Sky Patterns

The sky changes in predictable ways every day and every year, and we call these repeating changes sky patterns.

Reading is good — doing is better. Practice Sky patterns as an interactive lesson.

Definition

A sky pattern is something in the sky that happens over and over again in the same order, like the sun rising every morning, the moon changing its shape each night, and stars appearing at night. Because these things repeat, we can predict what will happen next.

Remember the rule

Every day: Sun rises in the EAST, moves across the sky, sets in the WEST. Every night: Stars and moon appear. Every month: Moon goes through all its phases. Every year: Seasons repeat.

Key words

Pattern: Something that happens again and again in the same order, like clap-clap-stomp, clap-clap-stomp.
Sun: The big bright star closest to Earth that gives us light and warmth during the day.
Moon: The large round object that orbits Earth and can be seen mostly at night, sometimes during the day too.
Star: A ball of hot glowing gas far away in space; we see many stars as tiny lights in the night sky.
Sunrise: The time each morning when the sun appears to come up over the horizon in the east.
Sunset: The time each evening when the sun appears to go down below the horizon in the west.
Moon phase: The name for the shape of the lit-up part of the moon we can see, like full moon or crescent moon.
Season: One of the four times of year — spring, summer, fall, and winter — each with its own kind of weather and sky changes.

Worked examples

Every morning Maya looks outside and sees the sun on the same side of her house. Which direction is that side of her house facing?

→ East. The sun always rises in the east every single morning. · Because this happens every day without fail, it is a reliable sky pattern kids can use to find directions.

On Monday the moon looks like a full bright circle. About how many days later will the moon look like a full circle again?

→ About 29 or 30 days later, the moon will be a full circle again after going through all its phases. · The moon takes roughly one month to complete one full set of phases, which is why months are about 29-30 days long.

In summer the days feel very long and it stays light outside until 8 o'clock at night. In winter it gets dark by 5 o'clock. Is this a pattern?

→ Yes! Every summer the days are longer and every winter the days are shorter. This repeats the same way every single year. · This happens because of how Earth is tilted as it travels around the sun.

Carlos goes outside at night and sees the same group of stars shaped like a big spoon. Will he see that same star group again tomorrow night?

→ Yes, he will see the same star group, called the Big Dipper, in the same part of the sky the next night and most nights after that. · Stars appear to stay in the same pattern relative to each other because they are so far away.

The sun was low in the sky at 7 in the morning. At noon where would you expect to find the sun?

→ High up in the middle of the sky. The sun moves from low in the east in the morning to high overhead at noon, then low in the west by evening.

Common mistakes

Thinking the sun moves around the Earth on purpose — it only looks like the sun moves because Earth is spinning.
Saying the moon makes its own light — the moon reflects light from the sun, just like a mirror.
Thinking the moon changes shape because clouds cover it or because Earth's shadow falls on it every night — the moon phases happen because we see different amounts of the lit side as the moon travels around Earth.
Forgetting that the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west — some kids think it rises in different spots every day.
Thinking stars disappear during the day — stars are still there, but the sun's light is so bright it washes them out so we cannot see them.

FAQs

Why do we only see stars at night?

The sun is so bright during the day that its light fills the whole sky and makes it impossible to see the much dimmer stars. At night, when our side of Earth faces away from the sun, the sky is dark enough to see starlight.

Does the moon come out every single night?

The moon is in the sky almost every night, but sometimes we cannot see it well. During the new moon phase the lit side faces away from us, so it looks invisible. On other nights it might rise late or be hidden by clouds.

Why does the moon look different shapes on different nights?

The moon is always a sphere, but as it travels around Earth we see different amounts of its sunlit side. When we see all of the lit side it looks like a full circle. When we see just a sliver it looks like a crescent.

Does the sun rise at exactly the same time every day?

Not exactly. Sunrise is a little earlier each day as we move toward summer and a little later each day as we move toward winter. But it always rises in the east, so the direction is the same even if the time changes slightly.

Are sky patterns the same for everyone on Earth?

Most big patterns, like day and night and moon phases, are the same everywhere. But some details are different — people far to the north or south see different amounts of daylight in summer and winter than people near the middle of Earth.

How do we know sky patterns will keep happening?

Scientists have watched and recorded sky patterns for thousands of years and they always repeat. Earth keeps spinning and orbiting the sun the same way, so the patterns continue.

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