A Moonth of a phase

What causes the phases of the moon? What are they, why do they happen?

In order for us to see the moon it has to be in a curtain position so that the suns rays can hit the moon so it can "light Up"! When the moon is in-between the sun and the earth you cant see the moon, this is called a new moon. The reason you can't see it is because the suns rays were reflecting off of the far side of the moon where we can't see it.

When the moon is on either side (left or right) at a 90* angel with earth and the sun, then it is either going to be, First quarter or Third quarter. When the moon is in this position, Sun-----Earth-------Moon, then the moon will be completely visible, meaning it will be a full moon. You are probably wondering how, and shouldn't the earths shadow be casted on the moon? Well, the moon is elevated, so the moon doesn't rotate around the earth by the equator, it rotates hight enough for the sun to give off light and for its rays t hit the moon.

1. In your model what represents Earth? The Sun? The Moon?

In my model, there were three styrofoam balls, small, medium and LARGE!!!! You can probably guess it already by the colors which one is which :) , but i am going to tell you anyways! The WHITE and the smallest one is the moon, the GREEN and medium one is the earth, and the last one, the YELLOW and the biggest one is the sun!

2. Refer back to your 4 circles. How much of the lighted part of the moon did you see when facing the lamp?

If a person were to be looking at the lamp+looking at the moon, they wouldn't be seeing anything because the sun is reflecting off of the other side of the moon, therefore they can't see the moon. Hear is a diagram to show more!

3. Which drawing represents a full moon? A new moon? Which represents a waxing crescent? A waning crescent?

The drawing that would represent the full moon is number 3, the drawing that would represent a new moon would be #1. The drawing that would represent waxing crescent would be # 4 and last but not least, the waning crescent represents diagram #4.

4.How much of the lighted part of the ball did you see after each turn?

When you are looking at the moon from the earth you can see the moon every day/night except when the moon is in this position, SUN--------MOON-------EARTH, then we can't see it because the suns rays are hitting the moon out of our sight on earth. Also, when the moon comes around again, we could see it more clearly. However, the moon is constantly moving, and its constantly changing its phase.

5. Whether you could see it or not, how much of the balls surface was always lit by the lamp? Was the darkness of the new moon caused by an eclipse?

Although sometimes we can only see a part of the moon lit up(sometimes the hole thing and also sometimes nothing), half of the moon is always lit up. Because the moon is constantly moving/rotating, the phase of the moon is also always changing. No, the darkness of the moon was not caused by an eclipse because it all depends on how they are aligned. An eclipse is when the sun the moon and earth are all aligned.

MYSTERY RISING WITHIN MERCURY

MYSTERY

RISING WITHIN MERCURY

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.

The evidence, collected by a NASA spacecraft orbiting the planet, is scattered all over Mercury, including a dramatic

finding that half of the floor of the gigantic crater has been lifted. New studies show Mercury's very big iron core and it is even bigger than

expected. With a previously unknown solid layer of iron-sulfide buried beneath the mantle. Convection is probably behind the mysterious rising of Mercury's surface, which in

some areas is now tilted. Mercury's massive iron core is even more massive than previously thought, thought to

be 85 percent of the planet. Gravity maps and computer models show that the core sports an extra solid layer of iron-sulfide.

Conclusion:

I chose this article because it thought it would be interesting to learn about how the surface could get so much bigger in a shorter period of time. What grabbed my attention was the picture of Mercury in the visual effect and really just what it looked like. I thought to myself, how could that be possible? Well, I was so interested in it that I decided to read the article. I found it while looking at the Discovery News website and was just skimming through the articles when I came to this one that seamed interesting and was screaming, READ ME, READ ME, READ ME!!!!!!!!!

When Giant Flees Roamed

FLEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!! :O

About 125 million years ago, in the middle of the Jurassic age, everything was super sized!!!! So their fore, flees were to! Scientists found a fossil of a flee that dates back about 125 million years ago, and that was recorded to be around 8 to 20.5 millimeters! That is about 6 times the normal flee size!!

The flees in that time were more 'muscular' and they had claws that allowed them to latch on to larger animals and to have the ability to latch on the any type of fur/feathers.