Why does the moon look a little different every night?

Why does the moon look a little different every night? Why does our Earth experience different seasons? Why does the moon turn red during a lunar eclipse? 

These are just some of the questions our Year 7 Science class has been asking throughout our Earth and Space Unit. The students have been learning about how the Earth orbits the Sun and how the Earth's axis of rotation is slightly tilted. This impacts the amount of daylight each hemisphere of the Earth receives and leads to seasons. Our Earth is also orbited by the Moon, which reflects light from the sun. As the moon orbits around the Earth, we see a different amount of reflected light. This leads to the phases of the moon. Sometimes we get solar or lunar eclipses when the Sun, Earth and Moon perfectly align! Our Year 7 students were tasked with constructing an aid that helps others understand these facts about our solar system. This unit of work exposes students to the concepts about Space which are further explored in the Year 9 elective subject - STEM: Earth and Space - and allows them to be creative in how they want to present their understanding. These are their colourful, creative, and tasty creations! 

Olivia Keatch, Year 7 Science Teacher
Gleeson College