Astronomy 301: Introduction to Astronomy. Moon Phases

Vamos al tercer año y empezamos como lo años anteriores con las fases de la luna. Pero este año ya les damos a los alumnos y alumnas de 3º un texto y una redacción posterior sobre ese texto

Primero empezamos con el proyecto de las fases de la luna donde ya incluimos 4 nuevas fases 

Vemos unos vídeos explicativos

Phases of the Moon - Pekaboo Kids

The Moon for Kids -Happy Learning 

Y hacemos el proyecto. Este año vamos a hacerlo con galletas oreo 

Hello kids and wellcome to a new year in this laboratory in the Astronomy tower. This year we will begin by learnig 4 new phases of the Moon. So we will begin with a project. I hope everybody has brought the material needed.

Ok children... Today I want you to remember the project that we did last year about the phases of the  Moon and begin a new project with some "oreos cookies. It is very easy. You have to follow the next clues:

1. To make the Full Moon just remove the first layer and leave the white colour full 

2. To make the First quartes remove the firs layer and suck just half of the white chocolate leaving the other half intact..... Repeat the same operation to make the Third Quarter phase)  

3. To make the New moon phase remove the first layer in the cookie and eat all the white chocolate leaving the black part intact

4. Then paste the four cookies and label them with the different names of the Moon phases.

5.  Then repeat the operation with the Wanning Ginbbous and Waxing Gibbous phase; as well as the Old Moon and Youg Moon. Be careful sinde they are the most difficult. You have to remove only one third of the white part for the waxing gibbous and old moon and two third parts int he waxing gibbous and young moon. These Ones I will teach you how to do it in a practical way. Don´t worry

This year we will be using a textbook. Don´t worry it will be very easy to follow. The boook is "The essence of Astronomy". You can find a physical copy in the library and a virtual copy in the website

ASTRONOMY 301. INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY: MOON PHASES

When it comes to looking at the objects in the night sky, many budding Astronomers - Magical and Muggle - love to view the Moon. So much can be seen even without a telescope, and even more of the details can be seen with a telescope. Today, the Moon is in a waxing gibbous phase. One interesting thing to note is that while the Moon appears to be lit, it does not produce light on its own. The light that you see coming from the Moon is actually reflected from the Sun. More discussion about the magical properties of moonlight will be covered next lessons. 

Most of you have seen, at least from observation, that the Moon comes in different phases. In the new Moon phase, the Moon is not visible to us on Earth. Gradually, a sliver of Moon starts to appear - this is the waxing crescent phase. When half the moon is visible, the phase is called “first quarter” because it is the beginning fourth of the 30-day lunar cycle. The Moon then goes through a waxing gibbous phase until it becomes a full Moon on the fourteenth day of the cycle, and then the Moon’s visible area starts to shrink - waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent, then new Moon. 

Phases of the Moon.

Here are some hints for observing the Moon. The word “waxing” means growing, and the word “waning” means shrinking. Here in the United Kingdom, as well as anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, if the right part of the Moon is lit, the Moon is waxing, and the visible part of the Moon will be growing in size in the next day. If the left part of the Moon is lit, the Moon is waning, and the visible part of the Moon will be smaller in size the next night. 

Observing the Moon by naked eye and by telescope in the gibbous phases - as well as by naked eye during the full Moon - is ideal. You can see the many details on the moon during the gibbous and full Moon phases. In addition, the Moon rises and sets at different times according to the Moon’s phase, and gibbous and full Moons tend to be visible deep into the night - which means that many of the Moon’s fine details are visible and not washed out by sunlight.