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Professor Coch at Queens College always established a few rules during my undergraduate experience. First, he stated that you should never eat yellow snow. Second, when living on Long Island, always pick up after your dog. Lastly, never stare at a solar eclipse. I guess it sounds like the Christmas Story movie, "You'll burn your eyes out kid!" Anyway, there are two types of eclipses, 1) solar and 2) lunar. During my lifetime, I only had a few chances to observe partials or annular eclipses. An eclipse occurs when a large planet-like body passes into a shadow that is created by another planet-like body.
A solar eclipse is by far the most interesting. When this type of eclipse occurs, It can be 1 p.m. in the afternoon and it can be pitch black as though it is 1 a.m. There is an infrequent location where a solar eclipse can occur. This is because the moon smaller than Earth and therefore would cast a much smaller shadow, especially when the moon is farthest from Earth in its orbit (apogee). Check out this NASA photograph of a solar eclipse from outer space just above this paragraph. When all factors are conducive to produce a total eclipse, a portion of Earth will pass in the moon's shadow called the umbra. Careful observers can see the moon moving into the sun and block all incoming solar radiation from reaching us. Careful observers who are located in the less concentrated shadow (prenumbra), can see a partial solar eclipse. Check out this picture: solar eclipse.
A spectacular site to see is a lunar eclipse. The moon has a reddish-orange-brown appearance in comparison to its grayish-white color. This occurs when incoming solar radiation is (visible light) is absorbed and the remaining light red and orange is refracted as it reaches the moon. The occurence is very similar to the solar eclipse, except now the moon passes through Earth's larger shadow, especially when the moon is closest to Earth (perigee). The words umbra and penumbra are still used when discussing shadows from a planet-like body. Check out this picture: lunar eclipse.
Lunar Phases:
Solar: New Moon Phase
Lunar: Full Moon Phase
* See moon phases below
Eclipse Types:
Solar: Partial, Annular, Total
Lunar: Partial, Total
Schedules:
Solar
Lunar
Observing Solar Eclipse
Protection
Source: MrEclipse.com
I was brought up understanding that Buzz and Armstrong were the first humans to set foot on the moon. This was a huge accomplishment because Russia was right behind the United States in the race to the moon. I'm glad our country won that footrace. After viewing some material from Fox 5, it left me second guessing. Did Buzz and Armstrong really land on the moon, or land on a Hollywood set to depict the conditions of the moon? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that. Take a look at these 5-minute clips. It is quite disturbing...
You Tube:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Learning about lunar phases can be tedious, especially if you do not know your rights from your lefts. I always describe to my students that when the right-side is bright, those lunar phases will be new, or waxing (lit side is growing). When the moon has completed the full moon phase, then those phases are left-side bright and they are old, or waning (lit side is shrinking). What is the reason why we experience moon phases? Because half of the moon is always lit and the other half is in darkness. An observer from Earth can see portions of the moon lit since the moon is circular in shape and it follows a counter-clockwise elliptical orbit. This picture was obtained from the Earth Science The Physical Setting.
Another great audiovisual came from teacher tube on moon phases. I would love to perform the same thing for my class. If not, I will have to come up with something very clever for my students to work on, perhaps a Mr. Rankin phase laboratory. What I would do is take pictures of my face with various amounts of shade and the students would have to cut them out and put them in order and answer a few questions. Some of the questions would have to include the amount of days it takes for each successive lunar phase, tides, and eclipses.
The arrival through the pearly gates of Melbourne Avenue this afternoon led me to take pictures of our beautiful city. As the sun went down I installed my larger zoom lens and observed smog just above the horizon. I decided to take an abundance of pictures all around campus. Specifically, I took a picture of the large glacier erratic in front of the Science Building. As I walked eastward, I
observed a man-made gully near the Aaron
Copeland School of Music. It must have originated from people walking over the same path and the grass depleted to bare soil for erosion. I think photography is the key to success when presenting information to students. Sometimes I find myself wanting to take great pictures of the moon, but they always come out dark and barely noticeable. I love teaching the moon in class, I think it is very interesting, especially the formation thereof....
