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| the point at which Earth is closest to the Sun; occurs around January 3 |
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| the number of hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset |
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| the apparent path the Sun takes through the sky, as marked by the 12 constellations of the zodiac planet a large object that orbits the Sun |
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| the changing direction of Earth's axis |
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| small clumps of matter, forced together by gravity, that condense to form a planet |
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| motion the apparent slowing, reversal, and then looping of a planet in its path across the sky |
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| the motion of an object in a circular or elliptical path (usually around another object) rotation the spinning of an object around an imaginary line called an axis |
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| when the Moon, at one of its nodes, is directly between Earth and the Sun |
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| when the Sun reaches its highest and lowest positions in the sky, when Earth is tilted closer to or farther away from the Sun (due to the 23.5° axis tilt). The summer solstice usually occurs on June 21, marking the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21 and marks the beginning of winter and the shortest day of the year. |
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| the name given to the four planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars; also known as the inner planets. They resemble Earth in that they are small and have densities similar to most rocks, about 5 g/cm3 |
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| the alternate rising and falling of the surface of large bodies of water; caused by the interaction between Earth, the Moon, and the Sun |
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