vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Education News & Blogs – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Grades 8-12 Time 30 min to 1 hour Lesson Modeling Crustal Folds Students use playdough to model how Earth’s crust is bent and folded by tectonic plates over geologic time. Grades 6-12 Time 30 min to 1 hour Lesson Making Topographic Maps Students draw and interpret topographic maps while learning about technology used to map Earth's surface, the seafloor, and other worlds. Grades 6-12 Time 30 min to 1 hour Lesson Code a Radio Message for Space Students code microcontrollers to send and receive radio signals, simulating communications between Earth and spacecraft. Grades 6-12 Time 30 min to 1 hour Related Activities for Students Student Project Draw Your Own Psyche Spacecraft Follow these easy instructions to draw and decorate your own model of the Psyche spacecraft. Type Project Subject Engineering Slideshow What's That Space Rock? Find out how to tell the difference between asteroids, comets, meteors, meteorites and other bodies in our solar system. Type Slideshow Subject Science Facts and Figures Asteroids Overview Didymos In Depth Websites NISAR Mission CADRE Project Psyche Mission DART Mission Asteroid Watch Articles How NASA Studies and Tracks Asteroids Near and Far NASA Cat Video Explained Article for Kids: Asteroid or Meteor: What's the Difference? Article for Kids: What Is an Asteroid? Videos The Video NASA’s Laser Communications Experiment Streamed From Deep Space NASA's DART Mission Confirms Crashing Spacecraft into Asteroids Can Deflect Them Interactives Eyes on Asteroids
TAGS: Pi Day, Pi, Math, NASA Pi Day Challenge, moon, earth, asteroid, psyche, DART, CADRE, NISAR DSOC

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyle Tavernier, Educational Technology Specialist, NASA-JPL Education Office

Lyle Tavernier is an educational technology specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. When he’s not busy working in the areas of distance learning and instructional technology, you might find him running with his dog, cooking or planning his next trip.

READ MORE

Teachable Moments | 
	January 29, 2024

The NASA Cat Video Explained
By Ota Lutz

Find out how the now famous video beamed from space, showing a cat chasing a laser, marked a milestone for space exploration, and find resources to engage students in related STEM learning.
Moon Phases
The best times to see a daytime Moon are perhaps during the first and last quarter phases, when the Moon is high enough above the horizon and at about 90 degrees from the Sun in the sky. This helps make the Sun’s reflected light bright enough to see as it reflects off of the Moon. The Moon can be seen in the daylit sky at any phase except for the new moon, when it’s invisible to us, and full moon, when it’s below the horizon during the day. The crescent through quarter phases are high in the sky during the day, but the daytime gibbous phases can be glimpsed only just before the Sun sets.The waxing Moon rises over a ridge in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah.NASA/Bill DunfordKeep ExploringDiscover More Topics From NASAEarthEclipsesLunar Discovery and ExplorationSkywatchingReturn to topThe National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.About NASA's MissionJoin UsHomeNews & EventsMultimediaNASA+MissionsHumans in SpaceEarth & ClimateThe Solar SystemThe UniverseScienceAeronauticsTechnologyLearning ResourcesAbout NASANASA en EspañolFollow NASAMore NASA Social AccountsNASA NewslettersSitemapFor MediaPrivacy PolicyFOIANo FEAR ActOffice of the IGBudget & Annual ReportsAgency Financial ReportsContact NASAAccessibilityPage Editor:SMD Content EditorsResponsible NASA Official for Science:Dana Bolles
Moon - NASA Science
Explore the MoonTop Questions about Earth's MoonWhy can I see the Moon during the day? And other frequently asked questions about our Moon.Read MoreSupermoonsWhen the full moon is a little bit closer to us than usual, it appears especially large and bright in the sky.Read MoreWeather on the MoonWhat does “weather” mean on a world with practically no atmosphere? Explore extreme lunar surface conditions here.Read MoreUncovering Lunar WaterThere’s water on the Moon. Follow the thread of discoveries that led up to the confirmation of its presence in 2020.Read MoreThe Moon's Origin StorySeveral theories vie for dominance but most agree on one thing — Earth's Moon was born from destruction.Read MoreEarth and TidesAs distant as the Moon may seem, its gravitational pull on Earth plays a huge role in the formation of tides.Read MoreLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ImagE:Far Side of the MoonThe Moon's far side gets as much sunlight as its near side.Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates. The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon while the other half remains dark.
How Scary Is Space? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
And on that day in October, those regions happened to look like a ghoulish grin!
Learn more about solar activity

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Death by Spaghettification?
A black hole is an object with gravity so strong that nothing—not even light—can escape. Because of this, we can’t really see black holes, but we can see how they pull on the stars and objects around them. It may sound wild, but there’s actually one at the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Movies sometimes show a black hole as a gateway to another world. Could that happen in real life? Probably not. Instead, scientists think that if you really got too close to a black hole, the pull of gravity would be so strong that you’d be stretched into a long, thin noodle of material.
Learn more about black holes
Visit NASA’s (silly) Guide to Black Hole Safety

Artist’s concept. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Unending Darkness on the Moon
Imagine a place with no sunlight at all. Not a single ray of it. Did you know a place like that exists in our very own solar system? It’s a fact! The Moon turns as it orbits Earth each month, exposing nearly its entire surface to sunlight. However, the Sun never rises above the rims of some craters near the Moon's poles. The floors of those craters haven’t seen the Sun for billions of years! So if you’re planning a trip to the bottom of one of these craters, be sure to bring a flashlight.
Learn about how the Moon got its craters

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University 

Spine-tingling Space Sounds
Sound is absent in the vacuum of space. That means to the human ear, space is a very quiet place. But we can detect energy in space with other kinds of waves. Sometimes, to better understand cosmic events, NASA scientists turn those other energy waves into sound that we can hear.
Make No-Bake Moon Cookies! | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Make No-Bake Moon Cookies! | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids

moon-cookies

Earth
Sun
Solar System
Universe
Science and Tech
Educators

Make No-Bake Moon Cookies!

Watch this video to learn how to make no-bake moon cookies!

What you need:

For the cookie dough:

1/2 cup wheat germ
1-1/2 cups peanut butter (Allergen note: Nut-free butters, such as sunflower seed butter, can be used instead.)
1-1/2 cups honey
3 cups dried milk
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 large bowl
1 spoon or spatula
Dry measuring cups
1 tray or storage container (not pictured)

For dipping:

1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 small bowl

What to do:

Measure out all of the ingredients and dump them into the large bowl.

Mix ingredients very well with a spoon. When the ingredients get too stiff to mix with a spoon, you can continue mixing and kneading the dough with your hands!Tip: If you wet your hands, it will be easier to work with the dough.

Next, use your hands to shape the dough into small round balls or moons. You can also shape the dough into crescent moons!

Pour powdered sugar into the small bowl. Roll each moon in the powdered sugar.

They're now ready to eat! Store leftover cookies in a covered storage container in the refrigerator.Note: This recipe makes about five dozen moons.

We would like to thank the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri, for sharing this recipe for delicious Moon Cookies!

 Download a PDF of this activity.

Fun Moon Facts:

Scientists think the moon formed when a Mars-sized object crashed into Earth.
When the moon formed, it was much closer to Earth. It must have looked giant in the sky!
The moon is getting about 1-1/2 inch farther away from Earth every year.
Moon Phases
We call this motion “libration in latitude.”Finally, the Moon appears to tilt back and forth like a metronome. The tilt of the Moon’s orbit contributes to this, but it’s mostly due to the tilt of our Earth. Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees on its axis, which means that when we observe the Moon from Earth, it’s a little like we’re standing sideways on a ramp. If you look left, the ramp slopes up. If you look right, the ramp slopes down. In front of you, the horizon looks higher on the right and lower on the left. If you turn around, the horizon appears to tilt the opposite way.The tilted ramp works the same as the tilted “platform” of the Earth beneath our feet. Every two weeks, we have to look in the opposite direction to see the Moon, and the ground beneath our feet is then tilted the opposite way as well.EarthshineThough the Moon is in a crescent phase in this photograph, most of the darkened, Earth-facing side of the Moon is still dimly visible, illuminated by sunlight reflecting off our planet. This reflected light is called earthshine. Zolt LevaySometimes, when the Moon is in one of its crescent phases, we can still see the darkened area of the Moon’s nearside shining dimly. This effect is caused by the Sun’s light reflecting off Earth’s surface onto the face of the Moon. Because Earth at that point in its orbit is nearly full from the Moon’s perspective, the light it reflects, called earthshine, is bright enough to dimly illuminate the darkened surface.Daytime MoonsThough the Moon is often thought of as a nighttime visitor, it’s also visible during the day as a faint, pale presence. The best times to see a daytime Moon are perhaps during the first and last quarter phases, when the Moon is high enough above the horizon and at about 90 degrees from the Sun in the sky. This helps make the Sun’s reflected light bright enough to see as it reflects off of the Moon. The Moon can be seen in the daylit sky at any phase except for the new moon, when it’s invisible to us, and full moon, when it’s below the horizon during the day.
Why Does the Moon Have Craters? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Though they were made in 1971, these Apollo 14 astronauts' tracks were easily viewed from a NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon in 2011 (tracks highlighted in yellow). Credit: NASA/LRO

The Moon has almost no erosion because it has no atmosphere. That means it has no wind, it has no weather, and it certainly has no plants. Almost nothing can remove marks on its surface once they are made. The dusty footsteps of astronauts who once walked on the Moon are still there today, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The second thing is something called tectonics. Tectonics are processes that cause our planet’s surface to form new rocks, get rid of old rocks, and shift around over millions of years.
Because of tectonics, the surface of Earth is recycled many times throughout its long history. As a result, very few rocks on Earth are as old as the rocks on the Moon. The Moon has not had tectonics for billions of years. That’s a lot more time for craters to form and stay put.
The third thing is volcanism. Volcanic flows can cover up impact craters. This is a major way impact craters get covered up elsewhere in our solar system, but it is less important than the recycling of crust here on Earth. The Moon once had large volcanic flows way in the past that did cover up many of the bigger earlier impacts, but it has been without volcanism for around three billion years.

A powerless Moon
The Moon may attract fewer bits of space rock than the Earth, but the Moon is powerless to do anything about it after it has been hit. Once something hits the Moon, that event becomes frozen in time. Earth, on the other hand, simply brushes these impact craters off and moves on with its life.
No wonder there are so many craters on the Moon compared to Earth!

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 	article last updated April 23, 2020
 

If you liked this, you may like:

What Is an Impact Crater?

Glossary

Make Oreo Moon Phases!

	 Games	 

	 Crafts	 

	 Activities	 

	 Videos	 

	 Glossary	 

	 Mystery	 

About Us
Why Does the Moon Have Craters? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Why Does the Moon Have Craters? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids

craters

Vea en Español

Earth
Sun
Solar System
Universe
Science and Tech
Educators

Why Does the Moon Have Craters?

An asteroid or meteor is more likely to hit Earth because Earth is a lot bigger than the Moon, giving a meteoroid more area to hit! But we can see many thousands of craters on the Moon and we only know of about 180 on Earth! Why is that? 
The truth is both the Earth and the Moon have been hit many, many times throughout their long 4.5 billion year history.

This view of the Moon's cratered South Pole was seen by NASA's Clementine spacecraft in 1996. Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS

Where did all of Earth's craters go?
The main difference between the two is that Earth has processes that can erase almost all evidence of past impacts. The 
Moon does not. Pretty much any tiny dent made on the Moon’s surface is going to stay there.
Three processes help Earth keep its surface crater free. The first is called erosion. Earth has weather, water, and plants. These act together to break apart and wear down the ground. Eventually erosion can break a crater down to virtually nothing.

Lake Manicouagan, a ring-shaped lake in Quebec, Canada, is all that remains of a crater from a massive impact over 200 million years ago. Credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL/MISR Team

Though they were made in 1971, these Apollo 14 astronauts' tracks were easily viewed from a NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon in 2011 (tracks highlighted in yellow). Credit: NASA/LRO

The Moon has almost no erosion because it has no atmosphere. That means it has no wind, it has no weather, and it certainly has no plants. Almost nothing can remove marks on its surface once they are made. The dusty footsteps of astronauts who once walked on the Moon are still there today, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The second thing is something called tectonics.
Tides
Cooling of the still-hot lunar interior is causing the Moon to shrink, but the pattern of orientations of the scarps indicate that Earth’s gravitational pull contributes to the formation of these cracks.NASA/LRO/Arizona State University/Smithsonian InstitutionThe video displays a small complex of lobate scarps, part of a string of similar scarps that stretches across the lunar farside craters d'Alembert and Slipher.In fact, Earth’s gravitational pull on the Moon has to be accounted for in the work of astronomers who bounce lasers off either the Moon’s bare surface or special reflectors positioned on the Moon’s surface to make extremely precise measurements. Earth’s gravitational tide can cause a change of about 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) to the Moon’s surface, so the reflection points rise and fall with the tides.Writer: Tracy VogelGraphic Designer: Vi NguyenScience Advisors: Vishnu Viswanathan, Joseph Renaud, NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterKeep ExploringDiscover More Topics From NASAEarthEclipsesLunar Discovery and ExplorationSkywatchingReturn to topThe National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.About NASA's MissionJoin UsHomeNews & EventsMultimediaNASA+MissionsHumans in SpaceEarth & ClimateThe Solar SystemThe UniverseScienceAeronauticsTechnologyLearning ResourcesAbout NASANASA en EspañolFollow NASAMore NASA Social AccountsNASA NewslettersSitemapFor MediaPrivacy PolicyFOIANo FEAR ActOffice of the IGBudget & Annual ReportsAgency Financial ReportsContact NASAAccessibilityPage Editor:SMD Content EditorsResponsible NASA Official for Science:Dana Bolles
Moon - NASA Science
in the UniverseStarsGalaxiesBlack HolesThe Big BangDark Matter &amp; Dark EnergyThe Solar System The SunMercuryVenusEarthThe MoonMarsJupiterSaturnUranusNeptunePluto &amp; Dwarf PlanetsAsteroids, Comets &amp; MeteorsThe Kuiper BeltThe Oort CloudSkywatchingEspañol CienciaAeronáuticaCiencias TerrestresSistema SolarUniversoScience All NASA ScienceEarth SciencePlanetary ScienceAstrophysics & Space ScienceThe Sun & HeliophysicsBiological & Physical SciencesLunar ScienceCitizen ScienceAstromaterialsAeronautics ResearchHuman Space Travel ResearchExploreSearchSubmitNews & EventsMultimediaNASA+Moon HomeOverview FactsTop QuestionsIn DepthCompositionFormationSun & WeatherWater & IcesMoon in MotionPhasesSupermoonsEclipsesTidesTidal LockingObserveDaily Moon GuideObserve the Moon NightViewing GuidePhotography GuideExplorationOverviewMissions Moon WalkersMultimediaResourcesGalleriesInteractivesStoriesExplore This SectionMoon HomeOverview In DepthMoon in MotionObserveExplorationMultimediaStoriesThe MoonFrom lighting up our skies to maintaining a geological record of our solar system’s history, Earth’s closest celestial neighbor plays a pivotal role in the studies of our planet and our solar system. About earth's moonSmall CompanionThe Moon is about 27% the size of Earth.Tidally LockedWe always see the same side of the Moon.Battered TerrainThe Moon has a solid, rocky surface.Bring a SpacesuitThere's no rain or wind, but there is weather. Destination Moon24 humans and more than 100 robots visited.OverviewEarth's Moon is the brightest and largest object in our night sky. The Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate.
Virtual Vocabulary | NASA eClips
Because the moon is smaller than the Earth, the moon wouldn't pull down on an object as hard and it would weigh a lot less there. However, since the object would still be made up of the same number and type of particles, its mass and density would be the same on the Earth and on the moon. topwheel and axle - A wheel and axle is a simple machine in which a round frame (wheel) turns on a central shaft or rod (axis). top

Recent tweets from NASA eClips

Get the Newsletter

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Read More At SCIENCE.NASA.GOV

Search

Filter search by grade-level (optional)

Grades 3‑5
(Our World)
Natural vs Designed World

Grades 6‑8
(Real World)
Mathematics in Action

Grades 9‑12
(Launchpad)
NASA Innovations & Technologies

Student Produced

About NASA
Accessibility
FOIA
No FEAR Act
Privacy Policy
Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

NASA Official:
 Kristen Erickson
 

Editor:
Shannon Verstynen

Please share your impact.
X

Do you use Spanish content with your students?
Yes

No

What types of resources are most valuable to you? (Please select all that apply)

Lesson and activity guides

STEM content videos

Student projects

Video interviews with scientists and engineers

Spanish content

STEM career resources

Other

Help us understand more about your learners.

 Approximately percent of my learners are from an underserved and/or under-represented population.
 

Submit

×
Close Menu
Moon Phases
A last quarter moon, also known as a third quarter moon, rises around midnight and sets around noon.Waning CrescentThe Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where its dayside directly faces the Sun, and all that we see from our perspective is a thin curve.Our Wobbly MoonWhen we think of the way the Moon seems to change over the course of a month, we think of phases. But frequent Moon observers know that the Moon also appears to twist, nod, and roll slightly during its journey across the sky, allowing us to peek around the Moon's shoulder and catch glimpses of the farside. This phenomenon is called libration.This visualization of the Moon’s phases throughout the year 2021 also shows lunar libration, the apparent rolling motion that changes our view of the Moon slightly over time. NASA’s Science Visualization Studio.Because the Moon's orbit is not perfectly circular, its distance from Earth and its speed in orbit both change slightly throughout the month. The Moon’s rate of rotation around its own axis, though, always stays the same.When the Moon is at its closest to Earth and moving most quickly along its orbital path, the Moon itself doesn’t rotate quite fast enough to keep entirely the same side facing us, and we get to see a little more of the eastern side of the Moon. When the Moon is farthest from Earth and orbiting at its slowest, its rotation gets a little ahead, and we see a bit more of its western side. We call this motion “libration in longitude.”The 5 degree tilt of the Moon’s orbit also causes it to appear to nod, as though it were saying “yes.” The tilt sometimes brings the Moon above Earth’s northern hemisphere, and sometimes below Earth’s southern hemisphere, allowing us to see slightly more of the northern or southern hemispheres of the Moon. We call this motion “libration in latitude.”Finally, the Moon appears to tilt back and forth like a metronome. The tilt of the Moon’s orbit contributes to this, but it’s mostly due to the tilt of our Earth. Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees on its axis, which means that when we observe the Moon from Earth, it’s a little like we’re standing sideways on a ramp.
Real World: Using Math and New Tech to Study Lunar Rocks | Real World | NASA eClips
Real World: Scaling the Solar System 

 Real World: Self-Healing Materials 

 Real World: Small Bodies Orbiting the Sun 

 Real World: Small Systems Count - Cells in Space 

 Real World: Space Lighting 

 Real World: Space Weather 

 Real World: STS-119 Brings More Power to the Space Station 

 Real World: The Carbon Cycle - Essential for Life on Earth 

 Real World: The Nature of Science 

 Real World: The Silent Airliner 

 Real World: TriATHLETE - The Engineering Design Process in Action 

 Real World: Using Lab on a Chip Technology to Identify Microorganisms 

 Real World: Using Math and New Tech to Study Lunar Rocks 

 Real World: What Is Soil Moisture? 

 Real World: What Time Is It In Space? 

 Real World: Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 [Archived] 

 Real World: Testing NASA's New Moon Robot [Archived] 

 Real World: Keeping the International Space Station in Orbit [Archived] 

 Real World: Mathematics - The Deciding Factor for Lunar Habitats [Archived] 

 Real World: Using Lunar Soil to Make Oxygen [Archived] 

 Real World: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission [Archived] 

 Real World: Preparing to Launch Ares I-X [Archived] 

 Real World: Calculating Shuttle Launch Windows [Archived] 

 Real World: Exploring the Lunar Electric Rover [Archived] 

 Real World: Shuttle Safety [Archived] 

 Real World: Using Lunar Reactors [Archived] 

 Real World: Lunar Excavation Blade [Archived] 

 Real World: Choosing the Right Lunar Excavator [Archived] 

 Real World: Lightning Protection for Launch Complex 39 [Archived] 

 Real World: Putting Together the Ares I-X [Archived] 

 Real World: Tools for Construction - NASA's Lunar Crane [Archived] 

 Real World: Lessons in Heavy Metal [Archived] 

 Real World: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Resources [Archived] 

 Real World: Lunar Landing Test Designs [Archived] 

 Real World: The Math Involved in ARES[Archived] 

 Real World: Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System [Archived] 

 Real World: Moon Dirt [Archived] 

 Real World: Scarab, NASA's Newest Lunar Exploration Rover [Archived]