Facts about the Universe

We will learn about the amazing facts about the Universe.

The Earth:

The planet earth is made up of land, water and air. Three-fourth part of the earth’s surface is covered with water, whereas only one-fourth part is covered with land. The air that surrounds the earth is called the atmosphere.

The earth’s neighbors:

There are nine planets which move around the sun. The names of the nine planets are Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Neptune and Pluto.

Shape of the earth:

The earth is round in shape. Many people have proved that the earth is round in shape. A famous European sailor named Ferdinand Magellan set off to sail from a certain place. He sailed on and on till he came back to the starting point. Thus, he proved that the earth is round in shape which is one of the interesting facts about the Universe.

The Sky:

We can see the sun, moon and the stars in the sky. We can see the sun in the daytime and the moon and the stars at night.

The Sun:

The sun is a huge ball of fire. It is made up of gases. It gives us heat and light. The sun is very big in size. Yet it appears small to us. This is because the sun is very far from the earth. The sun is a star. The sun is the nearest star to the earth.

The earth’s movements:

The earth moves on its axis from west to east, that is from left to right. This axis is an imaginary line which passes through the North Pole to the South Pole. This movement of the earth from west to east is called rotation of the earth.

The earth takes 24 hours to complete one rotation. The rotation of the earth causes day and night (one rotation). This is another amazing facts about the Universe.

Day and Night:

The earth receives light from the sun. But only half of the earth faces the sun at one time. The part that faces the sun receives the light from the sun. Thus, it has day while the part away from the sun has night as it does not receive any light.

As the earth rotates around its axis, the different parts of the earth face the sun one by one.

This process goes on and on and days and nights follow each other.

While the earth rotates on its axis, it also moves around the sun along a fixed path. This movement is called revolution of the earth. The earth takes 365 days to complete one revolution around the sun.

The Moon:

The earth has one moon. It is smaller in size than the earth. As the moon moves around the earth, it is called the earth’s satellite. The moon has no light of its own. Yet, it appears to shine at night because, it reflects the sunlight falling on it.

Phases of the Moon:

The earth revolves around the sun. The moon too, revolves around the earth. The positions of the earth and the moon change constantly. Due to this, the moon appears to have different shapes. These different shapes of the moon are known as the phases of the moon.

In position (I), the moon lies between the sun and the earth. The side of the moon that faces the earth is dark. The side that faces the sun is bright. Thus, from the earth the moon is not visible. This phase is known as the new moon phase.

In position (II), the earth is between the moon and the sun. The side of the moon that faces the earth is bright. Thus, we see the complete moon. This phase is known as the full moon phase.

Thus, after the new moon phase, the moon appears to increase in size. While after the full moon phase, it appears to decrease in size. It takes almost fourteen days from one new moon to one full moon. This is another most important facts about the Universe.

The Stars:

The stars too are made up of hot gases, like the sun. Stars have their own light and they give out light and heat. Some stars are much bigger than the sun. Yet they appear smaller to us because they are very far away from the earth.

In the night sky we see some stars appear single while some appear in groups. Groups of stars which form different patterns are called constellation.

Facts about the Universe

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Facts About the Seasons

Third Grade

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