Based on the idea of "spaceship Earth," write one or two paragraphs explaining why it is not the case that we are "just sitting here."

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Far from just sitting still, we on Earth are moving relative to the Sun, planets, stars, and even other galaxies. The rotation of Earth causes the most noticeable changes in the sky. This motion around Earth's axis causes the Sun and stars to appear to rise and set, producing what we call a "day." The revolution of Earth about the Sun produces the monthly changes of the constellations, the seasonal weather changes due to Earth's tilt, and the parallax of some stars. The precession of Earth's axis, a very slow movement that has a period of 26,000 years, causes the movement of the North Star, and the changing position of the equinoxes and solstices.

The motion of the Sun relative to the stars in the local solar neighborhood is at an extremely fast speed, although barely noticeable. Over time, this movement causes the patterns of the stars in the sky to change. The rotation of the galaxy means that the entire solar system is also orbiting the center of the Milky Way. This also produces motions of stars and clouds of gas. The expansion of the universe, the fact that the space between most galaxies is increasing with time, means that almost all galaxies outside the Local Group are moving away from us, with the more distant ones moving away faster. All of these motions, although not felt by us on Earth, are observed by watching the sky and prove that we are not "just sitting here."