Yesterday, just before my 1:25 class, the skies above HPU cleared and the view was glorious!
My Lab students came in and we put styrofoam balls on sticks and went outside. The waxing -almost first quarter Moon was low in the eastern sky. I asked what phase the Moon would b in if the Moon were close to the Sun, and they chimed in "New!" We held our stryrofoam balls on sticks, our models of the Moon, up near the Sun and sure enough, we were looking at the dark side of the Moon.
Then we held our Moon models next to the Moon in our sky. Low and behold, the models exhibited the same phase as the real Moon! I heard the gasps and comments of understanding. What they had learned in lecture, they now understood in Lab.
Then I asked "How much of the total surface of the Moon is being lit during the Full Moon phase?" They said half. Correct.
Next I asked, "How much of the total lunar surface is being lit during the 1st quarter phase? " Someone said half, and I said correct.
How much in New...half, How much in waning gibbous? ...half How much all the time? half!
A great day at school!
One of my archived pictures of the Moon.
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