Next moom 2017 sept1/20/2024 ![]() ![]() What phase is the Moon in right now? Check the Space Place Calendar for today's date to see! For fun, track the phases of the Moon for the next several days.Based upon your observations, can you predict when the next big orange Moon will appear? What time does it appear in the sky? Where is it? What color is it? What shape is it? Share what you learn over the course of the month with your friends and family members. Over the course of the next four weeks, keep a journal all about the Moon. Keep a Moon Journal for the next month! Pick out a special notebook and grab some pencils and crayons.We hope you were over the Moon about today's Wonder of the Day! Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member: These particles scatter light in the same way described above, leading to an orange or red Moon high in the sky. In certain areas, the atmosphere can be filled with air pollution, dust, and even smoke from wildfires. At those times, they're low in the sky close to the horizon and their light must travel through the maximum amount of atmosphere to reach your eyes.īut what about those times when you've seen an orange Moon higher in the sky? If you've ever seen an orange Moon high in the sky, the atmosphere is still the reason it's orange. That's why the Moon - and the Sun! - look orange or red when they're rising or setting. Orange and red light, which have longer wavelengths, tend to pass through the atmosphere, while shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue, get scattered. These atmospheric particles tend to scatter shorter wavelengths of light more than longer wavelengths. ![]() Why does this matter? Earth's atmosphere is filled with all sorts of airborne particles that absorb and scatter light. ![]() When the Moon hangs low in the sky near the horizon, though, you're seeing it through a much thicker layer of Earth's atmosphere. When you look straight up into the night sky at the Moon, you're looking through a thin band of atmosphere that only extends a tiny fraction of the distance to the Moon. That's because you're seeing the Moon through much more of Earth's atmosphere than when you see it high in the sky.Įarth's atmosphere is like a sphere of gases that surround the planet. ![]() You may have noticed that you're most likely to see a brilliant orange Moon when it's hanging low in the sky, close to the horizon. All this celestial movement accounts for the fact that the Moon takes different paths through the sky each night. At the same time the Moon is moving around Earth, Earth is spinning on its axis and both Earth and the Moon are traveling around the Sun. It takes about a month for the Moon to travel all the way around Earth. The different colors we see from time to time are the result of our particular viewing angle, along with the composition of Earth's atmosphere. If you've ever seen a huge harvest Moon in the fall, hanging low on the horizon and glowing a brilliant orange, you may have WONDERed what causes that orange glow that can make the moon look almost like the Sun.Īlthough it seems to change colors, the Moon itself stays the same color year-round. Then how do you explain the different colors of the Moon? Why does it appear different colors at different times? Is the Man in the Moon changing the light bulb between phases? If it was made of cheese, you could explain these different colors by types of cheese: mozzarella for white, American for yellow, and cheddar for orange! If you've seen the Moon in different colors, though, you might start to believe there's some truth to this whole "made of cheese" thing.įor example, sometimes the Moon appears white, while at other times it's more yellow or even orange. Have you ever heard someone claim that the Moon is made of cheese? It probably seemed like a funny notion. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |