Investigation 5: The Sun and Its Central Role in Our Solar System

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To learn more about how Earth receives energy from the sun, visit the following web sites:

Length of Planet Earth’s Day and Night, Don Ion
This Flash animation (best to use Internet Explorer as the browser) shows the seasonal variation in the circle of illumination viewing the north pole. An inset shows the earth’s revolution around the sun. This is an excellent way to explain for changes in daylength with season.


To learn more how life on Earth is dependent upon energy from the sun, visit the following web sites:

The Photosynthetic Process, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Read more from this concept paper on how important the sun is to life on Earth.

How the Sun Shines, Nobel Media
Learn more about the science behind how the sun shines and supports life on Earth.


To learn more about the sun as a star, visit the following web sites:

Evolution of a Star about the Size of a Sun, Charles Burrows
Watch the evolution of a star similar to our sun with the H-R diagram as a backdrop with this animation.

IES Astronomy Cover
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AGI's professional development programs for teachers are supported by generous contributions from corporate contributors of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation.