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Earth Science Journal!
#16 Title: The Moon!
Please draw the moon in your journal, as shown below.
1. Explain why the moon looks like it does above.
Use drawings if you need to help with your explanation.
1. The Sun only lights up 1/2 of the Moon (and Earth)
2. The Moon revolves around the Earth (orbits)
3. We see different amounts of that sun-lit portion of the moon.
2. What do you notice about these lunar changes?
1. Moon gets bigger and smaller.
2. The changes start on the right and move left.
Light on the right = getting bright!
3. Moon seems to turn a bit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libration
Draw a bigger and smaller full moon in your journal.
3. Why do you think one looks bigger?Define these terms.
Perigee - moon is closest to the earth
Apogee - moon is farthest from the earth
4. What does that tell you about the moon's orbit around the Earth?The orbit of the moon is not perfectly circular but elliptical.Draw this in your journal.
Not drawn to scale!5. Which position is the moon at apogee?
Label those positions.
6. How far away is the moon?
If the Earth is the size of a basketball, the moon would be the size of a tennis ball and be about ________ paces away.
Watch the video below to find out the answer.
Moon and Earth true to scale7. How many planets could we fit between Earth and the Moon?
The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,401 km.If we add the diameters of all of the planets...Planet Diameter (km) Mercury 4,879 Venus 12,104 Mars 6,771 Jupiter 139,822 Saturn 116,464 Uranus 50,724 Neptune 49,244 Total 380,008 384,401 - 380,008 leaves us with 4,393 km to spare.
So what could we do with the rest of that distance?
Well, we could fit Pluto into that slot.
Pluto is 2,300 km across, leaving us about 2,093 km of extra space.
Like a Baseball Diamond, if we put ourselves on the Earth's pitcher's mound,
we can see the moon running through its phases (bases).
Just remember that the pitcher is on the Earth, and the Umpire is the sun!The moon is running the bases.
Home plate = New Moon
1st base = 1st Quarter
2nd base = Full Moon
3rd base = 3rd QuarterWatch the above video to do the following.
8. Lunar Phases 1
(draw or print out the image below to put them in your journals)
Journal Images
Draw and label the lunar phases at positions 1-8.
9. Lunar Phases 2
Now, let us try this from another perspective.
(draw or print out the image below)
Draw and label the lunar phases at positions 1-8.
Check your answers here: https://astro.unl.edu/naap/lps/animations/lps.html
Open this page and animate the phases!
https://www.earthspacelab.com/app/moon-phases/
And this one!
https://contrib.pbslearningmedia.org/WGBH/buac19/buac19-int-moonphaseint/index.html
10. Does the Moon rotate?
YES! It rotates at the same rate that it revolves.REFERENCE TABLES!
Rate of Rotation = Rate of Revolution = 27.3 Earth days
The moon and earth are tidally locked!
One side of the moon always faces the Earth.The animation on the left is correct.
Notice how one side of the moon is always facing the earth.Watch the following to understand more.
Does the moon rotate?
11. How do we know the moon rotates?
We only ever see one side of the moon from our perspective.
If the moon did not rotate, we would see its backside.
12. How long does it take for the moon to make a revolution?
Check out your reference tables!
27.3 days13. How long does it take for the moon to go through one phase cycle (a home run)?
29.5 days (about one Moonth)
14. Why does it take about two more days to go through the phases?
Because the Earth is also traveling around the sun, it takes the
moon about two more days to get into the same phase alignment.
15. Explain why we have phases of the moon.
Explain in your own words.
1. The Sun only lights up 1/2 of the Moon (and Earth)
2. The Moon revolves around the Earth (orbits)
3. We see different amounts of that sun-lit portion of the moon.
16. Would we see phases of the Earth if we lived on the moon?
Why or why not?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We see phases of the Earth for the same reasons!
Eclipses!
Draw the following images of the eclipses in your journal.
17. Lunar Eclipse: happens only at a Full Moon phase
Why do lunar eclipses happen?
The moon revolves into the Earth's shadow
The Earth Eclipses the Moon.-
Write down these definitions.
Umbra: Total shadow -
Penumbra: Partial shadow
- 18. Solar Eclipse: happens only during the New Moon phase
Eclipsing the sun!
Label the umbra and penumbra.
19. Why do solar eclipses happen?
The Moon eclipses the Sun.
The moon blocks the Sun.
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/path_through_the_US.htm
I took my wife and son.
How did I take this photo?
Don't look without protection!!!
The solar eclipse went directly over us last year!
http://www.mcglaun.com/eclipse2024/index.htmToo bad it was so cloudy here!
20. Why don’t eclipses happen every month?
Because the orbit of the moon is tilted about 5 degrees, so the Sun, Earth, and Moon are rarely lined up perfectly.
Check out the link below to visualize the eclipses!
https://www.earthspacelab.com/app/eclipse/
The Tides!
Write down these definitions
21. Spring tides: Very Strong tides
•Nothing to do with the spring season
•Occur when the Earth, the Sun, and Moon are in a line.
•Occur during the full moon and the new moon phases.
•They spring up and down a lot!
Draw the above image into your journal and label the phases.
22. Neap tides: Weak tides
•When the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another.
•Quarter moon phases.
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Draw the above image into your journal and label the phases.
23. Every day, we get two high tides and two low tides. Why?
As the Earth rotates it will spin once through those 2 high tides and 2 low tides a day.
What's wrong with the above animation?
Check out the link below to visualize the tides!
https://www.earthspacelab.com/app/tides/
Reflection!In your own words, explain the following.1. Why do we see lunar phases?2. The difference between the eclipses.3. How tides work.Bonus!Record the changing positions of the moon at the same time over the course of a week.Make a journal entry each day recording the phase and how the moon has changed over time.Why does the sun appear to move faster across the sky than the moon? -
