Educational Product National Aeronautics and Educators Grades Space Administration & Students 5-8 EG-2000-03-002-GSFC 6RODU#6WRUPV#DQG#<RX$ Exploring Sunspots and Solar Activity Cycles An Educator Guide with Activities in Space Science NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 1 Solar Storms and You! is available in electronic for- mat through NASA Spacelink - one of the Agency’s electronic resources specifically developed for use by the educational community. The system may be accessed at the following address: http://spacelink.nasa.gov NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration EG-2000-03-002-GSFC 6RODU#6WRUPV#DQG#<RX$ Exploring Sunspots and Solar Activity Cycles An Educator Guide with Activities in Space Science This publication is in the public domain and is not protected by copyright. Permission is not required for duplication. NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 3 Acknowledgments Dr. James Burch, IMAGE Principal Investigator, Southwest Research Institute Dr. William Taylor IMAGE Education and Public Outreach Director, Raytheon ITSS and the NASA ,Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Sten Odenwald IMAGE Education and Public Outreach Manager, Raytheon ITSS and the NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center Ms. Susan Higley Cherry Hill Middle School, Elkton, Maryland This resource was developed by the NASA Imager for Teacher Consultants: Magnetosphere-to-Auroral Global Exploration (IMAGE) Dr. Farzad Mahootian , Gonzaga High School, Washington, D.C. Information about the IMAGE mission is available at: Mr. Bill Pine Chaffey High School, Ontario, California http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov http://pluto.space.swri.edu/IMAGE Mr. Tom Smith Briggs Chaney Middle School, Silver Spring, Maryland Resources for teachers and students are available at: Cherry Hill Middle School student volunteers: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry Michael Coogan Brea McCauley Lindsay Costa Noelle McKinney Jordan Kough Tracey McPherson Trevor Kough Heather Mullins Alison Lacey Kusha Thachik Amy Marcheski Justin Thomas Charlie Ward Cover artwork: National Aeronautics and Ms. Carol Hall Space Administration Ligonier Elementary School Goddard Space Flight Center Ligonier, Indiana NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 4 CONTENTS About Solar Storms and You! ............................................................ i Science Process Skills Matrix ............................................................ ii Science and Mathematics Standards .................................................. iii Solar Activity Cycles ......................................................................... 9 Lesson 1: The Sunspot Cycle ................................................ 10 Lesson 2: Sunspot Activity and Ocean Temperature.............. 15 Lesson 3: Sunspot Activity on Other Stars............................. 17 Background Essay, “What is Solar Activity?” ................................... 19 Glossary............................................................................................... 22 Resources............................................................................................ 23 The Sun, our nearest star, is a powerful, seathing furnace that produces light and heat. For thousands of years, naked-eye ovservers have seen dark spots slowly cross the disk of the Sun. Today, with more powerful instru- ments, astronomers can zoom-in to see aston- ishing details in these ‘sunspots’. The image on the left is a closeup view of a sunspot that is about twice the diameter of Planet Earth! NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 5 I N T R A gas pipeline in Russia explodes killing hundreds of people. O D A satellite mysteriously falls silent U interrupting TV and cellular phone traffic. C A power blackout T throws millions of people into darkness. I O N These are only a few of the In this activity book, your students many things that solar storms can do will study five key stages in the lifecycle when they arrive at the earth of a solar storm, from its emergence on unexpected. In an age where we the solar surface to its impact upon have increasingly come to rely upon some aspect of our lives. The book may the smooth operation of our be used in its entirety to study solar technology, we have also made activity and how it directly affects us, or ourselves vulnerable to the ebb and you may use individual activities of your flow of the solar storm cycle. Most choice as stand-alone mini lessons as people are not even aware of these an enrichment for math and physical cycles, but long ago we used to be! science courses. Ancient Chinese sun observers The student activities emphasize knew that, from time to time, dark basic cognitive skills and higher-order spots would glide slowly across the processes such as plotting data, face of the setting sun. Once seen searching for patterns and correlations, only as portends of political and interpreting the results. By the end upheaval, we now see them as of the activity series, students will natural phenomena that can understand why we need to pay more forewarn us of impending storms that attention to solar storms. can have dire consequences for us if we ignore them. Visit the updated version of this workbook at: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/workbook/workbook.html NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 6 Science Process Skills for Solar Storms and You! This chart is designed to assist teachers in integrating the activities contained in the guide with existing curricula. Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 “The Sunspot “The Sunspot “Sunspot Cycle” Activity and Activity on Ocean Other Stars” Temperature” Observing Classifying Communicating Measuring Inferring Predicting Experimental Design Gathering Data Organizing Data Controlling Variables Developing a Hypothesis Extending Senses Researching Team Work Mathematics Interdisciplinary Introductory Activity Advanced Activity NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 7 Science and Mathematics Standards for Solar Storms and You! This chart is designed to assist teachers in integrating the activities contained in the guide with existing curicula. Lesson Lesson Lesson 1 2 3 “The Sunspot “The Sunspot “Sunspot Cycle” Activity and Activity on Ocean Other Stars” Temperature” Science as Inquiry Structure and Energy of the Earth System Origin and History of the Earth Earth in the Solar System Geochemical Cycles Physical Science Populations and Ecosystems Understanding about Science and Technol- ogy Science in Personal and Social Perspectives History and Nature of Science Problem Solving Measurement Computation and Estimation Communication Geometry and Advanced Mathematics Statistics and Probability Number and Number Relationships Patterns and Functions NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 8 Solar Activity Cycles Year The Sun, our nearest star, provides us with Solar activity is a complex process that warmth and light. But as long ago as 2000 seems to be driven by the fact that, just below BC, Chinese observers noted that black spots the surface, the sun’s gases convectlike mush occasionally appeared, and that over the boiling in a pot. The upwelling gases tangle- course of a week, they drifted across the disk up and amplify the pervasive magnetic field of the setting sun. Sunspots are the most of the sun and force it up through the surface. well known hints that the Sun's surface is These concentrated regions of magnetic field constantly changing. Larger than the Earth, cause the gases within them to be thousands and with 10,000 times more intensity than of degrees cooler than the rest of the solar the Earth's magnetic field, these are the surface, which makes them glow with far less breeding grounds for some of the most light by comparison, so that they only look violent storms in the solar system! black by comparison. If you were to put a single sunspot in the night sky, it would glow The number of sunspots comes in cycles orange and be brighter than the full moon! lasting from 6 to 17 years; the Sunspot Cycle With modern technology and space During the last 20 years, astronomers have satellites, this solar activity cycle can now be studied many other stars like our sun, and detected in the ebb and flow of other have discovered that some of these have phenomena on the Sun and on the Earth. activity cycles similar to our sun’s sunspot Everything from ocean temperature to coral cycle. They can vary from cycles as short as reef growth has been found to correlate with 5 years to as long as 30. Many stars also have this cycle. In most cases the exact reason for irregular cycles that seem to come and go. the correlation is poorly understood by Even the sun went through a phase in the scientists. 1600s when there was no sunspot cycle at all for nearly 50 years! NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC Lesson 1 - The Sunspot Cycle 9 Teacher’s Guide The Sunspot Cycle The student will create a list and construct a graph of the number of Objective sunspots using both technology and paper. The student will explore patterns in the data and locate the maximum and minimum. — Graph paper Optional: — Ruler —Teacher notes on the Materials — Colored pencils graphing calculator. —Sunspot data table —Graphing calculator. TI-83 used in the examples Procedure What is a sunspot? A sunspot is a region on the sun that can be seen as a small dark 1) Divide the students into groups 3) Students will then construct the spot through a telescope. Since and assign a time period from the graph of the table on graph paper. their discovery by Galileo in data table that each group will Some possible options here are to 1609, astronomers have learned graph. Some possible lengths are have students each construct the that they are regions, about the the 1900s, 1800s; every 50 years; graph, have each group use their size of the Earth, where a column of the table (be aware assigned data and put the results of powerful magnetic fields are that assigning less than 50 data the class as a whole on the wall, or concentrated.