The ScienceGiant

“Teen pregnancy strikes again 😞,” I mutter to myself as another high school student from the class of 2012 announces the birth of their child.

NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY of AUGUST 2026:
PLANET PLACEMENT, MOON MOTION, METEOR SHOWERS and the SUN SIGNS.

Navigate the night sky of the northern hemisphere and learn about astronomy! TheScienceGiant has easy-to-follow simplified monthly star maps to help Ss .

Available for FREE download at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Navigate-the-Northern-Night-Sky-August-2026-Starmap-17224434

☀️ (♌︎) Aug 01: Lammas (Lughnasadh) marks the first harvest festival arriving as the Sun moves through skies in Leo, a seasonal turning point of the agricultural year toward gathering and gratitude, midway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox.
🌖 (♒︎) Aug 01: waning gibbous Moon in Aquarius the Water-Bearer

☀️☿ (♊︎) Aug 02: Mercury at westernmost elongation from the Sun in Gemini before dawn.

🌖 ♄ (♓︎) Aug 04: waning gibbous Moon in Pisces the Fish near steady shining Saturn 🪐

🌗 (♈︎) Aug 06: Last Quarter Moon in Aries the Ram close to the bright star Hamal

🌘 (♉︎) Aug 07: waning crescent Moon near the Pleiades star cluster in Ta**us the Bull.

🌘♂ (♉︎) Aug 09: waning crescent Moon near Mars in Ta**us.

🌘 (♊︎) Aug 10: waning crescent Moon in Gemini is at perigee (closest to Earth) at a distance of 363,284 km. Look for the Twin’s brightest stars Castor and Pollux nearby.

🌘 ☿ (♊︎) Aug 11: waning crescent Moon and Mercury are 2.1° apart in Gemini.

🌠 Aug 12: Perseid meteor shower peaks. Active from mid-July to the start of September, the Perseids’ peak on the night of Aug. 12-13 with many swift, bright meteors (~30-50 per hour). The best viewing is after midnight, away from light pollution. The Perseids take their name from the constellation Perseus, the legendary Greek hero who beheaded the snake-haired Medusa. However, the Perseids are also linked to a Roman rustic god Priapus (yes, that Priapus with large phallus), who it was believed fertilized fields with the streaks of shooting stars representing his divine “seed”. Interestingly, there might be truth to that: panspermia is the idea that basic building blocks for life arrived on Earth via comets or meteorites. The Perseids come from debris shed by the comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle, and cometary material can contain organic compounds.
🌑 ☀️ (♋︎) Aug 12: Total Solar Eclipse as the New Moon, Earth, and Sun align in Cancer the Crab. The eclipse will pass over the Greenland, Iceland, Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, northern Russia, northern Spain, and a corner of Portugal. Viewers in other places in the Northern Hemisphere experience a partial solar eclipse, including parts of the U.S.A. (from Alaska to North Carolina) and most of Canada. For many along the western part of the eclipse path (in mainland Europe and Africa), the Sun will set while it’s still partially eclipsed, creating an opportunity to see a sunset eclipse.

🌒 (♌︎) Aug 13: waxing crescent Moon near bright star Regulus at the bottom of the “Sickle” in Leo the Lion.

☿ ♃ (♋︎) Aug 15: Mercury and Jupiter meet in Cancer the Crab, pre-dawn.

🌒 ♀ (♍︎) Aug 16: waxing crescent Moon and Venus in Virgo the Virgin are 2.1° apart.

🌒 ♀ (♍︎) Aug 17: waxing crescent Moon shines between brilliant Venus and the bright star Spica in Virgo.

🌒 (♎︎) Aug 19: waxing crescent Moon near the star Brachium, in Libra the Scales

🌓 (♏︎) Aug 20: First Quarter Moon in Scorpius appears less than 1° from reddish star Antares, the “heart” of the scorpion.

🌔 (♐︎) Aug 22: waxing gibbous Moon in Sagittarius the Archer is at apogee (farthest from Earth) at a distance 404,642 km
☀️ (♍︎) Aug 22-Sep 22: in tropical astrology of traditional Western zodiac, the Sun is transiting Virgo the Virgin; in sidereal astrology, it’s from September 17 to October 16. In ancient mythology, the Sun’s presence in Virgo marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, thus linking Virgo to the wheat grain (represented by the star Spica). In Greek and Roman mythology, Virgo is related to Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest, or her daughter Persephone, queen of the Underworld.

🌔 (♑︎) Aug 25: waxing gibbous Moon in Capricornus the Sea-Goat

🌕🔴 (♒︎) Aug 27-28: Partial Lunar Eclipse of the Full Moon in Aquarius, from 10:33 to 1:51 EDT; mid-eclipse after midnight at 12:12 EDT. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon is in the Earth's shadow. But this eclipse will be 96% in the umbra; almost total. As a result, not only will the Full Moon be darkened, it will appear dim orange and red as any sunlight not blocked by our planet is filtered and refracted through Earth’s atmosphere on its way to the lunar surface. The resulting Rayleigh scattering removes shorter wavelength colors such as violet and blue from the incoming light. It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon. And unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. This eclipse will be visible from all the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

🌖 ♄ (♓︎) Aug 31: waning gibbous Moon in Pisces the Fish near steady shining Saturn 🪐

Astronomical League

NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY of JULY 2026:
PLANET PLACEMENT, MOON MOTION, METEOR SHOWERS and the SUN SIGNS.

Navigate the night sky of the northern hemisphere and learn about astronomy! TheScienceGiant has easy-to-follow simplified monthly star maps to help Ss .

Available for FREE download at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Navigate-the-Northern-Night-Sky-July-2026-Starmap-16993018

☀️ (♊︎) Jul 06: Happy Apsis Day! Earth reaches aphelion, it’s farthest from the Sun in our oval orbit. The Sun-Earth distance about 152.1 million km, but distance does not determine summertime, since seasons are determined by the angle of sunlight and the length of daylight.

🌗 ♄ (♓︎) Jul 07: the Last Quarter Moon in Pisces the Fish near steady shining Saturn 🪐

🌘 (♈︎) Jul 09: waning crescent Moon in Aries the Ram close to the bright star Hamal

🌘♂ (♉︎) Jul 11: waning crescent Moon appears near Mars and the Pleiades star cluster in Ta**us the Bull.

☀️☿ (♊︎) Jul 13: Mercury attains an inferior conjunction (nearest approach to Earth) in Gemini and is hidden by the Sun’s glare, but now moves to the morning sky.
🌘 (♊︎) Jul 14: waning crescent moon in Gemini is at perigee (closest to Earth) at a distance of 359,112 km.
🌑 (♊︎) Jul 14: New Moon in Gemini the Twins

🌒 (♌︎) Jul 16: waxing crescent Moon less than 1° from bright star Regulus at the bottom of the “Sickle” in Leo the Lion.

🌒 ♀ (♌︎) Jul 17: waxing crescent Moon shines within 2° of brilliant Venus in Leo

🌒 (♍︎) Jul 19: waxing crescent Moon is by bright star Porrima in Virgo the Virgin.
🌒 (♍︎) Jul 20: waxing crescent Moon is near the very bright star Spica (6.25x brighter than Porrima) in Virgo. On July 20, 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time when Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!”
🌓 (♍︎) Jul 21: First Quarter Moon exits Virgo

🌔 (♎︎) Jul 22: the waxing gibbous Moon is near the star Brachium, in Libra the Scales

☀️(♌︎) Jul 23-Aug 22: in tropical astrology of the traditional Western zodiac, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Leo the Lion from July 23 to August 22; in sidereal astrology, from August 16 to September 17. Leo was one of the earliest recognized constellations, with archaeological evidence that the Mesopotamians had a similar constellation as early as 4000 BCE.

🌔 (♏︎) Jul 24: in Scorpius the Scorpion, the waxing gibbous Moon appears less than 1° from reddish star Antares, the “heart” of the scorpion.
🌔 (♏︎) Jul 25: Moon is at apogee (farthest from Earth) at a distance 405,548 km, in Scorpius.
Tonight’s almost Full Moon technically a micro-Moon – the opposite of a super-Moon, when the full Moon is the farthest from Earth. Look for the waning gibbous Moon near the brilliant stinger stars marking the barbed “tail” of Scorpius the Scorpion. Lambda Scorpii (λ Scorpii, or Shaula) is the second brightest object in Scorpius at magnitude 1.62; first is the reddish star Antares, the “heart” of the scorpion.

🌔 (♐︎) Jul 27: waxing gibbous Moon in Sagittarius the Archer.

🌕(♑︎) Jul 29: Full Moon in Capricornus the Sea-Goat

🌖 (♒︎) Jul 31: waning gibbous Moon in Aquarius the Water-Bearer

🌠 (♒︎) Jul 31: Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks. Active from July 12 to August 23. Produces medium speed, faint meteors (about 15 to 20 per hour).

☀️♃ (♋︎) Jul 31: Jupiter in conjunction with the Sun in Cancer the Crab. Jupiter now moves into the morning sky for the rest of the year.

🇺🇸🎆 Happy Independence Day, America! This FRAME Routine helps students consider the importance of the Declaration of Independence and what it meant during the time of the American Revolution. Ss will look at a brief chronology leading up to the approval of the Declaration, and then are asked which rights were wronged with grievances against King George III. Which do you think got dinged: Life? Liberty? Or the Pursuit of Happiness? Or all three?

This product includes both the completed strategic instruction, and the student guide blanked except for vocabulary, scaffolding questions, and graphics already filled in. It includes worksheets and recommended video for review. And it’s in Microsoft Word .doc form so that Ts can customize the discussion to fit the needs of their Ss.
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Resource available here with free preview https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FRAME-Routine-Declaring-Independence-4488914
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NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY of MAY 2026:
PLANET PLACEMENT, MOON MOTION, METEOR SHOWERS and SUN SIGNS.

Navigate the night sky of the northern hemisphere and learn about astronomy! TheScienceGiant has easy-to-follow simplified monthly star maps to help .

Available for FREE download at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Navigate-the-Northern-Night-Sky-May-2026-16188499

🌕 (♎︎) May 1: Full Moon in Libra the Scales. Tonight is Walpurgis Night, which is linked with older May Day festivals in northern Europe, which also involved lighting bonfires at night. For example, the Gaelic festival Beltane marks the beginning of the three summer celebrations. It is traditionally held on midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice at midsummer. Rituals are performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were believed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle walk around or between bonfires and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires could be doused and then relit from the Beltane bonfire. And in Germany tonight, Hexennacht ('Witches' Night') is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the highest of the Harz Mountains with the spectre of the Brocken and await the arrival of Halloween in six months.

🌖 (♏︎) May 3: waning gibbous Moon and the bright reddish star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius the Scorpion, very near at just 0.5° apart.
🌖 (♏︎) May 4: waning gibbous Moon in Scorpius is at apogee (farthest from the Earth) at 405,841 km.

🌠 (♒︎) May 5: Eta Aquarid meteor shower peak. Earth passes through a cloud of dust from the tail of Halley's Comet every year; this year the resulting meteor shower is predicted to produce very fast, bright meteors, around 10-30 per hour before dawn, but a late rising moon interferes. Meteors from this stream radiate from Aquarius the Water Bearer.

🌖 (♐︎) May 6: waning gibbous Moon is Sagittarius the Archer. This should help identify the star parts of the “Teapot” asterism around it: the spout stars to the Moon’s west, the handle to the east, and the lid above. Under dark skies, The Milky Way appears to be pouring from the Teapot's spout, creating a visual effect of a cloud of steam (steamed milk?) rising from the celestial teapot.

🌗 (♑︎) May 9: Last Quarter Moon in Capricornus the Sea-Goat

🌘 (♒︎) May 11: waning crescent Moon in Aquarius the Water-Bearer

🌘 ♂♄ (♓︎) May 14: waning crescent Moon appears midway between Mars and Saturn in Pisces the Fish low in the east at dawn

☀️☿ (♉︎) May 14: Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun in Ta**us. The innermost planet passes into the evening sky by end of May.

🌘 (♈︎) May 15: waning crescent Moon in Aries the Ram

🌑 (♉︎) May 16: New Moon in Ta**us the Bull.
🌒 (♉︎) May 16: waxing crescent Moon in Ta**us is at perigee (closest to Earth) at distance of 358,075 km.

🌒 ♀♃ (♊︎) May 18, 19 & 20: bright Jupiter, brilliant Venus and the waxing crescent Moon are together in a very tight 5° circle close by the bright stars Pollux and Castor in Gemini.

☀️ (♉︎) May 21 – June 21: Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits the sign of Gemini the Twins (In the sidereal zodiac, the Sun will move through Gemini from June 21 to July 20). In classical antiquity, Cancer was the location of the Sun on the northern summer solstice (June 21st). During the first century CE, axial precession shifted it into Gemini. In 1990, the location of the Sun at the solstice moved from Gemini into Ta**us, where it will remain until the 27th century CE and then move into Aries.

🌒 (♋︎) May 21: waxing crescent Moon in Cancer the Crab

🌒 (♌︎) May 22: waxing crescent Moon within 0.5° of bright star Regulus, the “heart” of the Lion.

🌓 (♌︎) May 23: First Quarter Moon in Leo the Lion.

🌔 (♍︎) May 25: waxing gibbous Moon is near the star Porrima in Virgo the Virgin.
🌔 (♍︎) May 26 & 27: waxing gibbous Moon is near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Virgin, just 1.9° away.

🌕 (♏︎) May 31: Full Moon very near the bright reddish star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius the Scorpion very near at just 0.4° apart. A "Blue Moon" is the second Full Moon in a month. You may have heard the expression, “once in a blue moon,” meaning “almost never,” because having 13 full moons in a calendar year — instead of the usual 12 — is rare. The next blue moon will be on New Years Eve, December 31, 2028. Why always on the 31st of the month? Usually, Full moons are separated by 29 days, so most months have only one full moon. But once every 29 months, a second one sneaks in if the first one was on the 1st of a month 31 days long. So it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month, but that “once in a blue moon” happens, on average, once every two and a half years.

🚨Deadline for registration is Friday. April 10, 2026! 📆
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SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
From : We are pleased to announce that the 39th Annual Engineer It! Competition, presented by Kristen and Russ Bissett, will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at the Cox Science Center and Aquarium!

Engineer It! is an annual engineering design competition jointly presented to students in grades 1 - 12 by the Florida Engineering Society & the Cox Science Center and Aquarium. $5,000 in cash and prizes awarded to winners in elementary, middle and high school categories! The award ceremony will be emceed by Nikki Sheaks, meteorologist at WPBF 25 News.

Rules and regulations for this year’s competition can be found here - Engineer It! 2026 Rules. Please pay special attention to the changes in the Thrill It event and to our new competition category Quake It! Stay tuned for updates and full schedule.

​2026 Engineer It! Events

Drop It - Design and build a container that will prevent an uncooked egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 50ft.
Launch It - Design and construct a rocket propelled by “fuel” (12 ounces of water) and compressed air to achieve the maximum flight time possible.
Thrill It - Design and build a marble roller coaster powered by gravity.
Clean It - Design and build a water filter to clean non-toxic soil-contaminated water.
Power It - Design and build a watercraft that is powered by a solar panel. (NOTE: This event has limited participation and slots will be given on a first-come-first-served basis. All those registering who do not receive a spot will be placed on a waiting list. Participants will be required to pick up a materials kit from the Cox Science Center and Aquarium upon registrations. Participants who have not retrieved their materials kit within two weeks of their registration will be removed from the Power It event and their spot given to the next name on the waiting list.)
Quake It - Design and construct the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower capable of withstanding a simulated earthquake.
Entry Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026