Astronomy Artifact 6.E.1.1
By NaTasja Jeter
Moon Phases
Our first topic in astronomy was about the moon it's eight phases. The first phase is called the new moon, and that is when we can't see the moon. The second phase is called the waxing crescent, it is when we only see a little bit of the moon. Next, there is the first quarter, which is when we only see half of the moon. Now, we are at the waxing gibbous which means we see most of the moon but not all of it. Then, we are finally at the full moon, and now we can see the whole moon. We are almost finished. Then, there is the next phase which is the waning gibbous and we still see most of the moon. The third quarter is next and we see half of the moon again. Last, we have the the waning crescent and we see only a little bit of the moon. Then, it just starts all over. The difference between waxing and waning is that when the moon is waxing it is showing more and more of the moon. When it is waning you are seeing lesser and lesser of the moon. The difference between crescent and gibbous is that when it is a crescent the amount of light hitting the moon increases. When it is gibbous the amount of light hitting the moon decreases. The length of this cycle is about 29.5 days.
Tides
Our next topic is about tides. There are 2 types of tides Spring Tide and Neap Tide. The Spring Tide is when the earth is between the moon and the sun. When this happens the sun and the moon work together and the high tides are are facing the moon and the sun and the low tides are on the sides of earth. Also during a Spring Tide the moon is either full or new. Then, there is the Neap Tide that is when the moon is on the sides of earth. The sun and the moon are now working against each other and the high tides are facing the moon and the low tides are facing the the sun. Also during this Tide the moon is either in first quarter or third quarter. Now there is Diurnal and Semi-diurnal tides. In Diurnal there is only 1 low tide and 1 high tide. During a Semi-diurnal tide there are 2 high tides and 2 low tides. Another thing to know is that the moon has more impact on earth than the sun because it is closer to earth than the sun.Here are some photos to help you out.
Eclipses
We had another topic about eclipses and it is really cool. There are two eclipses called lunar and solar. A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes directly behind the earth and the moon starts to look kind of like a red, orange color. A solar eclipse is when the moon passes directly between the earth and the sun. It makes a certain spot on earth look really dark and the stars start to come out. You can also see the shadow of the moon if you where glasses only. During an eclipse our (the earth)'s shadow has 2 parts a penumbra and an umbra. The umbra is where all of the light is blocked meaning there is no light. The penumbra is the part where only part of the light is blocked meaning there is very little light.