Over the last couple of months we have been working through our unit on Space and specifically on the how the orbit of the earth around the sun and rotation of the earth affect our seasons and light. Through the unit we have learned about why we have night and day and why we have seasons. We have learned about constellations and how the earth’s orbit around the sun gives us views of different constellations at different times of the year.

Right now we are learning about the phases of the moon and how the light of the sun reflects off the Moon in different ways giving us the different phases. As part of our Space Science unit, I thought it would be cool to do a couple of things.

Today, your child may have shown you this really cool “space ticket”. I downloaded this ticket for each student in the class. Earlier last week, each child signed up to have their name etched onto the new scientific instrument being sent to Mars next year. This is actually true. On the NASA site, each child was able to add their name to the device being sent to Mars in March of 2018. This rover will arrive on Mars in November with your child’s name on it! Here is the website if you want to check it out:

https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/

I also thought it would be fun to include a video each month showing the different events happening in the sky over our heads. On a clear night you can head out and see the planets and constellations that are viewable in the night sky. Here is November’s video: