LOOKING SKYWARD?????

Bet you guys thought I'd forgotten about you this week - no postings, no homework listed, and then I miss school today.....what's up, you say? It's the end of the six weeks and as teachers, we find this time to be a little busy and a lot crazy.

Stay tuned - I'll be back before you know it with more challenges, more prizes and yes.....MORE HOMEWORK!!!

See you tomorrow!

COPY OF REPORT FROM CNN.....

Super Harvest Moon: Autumn phenomenon is a rare treat
By Jack Maddox, CNN

The last day of summer 2010 in the Northern Hemisphere coincides with a full moon.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere coincides with a full moon tonight
* It's the first time the two events have occurred at the same time since 1991
* Effect will be of a setting sun and rising moon directly opposed in the sky
* Custom holds that a "Harvest Moon" provides farmers with extra light as crops come in

(CNN) -- Tonight is the night of the Super Harvest Moon.
It's the last day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the beginning of the autumn season and it perfectly coincides with a full moon tonight. And it's the first time in almost 20 years that the stars have aligned for an event like this. (We fully acknowledge that the moon is not a star but it's not very often we get to use the phrase in such close context).
When the summer sun starts setting this evening, it will blend with the rising autumn moon to produce a unique "360-degree style" twilight. The two low-in-the-sky light sources mix together and illuminate the sky all around you, unlike than the typical one-at-a-time approach you see when you drive home from work. And it's from this extra twilight lighting that the Harvest Moon gained its place in the celestial calendar. With farmers depending on moonlight to harvest their crops they would note the autumnal full moon. Thus the phenomenon's name.
Be sure to take a good long look at the moon as it travels across the sky tonight, because you may notice that it looks a little different. According to NASA's Dr. Tony Phillips, you'll see the "moon illusion" at work. It will look abnormally large -- an optical illusion that comes about when the moon sits lower than usual in the sky.
It's not the first time that the moon has matched up to the calendar and created an event like this, but it's the closest. In fact, the time between the official autumnal equinox (11:09 p.m. September 22, according to Science@NASA) and the full illumination of the Harvest Moon is down to only a handful of hours -- just six. This is quite a drop considering that the full moon more commonly makes its full appearance days or weeks on either side of the equinox.
The closest its came to this in the past was September 23, 1991, but even then it was a 10-hour difference, and according to Science@NASA we won't see it like this again until the year 2029.
So be sure to take advantage of the extra hours of moonlight and cram in that extra harvest work, or maybe just enjoy the show; either way you should definitely take a look in the sky tonight.

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!

Say it's not so.....Summer is Over????

Yes it is, and Happy First day of Fall!!!

Today will be 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of night and tomorrow......well, what about tomorrow? You tell me what Friday will be like, followed by Saturday then Sunday. What' s going to be different? If you have it in you, it's worth a trip to the coke machine with 1.00 from Ms. Battles and Ms. Lewis.

Oh yea - don't forget to check out the moon tonight. It's a super harvest moon....what's a super harvest moon? That, too, is worth a trip to the coke machine.

Happy Fall and Happy Moon Phasing!

Rodrigo, this is for you!!!!

A WEEKEND AT THE LAKE

Hey Guys!!! I went to Lake Whitney this weekend and brought this home for one of my lucky young scientists.

Here's how you win it.........
* tell us what a fossil is
* look this one up and tell us its name
* if it's found at Lake Whitney, how old do scientists think it is? (yes, it is valuable)
* once you know what kind of fossil this is, tell us what this means about this part of Texas......what used to be here?


Get THREE of the four questions right and take home this museum piece.

FUN FRIDAY IS COMING!!!

I wonder what that means for this week? We'll see, right?

Look at the moon phase gadget here on the left. Notice what is going on on the right side.....is the right lit up or is it dark? Do you remember what that means? Make a comment here telling me your thoughts. First person to get it right gets a Snicker's bar tomorrow in class!!!!!!!!!!!

SEPTEMBER 23 IS ALMOST HERE - YEAAAAA ....OUR FIRST CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR.

GIZMO ON SUMMER AND WINTER

I know you guys have a lot going on this weekend - Texans football ;o), preparing for the BIG holiday coming up on September 23rd, and doing science homework (using the word "spring" or "fall" .....there's the answer AGAIN).

IF you get bored and if you have time, visit our GIZMO site. You can either browse around and see what games there are, or you can login with your password you made Friday and work on the summer/winter activity we did in class Friday.

If you get REALLY bored, visit http://metaatem.net/words/ and type your name in the white box. EXTRA COOL.

Have a relaxing weekend and I'll see you Monday!!!
P.S. Don't forget to practice your dance moves ;o)

NAME THAT MOON PHASE........

What moon phase is tomorrow? First one to answer getes 10 minutes on the computer for Free Science Game Time. Post your comments (answers) now!!!!!