Nothing to see here…
Posted by Mr. Buracas on 2011/11/01
Nothing, that is, but the turn of Earth and phases of Luna.
Talking about the phases of Luna (Selene, or – merely – the Moon to the rest of youse), someone pointed out that my handball was presenting as a waxing crescent. So dropped everything (as we often do in my class), gathered around my desk, and took a look at how things look in real sunlight.
One of those “teachable moments” that teachers are in constant search of.
Not only that, but with some careful observation, we were also able to observe Terra actually… SPINNING. There, before our very eyes, we saw the shadow one the ball moving.
I ask my students to consider this: this is nothing new, nothing that they haven’t seen or know about. Earth spins, shadows move, this is nothing special. Nothing special, that is, until they look at this with a scientist’s eye.
And now it all makes sense…
