How Does the Sunspot Cycle Affect Earth?

Name: Hour: How Does the Sunspot Cycle Affect Earth?  Access the website: http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/home.cfm  In the “Enter Keycode” box, type in ES2605  Answer the following questions. Page 1 1. What did people notice about the appearance of the sun’s surface?

2. Why do sunspots move across the face of the Earth?

3. What do the sunspot regions look like in the x-ray images? How might the activity at these areas affect Earth?

4. What is solar wind?

5. Earth is 150 million kilometers from the sun and the solar wind travels at about 400 km/sec. How long does it take particles from a solar storm to reach Earth? (Hint: Time = distance/speed. To convert from seconds to hours , divide the time in seconds by 3600.)

6. What do you think would happen if Earth’s magnetic field became weaker or disappeared entirely?

7. In the illustration, where do you see weaknesses in Earth’s magnetic shield— places where the magnetic field may allow solar wind particles near the surface?

8. Explain how solar storms can affect the following: a. space travel

b. satellites

c. aurora

d. power lines e. navigation

f. animals

g. pipelines

h. air travel

i. communication systems

9. What is the average time between solar maxima?

10. Predict the year in which you think the next solar maximum will occur.

11. In the table, write the name of the environmental measurement and tell whether you think there is a correlation (connection) between the measurement and the sunspot number. Environmental Measurement Correlation

12. Identify 3 jobs held by people who would need to check the space weather report regularly, and explain why the report is important to each.