Does the Sun move?

It looks as if the Sun moves – but we are the ones moving.

The Sun rises in the east in the morning.

Across the sky

Each day the Sun seems to rise in the east, climb across the sky and set in the west. This is the Sun’s apparent movement. It looks as if the Sun is moving round the Earth.

The Moon and the stars also seem to rise in the east and set in the west, for the same reason – the spinning Earth.

An old idea

For thousands of years, many people believed the Earth stood still and the Sun moved round it. It seemed obvious – we cannot feel the Earth moving.

The ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy described a model with the Earth at the centre. It was used for over a thousand years.

A better model

About 500 years ago, Nicolaus Copernicus suggested a better model: the Earth spins and travels round the Sun. Later scientists, such as Galileo, found evidence for this model. The Sun only seems to move because the Earth is spinning.

Galileo saw moons orbiting Jupiter through his telescope. This showed that not everything orbits the Earth.

Like a moving bus

Sitting on a moving bus, the trees outside seem to move past you. In the same way, the spinning Earth makes the Sun seem to move across the sky.

On a smooth train ride, it can even feel as if the train next to you is moving when it is really your train.

What I learnt

I know that the Sun appears to move from east to west.
I know that this is because the Earth spins.