Moon Phases Calendar and Calculator Project from NASA/JPL Edu

Looking for a stellar 2018 calendar? Try this new Moon Phases Calendar and Calculator DIY from the Education Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory!

Download the free, decoder-ring style calendar and assemble it to see when and where to view the Moon every day of the year. The calendar features daily moon phases, moonrise, moonset and overhead viewing times, a listing of Moon events including supermoons and lunar eclipses, plus graphics depicting the relative positions of Earth and the Moon during various moon phases. Use it to teach students about the phases of the Moon, for sky-gazing or simply as a unique wall calendar.

In the classroom, it makes a great addition to this Teachable Moment and related lessons about supermoons – two of which will ring in the new year in January 2018.

Explore these and more Moon-related lessons and activities from NASA/JPL Edu at the links below:


For Students

Project: Moon Phases Calendar and Calculator

Like a decoder wheel for the Moon, this calendar will show you where and when to see the Moon and every moon phase throughout the year!


Project: Look at the Moon! Journaling Project

Draw what you see in a Moon Journal and see if you can predict the moon phase that comes next.


For Educators

Teachable Moment: What’s a Supermoon and Just How Super Is It?

What are supermoons, why do they occur and how can they be used as an educational tool?


Observing the Moon (Grades K-6)

Students identify the Moon’s location in the sky and record their observations over the course of the moon-phase cycle in a journal.


Whip Up a Moon-Like Crater (Grades 1-6)

Whip up a Moon-like crater with baking ingredients as a demonstration for students.


Moon Phases (Grades 1-6)

Students take measurements of the Moon during its full phases over multiple Moon cycles to compare and contrast results.


Modeling the Earth-Moon System (Grades 6-8)

Whip up a Moon-like crater with baking ingredients as a demonstration for students.


Measuring the Supermoon (Grades 5-12)

Students take measurements of the Moon during its full phase over multiple Moon cycles to compare and contrast results.

TAGS: Moon, Supermoon, Moon Phases, Moon Phases Calendar, Projects, DIY, For Students, Astronomy

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This summer, while many of us were sleeping in and avoiding heavy school work, lots of exciting things were happening in and around our solar system! Here's a guide to launching the 2016 school year right and turning those stellar events into educational connections from NASA. 

Science on Fire

An image of the Soberanes fire, in northern California near Big Sur
This false-color image of the Soberanes fire in Northern California, near Big Sur, was captured by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft on July 28, 2016.

Here at home, on Earth, it is fire season in many places in the Northern Hemisphere. Fire season comes about with warmer temperatures, dry air, and dry brush. Once a fire gets started in these conditions, it can rapidly spread and become out of control, especially when high winds are involved. This summer has already witnessed some dangerous fires including the Sand Fire in Southern California and the Soberanes Fire near Big Sur on the Central California coast. Beyond the immediate threat from flames, smoke degrades air quality and burn scars leave hillsides vulnerable to rain-induced mudslides.

NASA satellites and airborne instruments are helping scientists better understand wildfires and their impacts on our changing climate. And in the immediate term, they are helping firefighters track wildfires and respond to people and structures in risk areas.

Check out JPL's latest Teachable Moment to find out more about how scientists are studying wildfires, what they're learning and why it's important. And get links to two new lessons for students in grades 3-12 that have students use NASA data, algebra and geometry to approximate burn areas, fire-spread rate and fire intensity. (You can also go straight to the new lessons at: Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires from Space and Pixels on Fire)

And speaking of Earth science, find out how you can get a free bulletin board featuring posters and lithographs about NASA Earth science and missions for your classroom!

Greetings from Jupiter

Watch a recap of the July 4 excitement as NASA's Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter.

On July 4, just in time for a fireworks spectacle, the Juno spacecraft went into orbit around Jupiter. Juno launched from Earth aboard a huge rocket and had been hurtling toward Jupiter for nearly five years. Getting into orbit around Jupiter was a real nail-biter here at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (which helps manage the mission) and we are all very happy everything went as planned. Juno’s mission is to study the origin, core and magnetic fields of our solar system’s largest planet. Juno will orbit Jupiter for only about 20 months before Jupiter’s intense radiation environment takes a toll on the spacecraft.

Communicating with a spacecraft as far away as Juno is a challenge that involves a lot of planning and teamwork. Try out this new lesson for young learners that demonstrates this process and provides practice with number concepts, counting and geometry, and data collection in a concrete, active manner. 

Wish you had your very own Juno spacecraft you could use to uncover secrets beneath Jupiter? Check out this easy-to-build Juno model that uses household objects and can be used in a game with friends and family!

Explore more about Juno with these related lessons and videos: 


TAGS: Back-to-School, Juno, Wildfires, Bulletin Board, Lessons, Activities, DIY

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