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The Sun

General

The Last Total Solar Eclipse - Ever! [PDF] - Grade level: 7-10
Students explore the geometry required for a total solar eclipse and estimate how many years into the future the last total solar eclipse will occur as the moon slowly recedes from Earth by 3 centimeters/year.
[Skills: Simple linear equations]

STEREO - An Application of the Parallax Effect [PDF] - Grade level: 8-10
The STEREO mission views the sun from two different locations in space. By combining these data, the parallax effect can be used to determine how far above the solar surface various active regions are located. Students use the Pythagorean Theorem, a bit of geometry, and some actual STEREO data to estimate the height of Active Region AR-978.
[Skills: Pythagorean Theorem, square-root, solving for variables]

A Mathematical Model of the Sun [PDF] - Grade level: 8-10
Students will use the formula for a sphere and a shell to calculate the mass of the sun for various choices of its density. The goal is to reproduce the measured mass and radius of the sun by a careful selection of its density in a core region and a shell region. Students will manipulate the values for density and shell size to achieve the correct total mass. This can be done by hand, or by programming an Excel spreadsheet.
[Skills: scientific notation, volume of a sphere and a spherical shell, density, mass, and volume]

The Heliopause...a question of balance [PDF] - Grade level: 8-10
Students will learn about the concept of pressure equilibrium by studying a simple mathematical model for the sun's heliopause located beyond the orbit of Pluto. They will calculate the distance to the heliopause by solving for 'R' and then using an Excel spreadsheet to examine how changes in solar wind density, speed and interstellar gas density relate to the values for R.
[Skills: Formulas with two variables, scientific notation, spreadsheet programming]

How fast does the sun spin?[PDF] - Grade level: 5-9 Students will use two x-ray images of the sun taken by the Hinode satellite to determine how fast the sun rotates.
[Skills:calculating map scales, time calculations, unit conversion]

How fast does the sun rotate?[PDF] - Grade level: 6-9 Students will analyze consecutive images taken by the Hinode satellite to determine the sun's speed of rotation, and the approximate length of its 'day'.
[Skills: image scales, time calculations, speed calculations, unit conversions]

The Hinode Satellite Views the Sun [PDF] - Grade level: 6-8 Students will use a full-sun image from the new Hinode satellite to sketch the locations of magnetic fields on the sun's surface using information in the introductory article as a guide.
[Skills:image interpretation, eye-hand coordination, reading to be informed]

Monster Functions in Space Science I. [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 This problem has students employ a pair of complicated algebraic equations to evaluate the strength of the sun's magnetic field near Earth's orbit. The equations are a model of the sun's magnetic field in space based on actual research by a solar physicist. This introduces students to a real-world application of mathematical modeling, and extracting predictions from theoretical models that can be tested. Students are provided the values for the relevant variables, and through substitution, calculate the numerical values for two 'vector' components of the sun's magnetic field near Earth's orbit.
[Skills: decimals, scientific notation, significant figures]

Sunspots

Monster Sunspots![PDF] - Grade level: 5-9 Some sunspots are so big that they can be seen from Earth without a telescope. In this problem, students will use images of three super-spots and calculate their sizes from the image scaling information. They will then order the images from the smallest super-spot to the largest super-spot.
[Skills:multiplication, calculating length from image scale]

Loopy Sunspots![PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will analyze data from the Hinode satellite to determine the volume and mass of a magnetic loop above a sunspot. From the calculated volume, based on the formula for the volume of a cylinder, they will use the density of the plasma determined by the Hinode satellite to determine the mass in tons of the magnetically trapped material.
[Skills:image scales, cylinder volume calculation, scientific notation, unit conversions]

The Sunspot CYcle - endings and beginnings [PDF] - Grade level: 6-9 Students will examine a plot of the sunspot cycle and extract information from the plotted data about the previous sunspot cycle, and make predictions about the next one about to start in 2007.
[Skills:graph reading, extrapolation, time calculations]

Hinode - Closeup of a Sunspot [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will determine the sizes of sunspots and solar granulation cells from a recent image taken by the Hinode solar observatory.
[Skills:image scales, metric units, unit conversion]

Moving Magnetic Filaments Near Sunspots[PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will use two images from the new, Hinode (Solar-B) solar observatory to calculate the speed of magnetic filaments near a sunspot. The images show the locations of magnetic features at two different times. Students calculate the image scales in kilometers/mm and determine the time difference to estimate the speeds of the selected features.
[Skills: scaling, estimation, speed calculations, time arithmetic ]

Sunspots Close-up and Personal [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will analyze a picture of a sunspot to learn more about its size, and examine the sizes of various other features on the surface of the sun that astronomers study.

Solar Activity and Tree Rings - What's the connection? [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Trees require sunlight to grow, and we know that solar activity varies with the sunspot cycle. Can an average tree sense solar activity cycles and change the way it grows from year to year? This activity uses a single tree to compare its growth rings to the sunspot cycle. This is also an interesting suggestion for science fair projects! Here is the accompanying Excel Spreadsheet Data File.

Super-sized Sunspots and the Solar Cycle. [PDF] Students compare the dates of the largest sunspots since 1900 with the year of the peak sunspot cycle. They check to see if superspots are more common after sunspot maximum or before. They also compare superspot sizes with the area of earth.

Solar Flares and Sunspot Sizes [PDF] Students compare sunspot sizes to the frequency of solar flares and discover that there is no hard and fast rule that relates sunspot size to its ability to produce very large flares.

Observing the Sun's rotation [PDF] Students use a Sunspotter to track sunspots during the week of November 7, 2004, and calculate the rotation period of the sun.

Solar Storms

CME Kinetic Energy and Mass [PDF] - Grade level: 8-10 Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are giant clouds of plasma released by the sun at millions of kilometers per hour. In this activity, students calculate the kinetic energy and mass of several CMEs to determine typical mass ranges and speeds. Students will use the formula for kinetic energy to fill-in the missing entries in a table. They will then use the completed table to answer some basic questions about CMEs.
[Skills: time calculation, Evaluating a simple equation, solving for variables]

Hinode Sees Mysterious Solar Micro-Flares![PDF] - Grade level: 6-9 Students will analyze an image taken by the Hinode solar satellite to determine the scale of the image in kilometers per millimeter, then use this to determine the sizes of solar micro-flares. From the number of micro-flares that they count in the image, the area of the image in square kilometers, and the surface area of a spherical sun, they will calculate the total number of micro-flares on the solar surface.
[Skills:image scales, area calculation, unit conversions]

Super-Fast Solar Flares!![PDF] - Grade level: 6-9 Students will analyze consecutive images taken of an erupting solar flare, and use the information provided to calculate the speed of the flare.
[Skills:image scales, time calculations, speed calculations]

Solar Flare Reconstruction [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will use data from a solar flare to reconstruct its maximum emission using graphical estimation (pre-algebra), power-law function fitting (Algebra 2), and will determine the area under the profile (Calculus).
[Skills:plotting tabular date, fitting functions, integration]

Solar Storms: Odds, Fractions and Percentages [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will use actual data on solar storms to learn about the different kinds of storms and how common they are. This is a basic science activity that professionals do in order to look for relationships between different kinds of events that might lead to clues about what causes them. Can your students come up with something new that noone has thought about before? The Venn Diagramming activity is a key element of the activity and is reasonably challenging!
[Skills: Averaging, fractions, percentages, odds, Arithmetic Operations, Venn Diagrams]

Do Fast CMEs Produce SPEs? [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Recent data on solar proton storms (SPEs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are compared using Venn Diagrams to see if the speed of a CME makes solar proton storms more likely or not.
[Skills: Venn Diagrams, counting, calculating percentages and odds]

The Solar Tsunami! [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Recent data from the Hinode satellite is used to measure the speed of a solar explosion on the surface of the sun using a series of images taken by the satellite at three different times. Students calculate the speed of the blast between the first pair and last pair of images, and determine if the blast wave was accelerating or decellerating in time.
[Skills: Finding image scale, calculating time differences, calculating speed from distance and time]

The Pressure of a Solar Storm[PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will examine three mathematical models for determining how much pressure a solar storm produces as it affects Earth's magnetic field. They will learn that magnetism produces pressure, and that this accounts for many of the details seen in solar storms.
[Skills: Substituting numbers into equations, filling out missing table entries, data interpretation, mathematical models ]

Data Corruption by High Energy Particles[PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 Students will see how solar flares can corrupt satellite data, and create a timeline for a spectacular episode of data loss recorded by the SOHO satellite using images obtained by the satellite. Students will also calculate the speed of the event as particles are ejected from the sun and streak towards earth.
[Skills: Time and speed calculations, interpreting scientific data ]

Parametric Functions and Substitution [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 The relationship between the strength of a solar storm and the resulting magnetic disturbance on Earth is given as a series of equations. Students are asked to create new formulae based on these parametric equations using the method of substitution.
[Skills: Algebraic manipulation, integer exponents, scientific notation, significant figures and rounding ]

Solar Activity and Satellite Mathematics [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11 When solar storms cause satellite problems, they can also cause satellites to lose money. The biggest source of revenue from communications satellites comes from transponders that relay television programs, ATM transactions and many other vital forms of information. They are rented to many different customers and can cost nearly $2 million a year for each transponder. This activity examines what happens to a single satellite when space weather turns bad!

An Interplanetary Shock Wave [PDF] - Grade level: 6-10 On November 8, 2000 the sun released a coronal mass ejection that traveled to Earth, and its effects were detected on Jupiter and Saturn several weeks later. In this problem, students will use data from this storm to track its speed and acceleration as it traveled across the solar system.

Solar Storm Timeline [PDF] Grade level: 7-9 How long does a solar storm last? How fast does it travel? Students will examine an event timeline for a space weather event and use time addition and subtraction skills to calculate storm durations and speeds.

Airline Travel and Space Weather [PDF] Students will read an excerpt from the space weather book 'The 23rd Cycle' by Dr. Sten Odenwald, and answer questions about airline travel during solar storms. They will learn about the natural background radiation they are exposed to every day, and compare this to radiation dosages during jet travel.