TEACHER
RESOURCE
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORYVI&TIES ON...
E
D
I
S
K
R
THE DA OON
M
E
H
T
F
O
TI
FACTS, RESOURCES AND AC
s not emit its own
Like Earth, the Moon doe
t from the Sun.
ligh
s
ect
light. Instead it refl
on Earth we have
When the Sun is shining
th that is not facing
day, while the part of Ear
ime. The Moon
htt
the Sun experiences nig
ht in a similar
nig
and
day
also experiences
the Moon being
way. The daytime half of
nighttime half
bathed in sunlight, and the
why do we
So
ss.
of the Moon in darkne
on in our
Mo
the
of
pes
see different sha
f-light/
hal
ays
alw
is
on
Mo
sky when the
the
h
wit
half-dark? It all has to do
it orbits Earth.
position of the Moon as
SCIENCE
CONTENT/
CURRICUL
UM LIN
K
INVESTIGAT
E
ON THE PL THE CONDITIONS
ANETS AN
D THEIR
MOONS, AN
D
AFFECTING THE FACTORS
WIDER RA THEM. USE A
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IEN
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CABULARY
,
AND CONVE SYMBOLS
NTIONS.
Original image: Orion 8. Edited for southern hemisphere perspective.
nth
It takes the Moon about one mo ,
to complete an orbit around Earth
and that is originally where we
got the month time period from.
and the
en the Earth and the Sun
When the Moon is betwe
a new
e
hav
we
on is facing Earth
nighttime half of the Mo
the
on
is
on
Mo
the
later, when
moon. About two weeks
on
mo
full
a
e
hav
we
Sun
m the
opposite side of Earth fro
on.
Mo
full daytime side of the
because we are seeing the
the
as
on,
Mo
the
y seeing half of
However, we are really onl
th.
Ear
on
e
ctiv
spe
from our per
other side is not visible
full
cycle from new moon to
Moving through the Moon
e
tim
day
the
more and more of
moon, we gradually see
half
en
wh
se
pha
r
rte
the first qua
half of the Moon. We see
the
of
us, which is one quarter
the daytime side is facing
as it moves
on
Mo
the
of
ses
pha
Moon. We refer to all the
the
xing’, and ‘waning’ when
towards full moon as ‘wa
see
we
and
on,
mo
on to new
Moon moves from full mo
f.
e hal
less and less of the daytim
ice
ses of the Moon, you’ll not
Looking closely at the pha
s
Thi
ed.
eal
rev
is
e of the Moon
that more of the same fac
rate
e
sam
the
at
th
its the Ear
is because the Moon orb
al
phenomena known as “tid
a
s,
axi
its
on
ns
tur
that it
e
sam
the
n
why we have see
locking”. This is the reason
.
ory
hist
hout human
craters every night, throug
er faces Earth is often
nev
t
The side of the Moon tha
, it
e of the Moon. However
referred to as the dark sid
sa
wa
t
se.I
pha
the new Moon
receives sunlight during
ce
spa
the
of
n
daw
until the
mysterious, unseen place
ce.
spa
into
t
s sen
age when an orbiter wa
saw
nched a Lunar orbiter and
lau
SR
US
In the 1950s the
n, for
the
ore
Bef
e.
tim
t
firs
for the
the far side of the Moon
tion
sta
ce
have been an alien spa
all we knew, there could
w!
placed just out of our vie
cecraft Luna-3 did not find
However, the Soviet spa
e
saw a rather unremarkabl
an alien base. Instead, it
ks.
s and Moon roc
landscape of more crater
on
lack of alien life on the Mo
NASA then confirmed the
the
in
e
missions to its surfac
with the Apollo manned
1960’s and ‘70’s.
Check out these other resources...
oon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M
_3
una
iki/L
g/w
ia.or
http://en.wikiped
d the Sun
If Earth orbiteoo
n orbits
M
the way the y on
Earth
da
e
on
h,
Eart
year.
e
tir
en
would last an
DISCUSSION
POINTS
69 the
On July 20thn1d9ed on the
first persontlado you think
Moon. Wha have felt like?
that would
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246
ACTIVITY
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY &
E
H
T
G
N
I
R
E
DISCOV
E MOON
H
T
F
O
S
E
PHAS...
Objective
ivity is to demonstrate
The aim of this class act
the Moon cycles.
SUN
You’ll need...
TEACHER
on representation)
1 white Styrofoam ball (Mo
d the Moon)
1 bamboo skewer (to hol
r or paint to make the
Bla
ck marke
the Moon.
of
f
hal
night
p/yellow circle (Sun
Lam
representation)
Styrofoam
Step 1: Paint half of the
ht and day
nig
the
w
sho
to
ball black
sides of the Moon.
the Moon so you
Step 2: Stick a skewer into
d while orbiting
can hold it above your hea
the Earth.
globe in the centre of
Step 3: Place the Earth
dents to sit around it.
stu
the
the room and ask
or near one of the
Step 4: Place the Sun on
If you can, make the
walls of the classroom.
p on for the Sun.
lam
a
room dark and turn
with the daytime side
Step 5: Hold the Moon
so while standing
facing towards your Sun
Earth, the students
between the Sun and the
side of the Moon.
ck
bla
the
should only see
Moon has disappeared,
Ask your students if the
see.
or if it is just too dark to
a circle around the
Step 6: Begin to walk in
ping the black side
kee
ts,
den
stu
globe and the
e
sam way as before, and
of the Moon facing the
on facing your Sun. The
Mo
the white side of the
notice that as you walk
students should begin to
that they see more and
in a circle around them
e of the Moon.
sid
more of the daytime
EARTH
DENTS
STU
Instructions...
DENTS
STU
Ear
th globe
Southern
hemisphere
perspective.
the full moon position,
Step 7: Once you reach
ts the percent of the
den
stu
find out from the
see. It is true that they
Moon they can actually
time side, but how much
can see 100% of the day
ually being seen?
act
is
of the entire Moon
orbit around
Step 8: Complete your
how
m
the
g
win
sho
the Earth
time
day
the
of
s
les
and
s
les
.
side of the Moon is visible
but it doesn’t always
h,
rt
Ea
e
th
ts
bi
or
n
oo
M
The
n the Earth and the Suwn,Moon.
orbit perfectly betweeso
a lar eclip°se every nes orbit.
otherwise we would have
t 5 off Earth’
ou
ab
d
lte
ti
is
t
bi
or
s
n’
oo
The M
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246
ACTIVITY
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY &
E
H
T
G
N
I
R
E
DISCOV
MOON
E
H
T
F
O
S
E
C
FA
Objective...
SUN
ivity is to show that one
The aim of this class act
visible to us on Earth.
side of the Moon is never
You’ll need...
TEACHER
on representation)
1 white Styrofoam ball (Mo
d the Moon)
1 bamboo skewer (to hol
s
r or paint to make crater
Bla
ck marke
representation)
DENTS
STU
p/yellow circle (Sun
Lam
Instructions...
f (face) of the styrofoam
Step 1: Colour in one hal
n that the students can
ball in a particular patter
stion mark on the
recognize, and draw a que
Then colour in black
on.
opposite side of the Mo
surface of that ball to
circles on the rest of the
Cultures from around the
show the other craters.
about images they
ries
world have made up sto
shapes in the Moon.
have created out of the
have the pattern of
Here in New Zealand we
Rona and her Taha.
the Moon so you can
Step 2: Place a skewer into
while orbiting the Earth.
hold it above your head
globe in the centre of the
Step 3: Place the Earth
ts to sit around it.
room and ask the studen
or near one of the walls
Step 4: Place the Sun on
k,
can, make the room dar
of the classroom. If you
.
Sun
and turn on a lamp for the
the pattern facing
h
wit
Step 5: Hold the Moon
away from them.
ing
fac
‘?’
the
the students, and
and the Earth, explain
Standing between the Sun
other half of the
the
up
how the Sun is lighting
completely dark
re
we
m
roo
the
Moon, and that if
e to see the Moon from
that they wouldn’t be abl
this position.
a circle around the globe
Step 6: Begin to walk in
g the pattern of craters
and the students, keepin
th.
‘?’ facing away from Ear
facing the Earth, and the
you
as
t
tha
ice
not
to
in
The students should beg
m that they see more
walk in a circle around the
e of the Moon.
and more of the same sid
EARTH
DENTS
STU
Ear
th globe
Southern
hemisphere
perspective.
the full moon position,
Step 7: Once you reach
on
ts the percent of the Mo
find out from the studen
see
can
is true that they
they can actually see. It
but how much of the
e,
sid
e
tim
day
100% of the
ng seen? Also have
entire Moon is actually bei
get to see what is on the
er
nev
them note that they
it
as you complete the orb
other side of the Moon
around the Earth.
dents stand by the Sun,
Step 8: Now have the stu
time
in with the Moon. This
and orbit the Earth aga
of
e
sid
far
the
the “?” on
they will be able to see
ile the Moon is near the
wh
th
Ear
m
fro
on
Mo
the
uld
sho
s
Thi
new moon phase.
of
es
sid
all
t
tha
show them
the Moon get to see the
Sun, but the Moon needs
to complete one full
orbit before every side
gets daylight.
° off Earth’s orbit.
5
t
ou
ab
d
lte
ti
is
t
bi
The Moon’s or
se every full Moon.
lip
ec
r
na
lu
a
ve
ha
ld
ou
w
Otherwise we
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246