For todays lesson we learned about celestial mechanics and lunar cycles. We began our lesson asking students what they know about moons and our moon in particular (Luna). Students learned the terms for the different phases of the moon which are crescent, quarter, gibbous, full and new. We defined waxing and waning which refers to whether the moon is moving towards a new moon or a full moon. Students also learned that the moon rotates as well as revolves around the earth in a counterclockwise rotation.
The activities today involved students arranging mini moons around earth. Students had to arrange them in the correct order according to the real lunar cycles. They did a great job! For our second demonstration we looked at lunar and solar eclipses. Using an inflatable earth and a tennis ball moon students held a flashlight (the sun) to demonstrate how lunar and solar eclipses look from space. Solar eclipses are only seen locally and lunar eclipses are able to be seen by everyone on that hemisphere. It was very fun!
The next time you and your student see the moon, ask them what phase its in. Also! Make sure to mark your calendars for August 2017, there will be a full solar eclipse over North America.
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