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Earth, Moon, and the Sun

Why the Sun seems to move

You watch the Sun rise in the east. Does the Sun really travel across the sky?

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The idea

You sit in a train that moves to the right.
Step 1 of 4
  1. You sit in a train that moves to the right.
  2. The trees outside seem to go to the left.
  3. Earth turns, once in about 24 hours. It turns west to east.
  4. So the Sun seems to go from east to west.

No. Earth turns, so the Sun only seems to move.

Earth turns from west to east. The Sun seems to rise in the east. It seems to set in the west.

The Moon and stars also seem to rise in the east. They seem to set in the west.

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This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Earth is doing two things at once
  3. 2 The Moon keeps one face turned to us
  4. 3 When three line up, one shades another
  5. 4 The Moon shades a patch of Earth
  6. 5 Earth shades the Moon
  7. 6 Why it is not every month
  8. 7 One is safe to watch, the other never is
  9. 8 Checkpoint: motions, the Moon and eclipses
  10. 9 Why the Sun seems to move
  11. 10 Day here, night there
  12. 11 The star that stays still
  13. 12 Checkpoint: the turning sky
  14. 13 The night sky changes through the year
  15. 14 The tilt makes the seasons
  16. 15 The longest and shortest days
  17. 16 Checkpoint: the year, the tilt and the seasons
  18. 17 The big picture
  19. 18 Track quiz

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