The Sun, moon and Earth are all spherical bodies.

This means they are all in the shape of a sphere (ball).

 

The Earth and the moon orbit the sun. The moon orbits the Earth.

 

 

The Earth

Planet Earth is one of the closest planets to the Sun in our Solar System.

It takes Earth 365 days, which is one year, to orbit the Sun.

The Earth also spins on its own axis, which takes 24 hours (one day). 

 

The Moon

 

 

The moon is a quarter of the size of Earth.

When we look up at the sky, it looks as if the moon changes shape each night.

These are the phases of the moon and we’ll learn about these in more detail in another activity. 

 

The Sun

The Sun is a star at the centre of our Solar System.

Life on Earth would not exist without the Sun.

Without its heat and light, there would not be any life on Earth.

If we were closer to the Sun, it would be too hot and if we were further away, it would be too dark and cold.

 

 

All the planets in our Solar System orbit (go around) the Sun.

The Sun is much, much bigger than the Earth. The Earth could fit inside the Sun 1,300,000 times!

 

Let's have a closer look at the relationship between the Sun, our planet Earth and our nearest satellite - the moon.