Student activity
Mapping features of our Moon
Background Information
This activity needs a clear night with a Full Moon. It is ideal as homework, a school camp
activity or as a family science project.
When we look at the Full Moon it is possible to see features that appear as different
coloured shades of grey. The large dark areas of the Moon are mostly ‘maria’ which is
Latin for ‘seas’ (singular ‘mare’). These areas were once thought to be bodies of water but
we now know that they are flat plains. The maria formed when meteorites hit the Moon and
cracked the surface. Molten lava flowed up out of the cracks and created the smooth
plains. The brighter areas of the Moon are the highlands.
The time taken for the Moon to rotate on its axis is equal to the time taken for the Moon to
orbit the Earth, about 27 days. This means that the same side of the Moon always faces
the Earth. Only the Apollo astronauts that have been in orbit around the Moon have been
able to see the other side of the Moon, known as the ‘far side’.
What you need
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A4 sheet of paper with blank moon circle
HB pencil
binoculars if you have them at home
photocopies of Moon Map (see below)
What to do
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Ask the students to look in the daily newspaper to find the next Full Moon. These are
listed for the year on the Melbourne Planetarium website:
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Planetarium/DiscoveryCentre/Rise-and-Set-Times/.
It is not imperative that the observations be done exactly on the night of a Full Moon –
a night or two either side of Full Moon is also suitable, provided it isn’t cloudy.
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Each student needs a worksheet with a circle 13cm in diameter. The circle will
represent the face of the Moon. (See below).
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They then take this ‘blank Moon’ and use the grey pencil to shade in the darker areas
they see as they look at the real Moon in the night sky. If the students have binoculars
they can use these to see greater detail.
When the students bring their shaded Moons back to school, hand out copies of the Moon
maps. These can be used to complete the students’ own Moon maps by adding the names
of the landing sites, maria and craters. If they wish, students can also search the Internet
for more detailed Moon maps.
You can make various models of satellites, landing craft and probes by going to the NASA
website and downloading the template and instructions:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/subjects/technology/Models.html
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Student activity
Worksheet: Mapping features of our Moon
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Student activity
Visible features of our Moon
Mare Imbrium
(Sea of Showers)
This is the largest of the maria, a circular plain 1250km in
diameter.
Archimedes crater
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 crashed near this crater in
1959.
Oceanus Procellarum
On this plain in 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to
soft-land on the Moon.
Mare Tranquillitatis
(Sea of Tranquility)
The site of the first Moon landing by astronauts (1969).
Aristarchus crater
This is the brightest crater you can see on the Moon. It lies
within Oceanus Procellarum.
Tycho crater
This is a magnificent ray crater, 85 km in diameter. The
impact which caused the crater sent debris flying and
produced rays extending 1500 km.
Notes
The image of the Moon as seen through a telescope will look inverted due to the optical
structure of the instrument.
The image of the Moon obtained by a viewer is dependent on the latitude of the viewer.
The image of the Moon as viewed in northern Europe, for example, will appear to have
rotated about 90° compared to the image as viewed from southern Australia.
The map below shows how the Moon looks when viewed from the Southern Hemisphere
with the naked eye. Maps of the Moon produced for the Northern Hemisphere show the
Moon rotated by 180˚.
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/moon.html
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Student activity
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