Kn 6 Ls 1 Introduction to the Sun and Space

[Applause]

welcome to ckla knowledge 6 astronomy

introduction to the sun and space

our purpose for listening today is we

will discuss earth's atmosphere and

outer space

we will make observations about the sky

and listen carefully to understand the

word

gas

the study of outer space is astronomy

think in your head

what is the big

hot bright object we can see in the sky

during the day

you are probably thinking the sun

let's do it again think in your head

what is the big object that we can see

in the sky at night

and that appears to be glowing

i'm sure you were thinking of the moon

one more

think in your head

what are the smaller twinkling lights we

can see in the sky at night

that would be the stars

the sun

moon and stars are

actually in outer space

over the next few weeks we are going to

learn more about these

and other objects in space

let's take a look

where

are we

no need to have a map on this one we're

going to use a stair step chart

earth is in the solar system that's

called the milky way galaxy

we live on the planet earth

we live on the continent of north

america

the country

united states of america

is a part of the continent north america

the state we live in is pennsylvania

in the city

our city is eerie

listen carefully to learn how the sky

you see during the day or night actually

has two parts

let's learn about some objects that we

can see in the sky and hear which of

these objects are located

in the atmosphere and which are located

in outer space

have you looked up at the sky lately

perhaps you saw a clear blue sky or

maybe there were a few puffy white

clouds floating around or maybe the sky

was streaked with gray clouds

occasionally when you look up at the sky

you can see an airplane or a bird flying

by

or maybe even a red balloon someone

accidentally let loose

some days it is fun to lie on your back

in the grass and stare up at the

interesting shapes

of the puffy white clouds overhead

perhaps you or someone you know has even

flown in an airplane up among the clouds

high above the earth's surface

you can think of the skies in two layers

there is a big blanket or bubble of air

that surrounds the earth

this bubble covers the whole earth

all the ground and oceans and everything

else on the earth's surface including

you

this bubble of air is called the

atmosphere

but the atmosphere does not tell the

whole story the second layer of sky is

all outer space

which lies beyond the atmosphere an

endless expanse of stars and moons and

other objects

of course during the day here on earth

it is easy to forget that outer space is

there

but it always is

the earth your home is just one little

object moving around in the middle of it

all

like a speck of sand amidst all the

sands in the ocean

during the day

the sun shines over the earth

shedding light on all the animals and

plants that live on the earth's surface

the sun rays or beams of light spread

across the skies which appear blue to

your eyes

the sun itself

is a star

it is not part of the earth or earth's

sky

in fact the sun is far far away from

earth

so far away that it would take more than

three months to reach it in the fastest

rocket ship

but even if you could reach the sun in a

rocket ship

you would never be able to get close to

it

that is because the sun like other stars

is an enormous ball of very hot

gas

that means the sun is not a solid object

or a liquid

it's made up of gas

a thin substance

that objects can pass

right through

if they didn't burn up first

everything that gets too close to it

burns up instantly

just how enormous is the sun

think about this if the sun were a huge

bowl and the earth

were

a little marble you could stuff about

one million marbles

into that bowl

in other words it would take a million

earths to fill the sun

the sun is just one out of billions of

stars in space however the sun is our

star it is the earth's star without the

sun

earth would be a cold

lifeless hunk of rock

all living things on earth that you can

see every day from the trees to the bees

to the flowers and the fleas

rely on the sun in one way or another

the heat light and energy of the sun

allow life to flourish here on earth

the rising sun

signals the start of a new day

in the morning the sun rises in the east

and its rays shed light across the land

people wake up and get ready for a new

day

getting dressed and eating breakfast and

then traveling outside to wherever it is

they go to school to the office to a

store

or simply out for a walk

have you ever noticed your shadow on the

ground

if the sun is behind you while you are

walking down the sidewalk then your body

blocks the sun's rays and creates a

shadow on the ground

your shadow is not the only shadow in

the world

clouds cast shadows as well

so do buildings and trees have you ever

rested under the shade of a tree on a

hot summer day

if so you were resting in the shadow

cast by the trees leaves and branches

on a hot summer day you can feel the

warmth of the sun on your skin and if

you do not use sunscreen then you may

get a sun burn

ouch

the sun's energy can burn your skin and

that's bad

sunburns hurt and if you get sunburned

too often it can cause serious damage to

your skin

on the other hand the sun's light is

also good for you

when your bare skin is exposed to

sunlight your body creates vitamin d

which is one of the many vitamins your

body needs in order to stay healthy and

strong

at the end of each day when the sun goes

down in the west the sky changes it

isn't blue anymore the sky becomes black

and new sights appear

instead of clouds and birds and blue sky

you may see an array of shining stars

you may see something else as well not

the sun but another object hovering in

the skies above

the moon over the next several days you

will learn about the sun

the moon the stars and you will hear all

sorts of amazing and interesting facts

about outer space

the place beyond the earth's sky or

atmosphere

this study of the stars and other things

in outer space is called astronomy

there is so much to learn about the

stars and other objects in space

but you can spend the rest of your life

studying it and never run out of new

things to learn and discover

that is because astronomy is the study

of everything beyond our little home

that we call earth

and if astronomers have learned anything

through the years

they know that there is no end to the

amount of new knowledge and surprises to

be discovered in the study of the stars

and outer space

let's talk what did you learn

share one thing you learned during

today's read-aloud with a friend

use a whisper voice

try these sentence starters i heard that

or i learned that

or this one i now know

that and share something you heard in

our story today

see you back here next time