Why do we have day and

night?

The sun is the star at the

centre of our solar system.

The nine planets orbit the sun.

As the earth orbits the sun

it spins on its own axis.

Do you know how long it

takes for the Earth to spin
around once?

Thats right! It takes 24 hours.

Dont worry!
The earth spins so slowly and
smoothly we cant feel it.

At any time half of the Earth faces the

sun. This part has day.

day

night

The other half of the Earth faces away from the

Sun.
It receives no light.

This part has night.

When it is day in Australia, on the

other side of the world it is night.

Did you know?

One day on Venus is the same as 117
Earth days.
The mighty Jupiter whips around in
just 9 hours and 57 minutes.
One day on Mars is about the
same as one day on Earth.

You should now be able to tell

your partner the answer to
these questions:
Does the sun move ?
How long does it take for
the Earth to spin once?
Why is it day in
Australia but night
in London?
What is it like on Earth when
that part spins away from the
sun?

ACTIVITY
This is Bleep-Bloop
the alien.

Dont worry hes

quite friendly!

Bleep-Bloop comes from a solar system far far

away.
When he visited Earth he couldnt understand
where the big ball of fire in the sky went each
night.
Write a letter to him explaining what the big
ball of fire is and where it goes.

You should use these words:

Sun Earth
day night

spins axis solar system