Astronomy For Kids Gave Me An Answer

I wondered, or maybe never put much thought into it, the difference between a planet and a moon.  After learning about the composition and activity of our moon, I was perplexed why it is not called a planet. It has common materials and composition as our earth, minus an atmosphere...so what's the deal?

I did a quick check on google of course, and lo and behold on Astronomy For Kids, I found my answer, at least until I research deeper and find more defined details-  A moon revolves around "another world" and a planet revolves around the sun!

Got to go simpler sometimes to then understand the complex!

What's Alive or Dead About It?

In hindsight, I really enjoy the fact having grown up with a very social perspective on "life" (you know like blaming the meteorologist for my lack of beach activity as if he or she did it on purpose) because now as an adult I am able to delve into the "science" of it all whenever I choose.   This allows me to connect the two to be a better decision-maker and understander of "the big picture".

So with that in mind, asking someone what "dead" means and the responses corresponding to the moon may be as different as night and day. Some may believe it has a lit up face and different phases so it's alive. Others may argue that it's a rock- and you don’t water rocks so it’s dead. As for me with both thoughts under my belt and the vocabulary in geologically speaking context, I believe it is mostly "dead" with a few hopes of resurrection. 

The reason being there is no major weathering, erosion or volcanism that recycles its materials which would result in continual changes in matter, chemical composition and form like on earth. Also, there is no water cycle because there is no atmosphere so the moon does not sustain itself. However, the evidence of water ice at the poles could lead scientists to discover a catalyst for recreating the free water molecule or at the least an artificial one that can be sent to the moon to watch and see if it can spread!

Do We All See The Moon The Same?

I haven't looked yet, but that question has been on my mind ever since beginning my teaching career. We read a vignette on how allowing students to explain their thinking to an answer guides the inquiry and problem solving process for them, including the interest and confidence and self-corrections.  They gave the example of a teacher telling a student his moon phase (waxing when it was waning or vis versa) was "WRONG" without asking him to explain. The discussion led to--What if he was looking in a rear view mirror when he drew it...or what if he was in Australia? 

That made me think---I didn't really know if it was a different view or the phases were opposite. I've been since trying to figure out the answer and a few colleagues and workshop leaders still show a discord if it is or isn't.. I try to visualize but get lost in imagination sometimes to grasp it. Excited to read more about it!

How do we REALLY think we REALLY know?

Crater impact age is more determinable on the moon compared to earth because earth still undergoes weathering and erosion processes that recycle the oldest of materials. On the moon however, very little, if any occurs. The rims may have some weathering due to additional impacts, but for the most part what was there then when moon was in a major bombardment stage, it is there now.
Though, it does bug me a bit that up until a decade or so ago, we realized that the moon's rock samples and other data collections were localized to the near side and major impact craters.  This definitely limits the scientific data and opens our critical thinking hypotheses.
Why do they believe that the meteorites found in Antartica and other Southern Hemisphere areas came from the moon? And were different composition than what the Apollo Missions collected?  Is is because Antarctica is not populated except by those penguins and a few brave souls?

The Storyteller

Without the statistics in hand, but the thought in mind, I think the moon has to be the most socially "talked" about celestial.  It's a star in songs, a wonder in children's books, a visual for body part comparisons (I'll let you guess) and even a scapegoat for when life runs a amok. A believer will see the  Man In The Moon,  a dreamer will swear Frank Sinatra flew them to it, and the romantic knows when it hits their eye like a big pizza pie...

I myself still look up at it sometimes and sing "Somewhere Out There"  and remember when a tiny mouse had me feeling obligated to say goodnight to it every night growing up.  And now as a grown-up I am more curious than ever to let it tell me its story... from a mysterious beginning as Earth's remnants (so a theory states) to a technologically enhanced point of viewing. 

Ah, why not... GOOD NIGHT MOON :)

 

A Constant Reminder...

Every time I look at the moon, I am reminded of walking into a third grade classroom years ago to substitute. The science lesson for the day?---moon phases.  Woah! I used the moon very figuratively in my life prior to that day, which forever changed my reality---there's science involved here and I don't quite know it!

The worksheet on waxing and waning and the four quarters was another language and I smudged whatever I could to survive. Maybe I was correct, maybe not.  But since that day, I've been ever more observant and confused on how we see what we see when we look at the moon.  In isolation I now understand what the moon is and its phases and the earth's blocking of it, making what shines, shines. However, I still cannot grasp exactly how it works when I look at it...in real time... like last night driving down to a friends ( I should have been more observant of the road.. yes?) 

Is it clockwise?  Is a full moon when it's on the other side of earth or in between the sun and the earth? Well, an eclipse would happen when the angle is equal to earth's so....
It may be just a difficult motion visual to pick up and I just need to accept what I know and try to apply it... or the more I learn and observe, it will one day stick... forever ;o)