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Wednesday, September 30 Dr. Erika Grundstrum
The MOON
Phases, Blue Moon, Lunar Eclipse, Planting and Fishing
[REMEMBER that all students should prepare questions to ask presenter during videoconference.]
Sept 2009
INTRODUCTION:
When we gaze up into the night sky, what is it that we see? Sometimes we see a Full Moon. On other occasions we may only see half of the Moon, or less than half, or maybe more than half. Then there are times when we don't see it at all. What we're witnessing are the Phases of the Moon.
Why care about the moon phase? The moon affects nature and all living things. Increase your fishing catch, find trophy bucks, predict animal activity, enjoy a lush garden, stunning star gazing without moonlight, plan hiking and photography trips, study human behavior, markets or historical events ... whatever your interests, learn more about the moon.
First, you should help students understand moon phase activity (the cycle of the moon), which is divided into 5 parts: new moon (where you see no moon at all); crescent moon (less than half of the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon is visible); first quarter moon (exactly half of the near side of the moon can be seen);third quarter or gibbous moon (more than half of the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon is visible); and full moon (the entire near side of the moon can be seen).
Your moon phase lesson plan should explain the difference in these moon phases. Use pictures and diagrams that illustrate what these moon phases look like.
Your moon phase lesson plan should go over the earth and moons orbit. You should first explain that the earth orbits the sun. Explain that the earth orbits the sun in about 365 days. Next explain that the earth rotates on its axis a full circle in about 24 hours. Then explain that the moon orbits the earth. The moon takes about 28 days to orbit the entire planet of earth. Then you can explain how the position of the earth, sun or moon affects the phases of the moon and which part of the moon we can see.
Next, explain how the moon does not produce any light, it merely reflects light from the sun. You should also explain that the moon can be seen both during the day and night. To help your students understand this concept, you can do a hands-on experiment. For this experiment you will need a darkened class room, softballs or styrofoam balls, and flashlights.
Objectives:
Students will:
1. learn that the positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth affect the phases of the moon.
2. understand that the light from the sun reflects off the moon (the moon does not shine)
3. recognize that the positions of the sun, the moon, and earth affect the phases of the moon.
4. observe and draw the phases of the moon on a moon chart.
5. predict what phase the moon will be in the following week.
I. MOON PHASES LESSON:
Half of the Moon is constantly illuminated by the sun. As the Moon orbits the Earth, we see different portions of that illuminated area.
There are five basic moon phases that we are able to view from Earth:
1) New Moon.
None of the Moon is visible
2) Crescent Moon.
Less than half of the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon is visible
3) Quarter Moon.
Exactly half of the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon is visible
4) Gibbous Moon.
More than half of the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon is visible
5) Full Moon
The entire near side of the Moon is visible
These phases will follow a specific sequence as the Moon completes a single orbit of the Earth.
PRE-ACTIVITIES on Moon Phases:
Materials:
- Drawing paper
- softballs (1 per group of 4 students)
- flashlights (1 per group of 4 students)
- moon phases transparency
- moon phases activity worksheet (moon chart)
Procedure:
Scientific Explanation:
How do the positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth affect the phases of the moon? The moon phase we see on any given night depends on the positions of the moon, the sun, and Earth in space. The moon receives light from the sun, just as Earth does. Just as half of Earth experiences day while the other half experiences night, one half of the moon is lit by the sun while the other half is dark. As the moon revolves around Earth, we see different parts of the side of the moon that is facing the sun. This makes the moon appear to change shape. Waxing refers to the moon growing larger night by night. The moon is said to be waning when it seems to be getting smaller night by night. It takes the moon about one month to go through its entire set of phases.
Focus Phase:
How many different moon shapes have you seen? Round shapes? Half-circle shapes? Crescent shapes? Why do you think this happens? What affects how much of the moon we see? Facilitate student discussion and develop class list of answers.
Challenge Phase:
How do the positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth affect the phases of the moon? How many phases of the moon are there? Draw each prediction of the moon phases on your paper. Demonstrate moon phase exploration activity to class. Move desks to create space and divide into groups. Give each group of four students a flashlight, softball, and moon charts.
1) Turn on the flashlight and darken other lights in the room. Select a member of your group to hold the flashlight; this person will be the "sun." Select another member of your group to hold up the softball so that the light shines directly on the ball; this person will be the "moon" in your experiment. The remaining member(s) in your group will be the Earth and should sit between the sun and the moon.
2) Observe how light shines on the moon. The student who is holding the "moon" should begin to walk in a slow circle around the Earth, stopping at least seven times at different spots. Each time the "moon" stops, observe the moon and shade in the corresponding dark portion. The person with the flashlight (the sun) and the Earth must remain stationary while the moon is rotating around the Earth.
Concept Introduction:
Ask students to share results from the investigative phase. Update class list of class answers by writing and drawing results. Ask: What are the different phases of the moon? How did the shape of the moon change as you circled around the flashlight (sun)? How were these shapes formed? Compare and contrast your drawings with those of other groups. Discuss similarities and differences in the drawings. In your own words, explain how the positions of the sun, the moon and Earth affect the phase of the Moon we see on Earth. Emphasize that it is not a shadow that causes moon phases. Introduce the scientific concepts/vocabulary of new moon, first quarter moon, full moon, last quarter moon, and a "waxing" and "waning" moon. Compare your drawings with the moon phases on a chart or Internet. Which phase is the moon in for each group’s drawing. Label each drawing with the correct moon phase. Read descriptions of each phase to the class and show corresponding illustrations.
Concept Application:
What phase is the moon in this week? Based on what we have just learned about moon phases, predict which phase the moon will be in next week? Provide rationale for your choice. Have students monitor the moon nightly for the next few weeks and record their observations in a science journal.
II. BLUE MOON LESSON
Our Moon completes one orbit of the Earth in approximately 29.5 days. Therefore, we should see aFull Moon about every 29.5 days, and there will usually be one Full Moon each month. Sometimes, if a Full Moon occurs at the very beginning of a month, a second Full Moon will be seen at the end. This second Full Moon is called a Blue Moon. Blue Moons actually occur every 2.5 years.
In 1999, a situation happened which only takes place about four times a century: two Blue Moons occurring in the same year. Both January and March had Blue Moons. The first Full Moon appeared on the 2nd and the second Full Moon, or Blue Moon, appeared on the 31st of each month.
The last time this had happened was in January and April of 1961, and it will not happen again until January and March of 2018. A double Blue Moon most commonly occurs in January/March but is also possible in January/April or January/May and only when there is no Full Moon at all in February. The rare phenomenon of two blue moons occurring in the same year happens approximately once every 19 years. 1999 was the last time a blue moon appeared twice, in January and March.
The months of the double blue moons are almost always January and March. That is because the short month that falls in between them, February, is a key ingredient in this once-every-19-year phenomenon. For January and March to each have two full moons, it's necessary for February to have none at all. Since February is usually 28 days long, and the average span between full moons is 29.5 days, if a full moon occurs at the end of January, it's possible for the next full moon to skip February entirely and fall in the beginning of March.
Use the Blue Moon Calculator: http://www.obliquity.com/cgi-bin/bluemoon.cgi
No blue moon of any kind will occur in the years 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017.
The phrase, "once in a blue moon" has come to mean ";every now and then"; or ";rarely".
Here is the schedule for the upcoming BLUE MOONS. . . two full moons in one month:
- 2009: December 2, December 31
- 2012: August 2, August 31
- 2015: July 2, July 31
C. ECLIPSES
Sometimes a Full Moon will line up directly with the Earth and Sun, allowing it to pass through the shadow of the Earth. When this happens, the Moon turns dark, sometimes a coppery red color, for as long as an hour or more. This is referred to as a Lunar Eclipse.
Sometimes a New Moon will line up directly with the Earth and the sun, casting its shadow on the Earth and blocking out our view of the sun. In the narrow path of the Moon's shadow, daytime turns to an eerie darkness and the wispy halo of the sun, the corona, comes into view as the Moon blocks out the rest of the sun. This is referred to as a Solar Eclipse.
We have a New and Full Moon every month, but we don't have a Lunar and Solar eclipse every month because the Moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees with respect to the Earth's orbit. The New Moon and Full Moon phases align with the Earth and sun about every 6 months, creating the conditions necessary for an eclipse.
D. PLANTING By the Moon
E. FISHING BY THE MOON
Every fisherman knows that the best fishing times are when the fish are feeding. This tends to be during dawn and dusk, but what often goes unnoticed are the two periods elsewhere in the day--moonrise and moonset. Because the moon has an effect on a variety of factors surrounding the fish--including the live fodder they hunt--these periods, combined with the moon's phase, are what trigger feeding. By understanding this, and choosing times when sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset coincide with new or full moon phases, you'll increase you chance of a good fishing catch.
Tidal action is evidence of the moon's influence upon the waters of Earth. The ";Best Days"; to go fishing on the moon phase calendars show the days on which fish will tend to feed more aggressively.
There really is nothing complicated about this at all; it's just a matter of knowing ahead of time exactly when the sun and moon will rise and set. Fish are most active during 90-minute windows surrounding each of these four daily events; that's 45 minutes before and after these four daily points.
Fishing during these four periods will help increase your fishing catch, but if you plan wisely so as to ensure you're at the water's edge on the days of new or full moon, you can use these 'windows' to reel in a catch like you've never done before. If you have to choose between sunrise/set and moonrise/set, always go with the moon as the moon is the stronger influence.
Hunters have always known that fish and game are most active at dawn and dusk - sunrise and sunset - but their activity surrounding moonrise and moonset is less noticeable because these events are likely to occur without effecting any change in the perceived light. The rise and set of a new moon is invisible anyway, and overcast weather often hides the moon. Without prior knowledge of setting and rising times, two of the best hunting and fishing times will be missed every day.
Season: Most fish are more likely to bite willingly during seasonal transitions with the transition from winter to spring and summer to fall being the two best fishing times.
F. FACTS ABOUT THE MOON
Distance From Earth: 225,745 miles
Length of a Day: 27.3 days
Radius: 1,080 miles
Diameter: 2,160 miles
Weight: 81 Quintillion Tons
Surface Temp (Day): 273° F
Surface Temp (Night): - 244° F
Gravity At Surface: 0.1667 g (1/6 Earth's)
Orbital Speed 2,287 mph
Driving time by car (@70 mph): 135 days
Flying time by rocket: 60 to 70 hrs.
No. of Men Who Have Walked on Surface: 12
Age of Oldest Rock Collected: 4.5 Billions yrs.
Rocks Collected By Apollo: 842 pounds
Widest Craters: 140 miles (dia.)
Deepest Craters: 15,000+ (ft.)
Highest Mountains: 16,000+ (ft.)
- The moon is actually moving away from earth at a rate of 1.5 inches per year.
- The surface area of the moon is 14,658,000 square miles or 9.4 billion acres.
- Only about 59 percent of the moon's surface is visible to us here on earth.
- The moon is not round, but egg shaped with the large end pointed towards earth.
- The earth rotates about 1000 mph. By comparison, the moon rotates about 10 mph.
Moon Rise Facts
- The New Moon always rises at sunrise.
- And the first quarter rises at noon.
- The Full Moon always rises at sunset.
- And the last quarter at midnight.
Moonrise takes place about 50 minutes later each day than the day before.
The new moon cannot be seen because the illuminated side faces away from
the earth. This occurs when the Moon lines up between the Earth and the Sun.
POST-ACTIVITIES:
Discussion Questions
1. Compare the relative motion of the moon and the sun as they "chase" each other through the constellation of stars on a day-to-day basis. Describe how you might determine their individual rates of motion through the stars in degrees per day.
2. Ocean tides are caused by the combined gravitational interactions between the Earth and the moon and between the Earth and the sun. Explain why the difference between high and low tides is more extreme when the moon is in either the new phase or the full phase.
3. There are many references to the various phases of the moon in art, music, literature, religion, and other cultural experiences. Debate which cultural events, celebrations, and icons would not exist if the Earth did not have its companion moon to inspire human creativity.
4. Lunar eclipses can be observed about twice a year by everyone on Earth when the moon is in a full phase. Explain why a lunar eclipse does not occur for every full moon during the year.
5. Theorize why solar eclipses, which happen only when the moon is in its new phase, occur even less frequently then lunar eclipses. When they do occur, why do so few people on Earth see them?
6. The lunar cycle of phases takes 29.5 days (the synodic period), but it takes only 27.3 days (the sidereal period) for the moon to make a complete 360-degree orbit of Earth. Explain why there is a discrepancy between these two periods.
NATIONAL STANDARDS
Subject area:Science
Standard:
Understands essential ideas about the composition and structure of the universe and the Earth’s place in it.
Benchmarks:
Knows how the regular and predictable motions of the sun and moon explain phenomena on Earth (e.g., the day, the year, phases of the moon, eclipses, tides, and shadows).
Subject area: Subject area: Mathematics
Standard:
Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of measurement.
Benchmarks:
Understands the basic concept of rate as a measure (e.g., miles per gallon).
Subject area: Mathematics
Standard:
Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of geometry.
Benchmarks:
Uses geometric methods (e.g., an unmarked straightedge and a compass using an algorithm) to complete basic geometric constructions (e.g., perpendicular bisection of a line segment and angle bisection).
Subject area: Thinking and reasoning
Standard:
Understands and applies basic principles of logic and reasoning.
Benchmarks:
Understands that some people invent a general rule to explain how something works by summarizing observations.
Science as Inquiry
- Understanding about scientific inquiry
Physical Science
- Position and motion of objects
Earth and Space Science
- Objects in the sky
- Changes in Earth and sky
- CONTENT STANDARD A:
- Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Understandings about scientific inquiry
- Fundamental abilities and concepts that underlie this standard include:
- Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications.
- Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence.
- Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
- Communicate and defend a scientific argument.
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