Lesson 77 of 84 · Space
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseDwarf Planets and Pluto (Part 4)
Dwarf Planets and Pluto (Part 4).
🎯 Your mission
Learn the rule. Then catch nature using it.
⚡ The twist
Gravity is invisible — but it shapes everything.
Mind = Blown
🌟 The light from the closest star (after the sun) takes 4 years to reach you.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you check: which is closer?
What You'll Learn
Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, causing day and night. The side facing the sun experiences day, while the opposite side experiences night.
Key Words
- moon phase
- eclipse
Steps
Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.
Use a flashlight, a large ball, and a small ball to model eclipses. Show both a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse.
Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.
Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What causes the seasons?
Where you see this in real life
GPS, weather forecasts, and the seasons all rely on this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find a constellation in the sky. Look it up. Tell someone its story.
For the dinner table
“If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Checkout complete lesson on Space for 8th Grade
Get the full Space track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.