Susan L. Norwood
Tides
Objective: To have the students locate the times of the local area tides.
Materials: Newspapers, internet, tide charts.
Procedure: Have the students make a graph showing the various times of high and low tides for a week at one location. Have the students make a few graphs for several neighboring locations. Compare and contrast the times. Discuss the differences and similarities of times.
Field Trip: Plan a visit to the beach at high and low tides. Have the students make observations to the conditions of the land at both times. Discuss the differences and similarities.
Lunar eclipses are another interesting phenomena. Long ago eclipses were a source of mystery and were viewed with great fear. An eclipse is named for the object that is being eclipsed, or obscured. Eclipses occurs when the sun, earth and full moon are in relative alignment along the same plane. In a solar eclipse the moon passes between the earth and the sun. This can only happen when the moon is in the "new" phase. the far side of the moon is illuminated and the side facing the earth is in darkness. During this time the moon cast a shadow on the earth. This shadow sweeping across the earth is called the umbra. The shadow acts like an umbrella. In a lunar eclipse the moon moves into the earth's shadow. They can only occur when the moon is in its "full" phase. During a lunar eclipse the moon darkens when it enter the earth's shadow or umbra. There is a much greater chance of seeing a to ¹tal lunar eclipse than a total solar eclipse. The reason for this is that a lunar eclipse can be seen any place on earth where the moon is shining. Lunar eclipses last longer, the maximum time being one hour and forty-seven minutes. It still receives sunlight that is refracted around earth by our atmosphere. Pollution and clouds affect the color of the moon, causing it to appear dull red. The next total lunar eclipse visible from North America will occur on January, 21 in the year 2000. It will last a total of seventy-six minutes. No special precautions are needed to safely view a lunar eclipse.
Perhaps the most exciting event relative to the moon is that man has seen the other side and has walked on its surface. The Soviets launched the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into earth orbit on April 12, 1961. On May 5, 1961, the U.S. launched Alan Sheperd into a brief suborbital flight. Six weeks later in May, in a speech to the U.S. Congress, President John F. Kennedy stated that our nation should commit itself to reaching the goal of landing a man on the moon before the decade was out. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (NASA), now turned its efforts into achieving this goal. The race was on and the finish line was the moon.
Project Mercury, which was already underway at the time, furnished the U.S. with the experience of humans in space. A total of 10 manned flights were in the Gemini Program between March 1965 and November of 1966. They provided us with experience in long-duration space flights, rendezvous and docking techniques. Moreover they provided us with images of the moon's surface and helped on locating landing sites for the Apollo program.
Apollo was the Greek god of prophecy, sunlight, poetry and music. He rode a chariot pulled by three golden horses Facross the sky. Project Apollo was the first American space mission. It carried out eleven missions, sending nine of them to circumnavigate the moon and six of them landing men on the moon. In January of 1967 the first mission , Apollo 1 was launched. The mission was tragic. There was a fire on the launch pad killing the three astronauts aboard. It understandably delayed future Apollo missions. Between October , 1968, and May,1969, Apollos 7 through 10 were successfully launched preparing Apollo 11 for it's historical flight. On July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module landed in the moon's Sea of Tranquility at 4:18 p.m. EST. At 10:56 p.m., Commander Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moons surface and was followed by pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.. The famous words "That's one small step for man, and one giant step for mankind." were said by Armstrong as he stepped off the ladder on to the surface of the moon. The Command Module pilot, Michael Collins orbited above, taking photographs and conducting scientific experiments. This Apollo mission was viewed live around the world by the largest television audience in history. The Apollo 11 mission returned to earth on July 24, 1969. The national goal of landing men on the moon and returning them safely to earth within the decade of the 1960's was achieved. Six more Apollo mission were flown to the moon prior to the end of Apollo in 1972. The success of these missions have provided us with most of the data and scientific knowledge we have of the moon. Thirty-two Americans participated in the Apollo Lunar missions. Twelve of them have walked on the moon and only four of them are still living. While writing this unit, Alan Shepard the first American to fly in space and fifth human to walk on the moon, died. He was 74 years old. Alan Shepard spent 33 hours on the moon and was the only lunar golfer. Alan Shepard's earlier flight in 1961 marked the beginning of the U.S. manned space program. It has been 36 years since Shepards first space flight and 26 years since the last Apollo astronauts returned to earth from the moon in 1972. NASA has since experienced budget cuts and ambitious plans have been halted. Space exploration and space projects have become internationalized since the Apollo days and the feasibility of a lunar base would probably come about through international funding. As we prepare for future space and lunar explorations it remains clear that we are still learning from the Apollo missions and the experiences of their crews.
