The moon was created in part to act as the ruler of the night in terms of light provided to the earth. During about one third of its cycle, its light, which is reflected light from the sun, dominates the night sky. During the last third of its cycle, it is readily visible in the morning or midday until the sun, the ruler of the day in terms of light, overwhelms it. But those day time views of the moon are still striking and beautiful. While less detail is evident, the effects of blue sky light and the ease of observing make it exciting to observe. In our mission trips overseas and US demonstrations, we encourage teachers and parents to use day time observing to their advantage, since it is typically during school hours.
Here is a view of Mare Imbrium at a medium magnification and during early school hours:
While I used and astro video camera to make things a little easier, the view would have been just the same through an eye piece on a small telescope. I can see my friends in some other countries piling out of their classroom with an opportunity to see and sketch the moon during the day. It makes for excellent practice for observing anything, because a student needs to keep going back to look. As they look more, they see more. When they begin to put a pencil to paper, they want to look more to get it right. Before long, children learn to see things they never saw before.
Part of what we teach, however, is to consider what they have recorded on observing sheets in Biblical terms. What scripture comes to mind, or what scripture on the moon do they remember? Put it on the sheet, and make a comment. We usually give an example if we are doing the teaching. Here is an example: the moon does not have its own light; it reflects light from a primary source. If we know Jesus Christ, we reflect his light. If we do not, we don’t. If the child is not a Christian whose light does the child reflect? Their own? Their parents? Their teachers? It gets the young observer thinking about observations rather than pure sketching or observing.
In the end, the wonder of it all–seeing a close heavenly body on a nice day–is remembered and the child has learned to see things a little better!
