they're wayyyyyyy out there, that's why they're appearing so small to us. We also figured out that the other stars are still there during the day, but they're just not visible because the Sun is so close to the Earth.
We also began thinking about how the Earth is in a different spot in its orbit around the Sun, so we must see different stars at different times of the year. As a result, we're finishing our school year with a constellation project, connecting our figuring out to historical, cultural, and mythological ideas, too! Here are a few examples!
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