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in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

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Earth's Moon

Farouk El-baz

Early Life

Farouk El-Baz was born in 1938 in Zagazig. In school, he liked science. He earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry-Geology in 1958 in Egypt. In 1961, he got his master's in geology. 

After this, in 1964, he got his PhD also in geology. During his PhD, he did research at MIT. When he was a child, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he touched the Black Stone. This made him come up with the idea of touchable moon rocks at museums.

Year born: 1938

Research Areas: Geology

"No matter where you come from or what challenges you face, always do the best possible job you can. Run behind your dreams, embrace your heritage, and never stop learning."

Explore Tides

The ocean’s tides rise and fall every day, but have you ever wondered what causes them? The Moon and Sun both play a role in shaping the movement of water across the Earth. 

The Moon

The Moon is the largest and brightest object we see in the night sky. 

Image of the Moon in its first quarter phase, showing the contrast between the illuminated and shadowed regions, with visible craters and lunar surface details. On the bottom left there is a photo of Liverpool Telescope pointing at the moon
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved
The Moon at Last Quarter Phase

Tides

The level of the sea rises and falls about two times each day. We call these changes tides.

The image shows waves from the ocean crashing onto a sandy beach.
This work by Dan Gold is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Waves coming towards the shore.

Stargazing Glossary

Welcome to our stargazing glossary! 

Here, you'll find key terms that will help you better understand the wonders of the night sky. 

The image shows a person looking through a telescope silhouetted against a starry night sky, with a clear view of the Milky Way. On the right side, there is an icon of a book labeled "A-Z," indicating a glossary
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved

Karlie Noon

Early Life

Karlie grew up in a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Karlie is a Gomeroi women. The Gomeroi (also spelled Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi) are one of the largest Indigenous nations in Australia.

Karlie did not enjoy school, so her family arranged for elders in her community to tutor Karlie. Their teaching and mentoring helped Karlie to do well in her studies and she developed a love of maths. This support gave Karlie the confidence to continue studying science and maths. She became the first person in her family to go to university.

Research Areas: Galaxy Evolution, Indigenous Astronomy, Moon Haloes

 

"I never had a plan for any of this, I just followed what I was interested in and learned to ignore any critics and my own doubts along the way."

Ursula Marvin

Early Life

Ursula Marvin was born in Vermont, and grew up in New Hampshire, USA. She loved being outdoors but did not discover her passion for geology until she went to university to study history. She asked to change her degree major to Geology, but her professor refused and told her she should learn how to cook. Instead, Ursula took extra geology, maths and physics courses and went on to earn a PhD in Geology from Harvard University.

Year born: 1921

Research Areas: Meteorites, Moon Rocks