Week 6: Earth Sun Moon

1. What are your best understandings about the following:

• How the phases of the moon occur?
• As the moon orbits Earth, it changes the moon's shadows. 
• What causes the seasons?
• The seasons are caused depending on how far the sun is away from Earth. 
• What causes a lunar eclipse? 
• A lunar eclipse is caused when the Earth is lined up perfectly between the sun and moon. 

2. What did you do in lab today? 

• How do the phases of the moon work? 

Today in lab, we began to discuss all things Earth, Sun, and Moon. I have never taken any astrology-related classes, and I also do not really remember ever covering it extensively in my past schooling, so I had many takeaways from this lab that I found extremely interesting. Some of these facts are the following: the Earth is tipped 23.5 degrees, the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and the Winter Equinox occurs when everywhere across the globe has an equal 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. All of this has helped me expand my knowledge on how and why seasons exist. I am excited to further this knowledge as the unit progresses. 

3. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?

In Thursday's discussion, the portion of class that was most helpful for me was when we were relating times of the day to the part of the moon phase cycle it was. One of this quiz questions was "It is 11:00 am. I looked outside just before coming to class and the moon was just rising. What phase is it?" This question led into a conversation about how different times of the day and different times of the month indicate a different moon phase. 

4. Pressbook Chapter 5: Earth, Sun, and Moon 

• Before reading this Pressbook chapter, I did not know the moon had five separate phases: new, crescent, full, quarter, and gibbous. I had really only ever heard of a full moon and a crescent moon, so this was pretty interesting to learn about. 
• In this chapter, I think the "What Creates a Solar Eclipse?" video was the most useful for me. I remember briefly learning about solar eclipses in highschool, and I even remember watching it one the bleachers in the middle of a school day. I definitely did not fully understand it back then, but watching this video made it clear for me exactly how the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. 
• I think I need more information on how Earth's tilt affects the seasons. I am slowly starting to grasp the topic, but I think more discussions and practice would be beneficial for me. 

5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? 

After both classes this week, I am feeling a little bit better, but am just a little concerned that I cannot fully grasp the concept of shadows quite yet. I am hoping with a bit more practice, I will have the topic mastered soon.