By the Light of the Moon
For years people have wondered if a full moon really has any effect on people or animals. In an effort to find out, there have been many studies to see if animalsare noisier or if people are more active due to the extra light the moon is reflecting on the earth during a full moon. Dogs and wolves like to howl at the moon, which may have started the stories about werewolves and other creatures that were affected by the fullness of the moon. One way to see if things are a little more active when the moon is full is to record the sounds outside. Then see if it is any louder on a night when the moon is full compared to a night when the moon is new and completely dark. Can you think of anything else that the fullness of the moon might affect?
Moon Signs
Not only did people notice over the years how the moon affects the ocean, they also started to wonder if it affected other things. Did things seem to grow betterif you planted them during a certain time of the month? Before long, people started to keep track of these times, so they could better plan when to have their hair cut or plant their crops. If this sounds silly, it's not a lot different than listening to the weather before you travel and hoping the weather does what it is predicted to do. If you want to see if people can make educated guesses based on the phases of the moon, you can look in a book called an almanac and try planting something or getting your hair cut at the time they recommend. Then have someone in your family do the same thing on a different day to see whose plant or hair grows faster. Who knows, maybe years from now people will look back on these beliefs and think they were as silly as the moon being made of cheese?
REFLECTING:
Normally, people are thinking of water or mirrors when they think about something reflecting an image or light. Even though the moon has no light source of its own, it shines in the sky because the sun's light is reflectingoff of the moon's surface.
FUN FACT
Hot and Cold
One day on the moon is equal to about two weeks here on Earth. The same is true for its night. Such long days and nights cause the moon to be both very hot and then very cold.
Many Moons
You probably have never realized just how many times words linked with the moon or phrases based on your favorite satellite are mentioned in your daily life. Here are a few examples:
Once in a blue moon means, “It's so rare it's not likely to happen!” Once in a while the moon can appear blue, especially after a really huge volcanic eruption. Bad forest fires can also make the moon look red.
“Blue Moon,” “Moonlight Bay,” “It's Only a Paper Moon,” and “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” are a few songs that contain the word moon. Ask your parents if they know the words.
Several nursery rhymes such as the Owl and the Pussycat, Hey Diddle, Diddle, and Winken, Blinken, and Nod also talk about the moon. Do you know all the words to them?
Monday is the day of the week that is named after the moon, and our calendar is divided into months, which are also linked to the moon.
How many words do you know that start with the word moon, like moonflower, moonstone, moonstruck, or moonlight? Have you ever wondered why we don't have a moonrise or moonset?
