Edward Steel Elementary Astronomy April 25, 2014 Astronomy Conversation Bonding Moon

Introduction: I can moonwalk! exclaimed Erin, my niece; when hearing her mother and I discuss the plans for the Lunar Eclipse partly. My sister DeeAnn and I have always been close. There was no question about it; she, along with her daughter and husband, would be the people that would help me complete my Astronomy Conversation assignment (strategically disguised as a Lunar Eclipse party). This assignment has significantly contributed in bringing the moon into greater focus, by allowing us to sit back, look up, and talk about the Lunar Eclipse on April 15, 2014. Preparation: DeeAnns house, located in Draper, is the perfect setting for our Lunar Eclipse party. Not only is there less light to interfere with viewing the night sky, (in comparison to my house in Sugarhouse) but she also has a gas fire pit that we could sit around while talking about the topics I have planned for the evening. Reggie, my brother-in-law, couldnt be told about the plans of an interview-type discussion or he wouldnt join in the fun. Something tells me that as the evening progresses, his competitive nature and inquisitive personality will make it difficult to not be drawn into the conversation. As for my niece Erin, all she needs is an excuse to stay up late, (not to mention baking and sitting out by the fire) and my captive audience of three is complete. I gathered information for the event by researching websites online and by taking passages from our textbook Understanding Our Universe. I wanted this experience to be engaging and I hoped that I could elicit opendialogue from everyone. To do this, I planned to present the information in the form of an activity. I thought this would generate more discussion as everyone would have valuable input and be part of the conversation which inturn would make it less of a lecture delivered by yours truly.

Edward Steel Elementary Astronomy April 25, 2014 Astronomy Conversation Bonding Moon
The topics that I had prepared to discuss were: The dark side of the moon Variety of eclipses Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse: April 15, 2014

Events of the evening: I knocked on my sisters door just after 10PM on April 14. Scavenger hunt activities, binoculars and Moon Pie cookie mix in hand, I was a party waiting to happen. As my sister, niece and I started making the pies and preheating the oven, this provided the perfect time for us to talk about the eclipse scheduled later tonight. I started by asking my niece about the dark side of the moon. I mentioned what I had read in our textbook about the side of the moon that is permanently turned away and not visible from the surface of Earth. She (as well as my sister) thought the phrase, the dark side of the moon was a song reference and that it held its place in campfire stories and horror films referencing to the unknown or dark side of people and things. Well that didnt last long. Reggie was now part of the conversation and we were only a half-hour into the night. He joined the conversation by restating what I had read in our textbook (Understanding Our Universe, pg 37). We Always see the Same Face of the Moon The lighted shape and position of the Moon in the sky are constantly changing, but one thing that does not change is the face of the Moon that we see. If you were to go outside next week or next month, or 20 years from now, or 20,000 centuries from now, you would still see the Man in the Moon. This observation is responsible for the common misconception that the Moon does not rotate. In fact, the Moon does rotate on its axis exactly once for each revolution it makes about Earth.

Edward Steel Elementary Astronomy April 25, 2014 Astronomy Conversation Bonding Moon
While waiting for the cookies to finish I brought out the scavenger hunt games for us to play. Using a Smartphone to complete the activity, the first person to answer the following questions would receive a prize. Lunar Eclipse Scavenger Hunt 1. What types of lunar eclipses are there? (name three) a. b. c. 2. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Partial Lunar Eclipse Total Lunar Eclipse

How long does the longest a solar eclipse lasts? a. 7 minutes

3.

Lunar eclipses always occur during (circle one) a. Full Moon - New moon Quarter Moon

4.

Lunar eclipses results when (circle one) a. b. c. Moon passes through Suns shadow Moon passes through Earths shadow Earth passes through Moons shadow

5.

What is the order during a solar eclipse? (circle one) a. b. c. Sun Earth Moon Earth Moon Sun Moon Sun Earth

6.

What is the order during a lunar eclipse? (circle one) a. b. c. Sun Earth Moon Earth Moon Sun Moon Sun Earth

7.

Tonights Lunar Eclipse is called a Blood Moon. The color red is due to ____________

Edward Steel Elementary Astronomy April 25, 2014 Astronomy Conversation Bonding Moon
a. b. c. dust in the moons atmosphere dust in space dust in Earths atmosphere

My brother-in-law won the game and he did give his daughter the prize (Im not sure I would have handed over the prize to anyone else but my niece anyway). The game was a great idea and provided a lot of discussion as we talked about the answers. My niece, joking with us, asked if vampires would come out of hiding tonight once the eclipse started because tonights eclipse was a Blood Moon Eclipse. We discussed the Blood Moon question (listed above) in further detail as well as some interesting facts I located on CNNs website (www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/tech/innovation/bloodmoon). CNN: Blood moon on tap for Tuesday by Ben Brumfield and Todd Borek Total lunar eclipse that will turn the moon a coppery red, NASA says. Its called a blood moon, and its one of four total eclipses that will take place in North America within the next year and a half. Within a year and a half, North America will be able to see a blood moon a total of four times. The moon takes on this color during the eclipse as it passes through the Earths shadow, into which red light from the planets sunrises and sunsets shines. According to NASA, the exact color depends on what is in the Earths atmosphere. Lunar eclipses penumbral, partial or umbral occur in random order, NASA says. Getting four umbral eclipses in a row is like drawing a rare lunar poker hand of four of a kind. Just like the poker players, astronomers have a name for that lucky draw. Its called a tetrad, NASA says. In the 21st century, there will be many tetrads, but look back a few centuries, and youll find the opposite phenomenon, NASA

Edward Steel Elementary Astronomy April 25, 2014 Astronomy Conversation Bonding Moon
eclipse expert Fred Espenak said. Before the dawn of the 20th century, there was a 300-year period when there were none, he said. Zero. One surprising fact about the evening was during the Lunar Eclipse itself. We laughed about the speed of the event. It took over an hour before the total eclipse took place. We were all surprised and continued to laugh through the night expecting the actual eclipse to last a matter of minutes. I wouldnt have done anything differently if I had to go about the assignment again. Everyone had a great time and as I think back on the evening, I realize that not only did this assignment bring the moon into greater focus, but it also brought us together and through texts from friends watching the lunar eclipse at the same time, it reminded us that we are all under the same beautiful, red-moon, together.