A Moon diary
The question
How does the shape of the Moon change over a month, and where can we see its craters?
The Moon seems to change shape because we see different amounts of its sunlit side as it travels around the Earth. Its craters show up best when it is about half lit.
Equipment
- A notebook with one box for each day
- A pencil
- Binoculars if you have them, used only with an adult and only at night
Method
- Each clear evening, look for the Moon with an adult and draw its shape in that day's box.
- Write the date and whether it was cloudy.
- When the Moon is about half lit, look along the line between its bright and dark parts, through binoculars if you can, and draw any craters you see.
- What to measure
- The shape of the Moon each night, and the number of nights it was too cloudy to see.
- How to present it
- Your diary laid out as a strip of Moon pictures, from thin crescent to full Moon, with your crater drawing alongside.
- Take it further
- Find out why the Moon has so many craters but the Earth has few you can see.
Safety
Only look at the Moon after the Sun has set. Never point binoculars anywhere near the Sun.