This image features night time temperatures at the Moon’s north pole as measured by the Diviner instrument. Areas in blue and purple represent colder temperatures, while areas in orange and red represent warmer temperatures. At any given point in the Moon’s orbit, half of the Moon is in daylight, while half of the Moon is in darkness. At the poles, we might expect that half of the image would be much hotter than the other. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/UCLA
Ways to represent lunar craters in art
The project should easily be accomplished by ages 4 and up with help from a parent or guardian.
30 min – 45 min + time for materials to dry
Our project this week, explores the surface of the moon and how it is different than the surface of the earth. Let’s read the book Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty together and create craters on our own moon in this project using aluminum foil.
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOME
We will learn about the moon and how it is different than the earth for several reasons.
The surface of the moon has a lot of deep holes all over it. These holes are called craters. They are formed when pieces of rock and space debris crash into or impact the moon’s surface. These pieces of space debris are called meteoroids or asteroids.
Moon craters can be big or small based on the size of the object that hits it and how fast the object is moving.
The Moon has more craters than Earth because it does not have an atmosphere like Earth does. When space debris flies toward Earth it must travel through our atmosphere and usually burns up before it hits the ground. When we see shooting stars, we are looking at the debris flying through our atmosphere. The Moon does not have an atmosphere like Earth, so the pieces of rock do not burn up and hit the surface instead.
Craters also last longer on the Moon because weather is not affecting the surface of the Moon like it does on Earth. There is no rain, wind, or growing plants to wear down or erode the craters or cover them up.
Follow along as we read Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty
Tune into our favorite Moon Song, ” Time to Shine,” by StoryBots
Next Step to Advance your Knowledge
- If you want to see how the surface of the moon is affected by space debris use kinetic sand or make some moon sand or cloud dough in a shallow pan and drop small pebbles, rocks, marbles, or other items into it. Once you remove the items you can see how the impression stays and is affected by items being dropped on the surface. There are many easy recipe variations online.
- Look at NASA or other space websites for crater images to show examples of what the moon really looks like up close.
- If you have a telescope, you could spend time looking at the moon under different magnifications.
Art Materials Needed
- Scissors
- Aluminum foil
- Large bowl
- Marker
- Glue
- Sheet of black paper
- Small circle templates – Lids, coins, caps
- Optional items to decorate your sky
Project Instructions
- Take a sheet of aluminum foil and draw a circle on it using a marker and bowl.
- Using scissors, cut out the circle.
- Gently crunch your aluminum foil and use your template to press circles on the surface.
- Place coins and lids under the aluminum foil and rub over the top with your finger to make textures and indentations. These will become our moon’s craters!
- Flip the aluminum foil over and place glue around the outside edges.
- Place the glue side down onto the black paper to create a scene of your moon in space.
- Feel free to make a full scene with stars, planets, rocket ships or other items once your moon dries.
- Allow to dry and then display your moon!
Dream | Create | Inspire
Starry Night
This image shows the slopes found near the south pole of the Moon, poleward of 75 degrees South. The bright red to white areas have the highest slopes (25 degrees or more) while the dark blue to purple areas have the smallest slopes (5 degrees or less). The largest slopes are found in impact crater rims, which appear as brightly colored circular features throughout the image. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/MIT [full feature]
Copernicus in Color!
Copernicus crater, a 96 km wide crater on the near side of the Moon, is featured in false color in this image from the LRO Wide Angle Camera (WAC). Filters in visible and ultraviolet wavelengths were combined to bring out the subtle differences in reflected light in this image. Scientists use images like this to study differences in composition of the surface materials. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/ASU [hi-resolution]
Impact art
This image shows a small portion of the ejecta blanket of an unnamed fresh impact crater (1 km diameter) located on the southeastern wall of crater Darwin C (15 km diameter, over 2500 m deep!). The linear reflectance boundary that runs diagonally from lower left to upper right is a break in slope between the steep wall (lower right) and floor (upper left) of Darwin C crater; to the left of that line the floor is essentially flat. Exposure to space weathering tends to lower the brightness of surface materials on an airless body like the Moon. But compositional differences also affect the reflectance of surface materials. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/ASU [full feature]
Ways to represent lunar craters in art
Bettina Forget’s lunar crater paintings, part of her Women with Impact series, and Jesse Tungilik’s seal skin space suit are two compelling works showcased in McIntosh Gallery’s new exhibition. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
October 18, 2023
Topic Campus & Community Featured Featured 4
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When artist and amateur astronomer Bettina Forget discovered barely two per cent of moon craters are named after women, she was dismayed. So, she harnessed her anger for a creative pursuit.
The lack of representation sparked Forget’s Women with Impact project, starting with drawings of the lunar craters. She studied the features and ridges through NASA images, using graphite to illustrate each crater named after a woman. Later, those drawings were turned into paintings.
She called it a “protest by celebration.”
“I’m not an optimist, but I expected it to be more than two per cent,” Forget said of craters named after notable women.
Three paintings depicting lunar craters from Bettina Forget’s Women with Impact series. Each canvas depicts a crater named after a woman, as seen through NASA images. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
For the most recent iteration of her project, she painted in fluorescent pink, capturing the beauty and texture of the craters she saw through NASA probes.
“I wanted to translate the grayscale into the kind of paint that smacks you over the head. Pink is also a really political colour, super magnetic and attractive for many girls, but radioactive for boys,” Forget said.
Three of those pink paintings are now on display in Western’s McIntosh Gallery, part of an exhibition called The Life Cycle of Celestial Objects, Pts. 1 & 2 , which runs until Dec. 9. Forget is featured alongside other contemporary Canadian artists, as well as York University students, all probing space exploration – and its ramifications.
Tackling tough topics
“Art makes difficult subjects approachable and accessible. It’s equally as critical and research-based as other disciplines, but because artwork can be so interesting to look at, it has the power to draw someone into a difficult conversation,” McIntosh curator Helen Gregory said.
Helen Gregory, curator of McIntosh Gallery. (Western Communications photo)
Indeed, visitors across campus are drawn in by the eye-catching work installed outside the gallery: Alouette , by Brandon Vickerd, showcases a car smashed by a satellite. The display is a big talking point on Western’s Kent Drive.
Vickerd worked with engineering students, who took sledgehammers to the car under his careful guidance.
“Everyone who sees it out there just loves it,” Gregory said.
It’s also a piece with deep meaning, shining a light on the increasing use and dependence on technology, with Vickerd using the satellite to represent a “modern-day Icarus,” she added.
Iqaluit artist Jesse Tungilik’s space suit, crafted from seal skin, is another popular fixture in the exhibition. He was inspired by the caribou hunting clothes his mother made for him as a child, an outfit he used to pretend was a space suit. The seal skin suit includes intricate bead patches, one depicting the Nunavut flag, made by artist Glenn Gear.
Gregory hopes the exhibition will spark questions and dialogue.
“I want people to think critically about why we explore space and how that fits into the Earth’s history of exploration,” she said.
“ Historically there was a colonial mentality that extended beyond our terrestrial boundaries. Take the moon, for example. Bettina explores that in her work, critiquing the distinctly Eurocentric male legacy of naming and claiming celestial objects.”
The intersection of art and science
Forget will host a free, interactive workshop Saturday, Oct. 21, at Western’s Cronyn Observatory to mark International Observe the Moon Day. (Re)naming the Moon will invite guests of all ages to learn from Forget about drawing craters – no experience required – and rename their creations after women scientists or other role models. Registration is open.
“ You can learn a lot of science by making art, specifically by drawing. If you take a pencil and sketch something, it’s etched into your brain,” Forget said. “You have to understand what it is you’re looking at, to draw it. That really helps people to understand what a moon crater is, and how different they all are.”
Forget described her work as a career at the intersection of art and science. It’s the same combination Gregory captures in The Life Cycle of Celestial Objects.
This installation, called Circuit Board Graveyard, was created by a team of York University graduate students and professor Joel Ong. It includes an interactive element since wires on several circuit boards can be moved and plugged in to alter the lights across the constellations. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
Western engineering students helped Vickers to install Alouette , and York University graduate students, under the instruction of computational arts professor and artist Joel Ong, developed the work shown in McIntosh’s East Gallery. (The full exhibition fills both the East and West Galleries, the “parts one and two” referenced in the name.)
“I gave Joel and his team free rein. This was very experimental,” Gregory said of the York team’s contribution.
“I’m really happy with the exhibition and the project team. The response has been really positive,” she said. The opening reception was full and a steady stream of visitors have since come to the gallery to take in the artwork.
McIntosh’s location in the centre of campus helps to facilitate the blending of art and science that Gregory is seeking.
“There is access to people doing research on practically every subject you can imagine,” she said.
“It’s an incredible resource of intellectual activity.”
