Moon Visibility Science Project Idea

Visibility of the Moon to Us Science Project Idea

Why sometimes only a portion of the moon is visible to us. At first sight this seems a difficult problem, but answering the following questions may help us.

1. Is the moon cold, or hot like the sun?

2. What is the source of the light which comes to us from the moon?

3. What motion has the moon in relation to the earth?

4. How long does it take the moon to go around the earth?

5. About how often do we have a full moon?

An examination of the following diagram, in connection with the answers to the questions above, will make clear to you why, at times, the moon appears like a ball, while at other times it appears as a crescent. Even when the moon appears only as a crescent we can sometimes dimly see the remaining portion of its surface. This is because of reflection of light from the surface of the earth.

The following lines will enable you to know whether the crescent you see in the sky is an old or new moon:"Oh, Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east. Shine;be increased! Oh, Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west. Wane; be at rest!"

Occasionally an eclipse of the sun occurs. If we look at the sun at such a time through a piece of smoked glass, it will be noticed that a rounded black notch or patch appears on the edge of the sun. This black patch travels across the surface of the sun. If the eclipse is a total one, it obscures for a short time the entire face of the sun; if, as is usual, the eclipse is only partial, only a segment of it is obscured.

Considering the relative location of the bodies of the solar system, what do you believe causes an eclipse of the sun? There may also be an eclipse of the moon. Suggest how this may occur. Draw diagrams showing the relation of the moon, earth, and sun in both kinds of eclipse. The accuracy with which the time of an eclipse may be foretold years in advance of the event is an indication of how thoroughly the laws of motions of the members of the solar system are understood.

Solar system

The same two forces which hold the moon in its path keep the earth and other planets in their orbits or paths around the sun. In the order of their distance from the sun the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. To us, Venus is the most conspicuous of these planets. Next to the sun and moon it is the brightest object in the sky. At times it is the evening star, and at other times the morning star.

Mars, which sometimes appears as a reddish star in the sky, has been a favorite object for study with the telescope because of its nearness and especially because in many respects it resembles the earth, leading observers to think that possibly life similar to that on the earth may exist there.

The thinness of the atmosphere and the small amount of water present on Mars render this belief rather improbable. The sun with the planets revolving around it is called the solar system. The sun is a light-giving body; the planets and their moons only reflect the light of the sun.