1007936|380601
Actual satellite imagery spliced together to create a movie illustrating seasonal changes in sunlight. Taken from a geostationary satellite, the Flash movie can be stopped at key points in the video to discuss solstices and equinoxes. It should be pointed out that the earthÔøΩs axis remains fixed in its orbit around the sun and that the apparent wobble is due to changes in the circle of illumination. This can best be verified by looking at the position of Australia which remains constant throughout the movie. The animation can be rewound or paused to stress important points.
Summary
| Subject keyword(s) | Earth and space science, Earth in the solar system, Geoscience, Seasons, seasons, Space Science, Sun |
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| Grade level | Middle School, High School, Informal Education |
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| Intended audience | Learner |
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| Resource type | Instructional Material |
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| Resource format | text, text/html |
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| Rights | animation is public domain; page's status is unknown
See site for guidelines governing the use, restrictions and reproduction of these materials. |
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Using this resource
Found in collection(s)
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| Title | Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) |
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| Link | http://msteacher2.org/ |
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| Description | The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience. |
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| Full description and distribution of resources |
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| Title | On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty |
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| Link | http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/ |
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| Description | The Cutting Edge collection is a set of thematic strands on pedagogical and content topics of interest to geoscience education, broadly construed. Current strands cover teaching biocomplexity, early-career faculty development, petrology, and designing effective courses in the geosciences. The collection supports these strands by providing access to the Cutting Edge workshop materials. Therefore resources include instructional materials, activities, datasets, interfaces and tools, pedagogical resources, course development and management resources, assessment instruments, and primary literature and bibliographies. |
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| Full description and distribution of resources |
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Content contained within the resource
Visualization ES1704 Observe seasonal changes in the amount of sunlight reaching locations on Earth. This animation shows a satellite view of Earth every day for a year. Examine the sunlit side of the globe to recognize the continent of Australia and peninsulas and islands of Southeast Asia. ! Click the image to see the animation. Use the slider bar and step buttons to explore the changes and stop on specific frames of the movie. Naval Research Laboratory-Monterey The geostationary satellite that took these images remains directly over the same location in the western Pacific Ocean at all times. Each day, from January through December, just as the point below the satellite turned from day to night, an image was captured. Only the daily weather and the angle at which sunlight hits Earth change from frame to frame in the animation. Watch the animation several times to observe the seasonal changes in sunlight in both hemispheres. Move through the animation and identify frames of the movie that represent solstices and equinoxes.
