This set of physics-based labs uses data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Students create movies using near-real-time data, explore the connection between solar activity and space weather, use different types of data to generate... (View More) and test hypotheses, and collaborate with other students to explore further. Students present their results in a scientifically appropriate manner. (View Less)

In this lab activity, students use simulation results and data available through the NASA Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) to explore the structure of the solar wind, its variation through the heliosphere. Participants will become... (View More) familiar with aspects of the solar wind simulations: variables involved, the shape of the simulation volume, and the accepted methods for displaying those results. It was designed for graduate students doing research, but is also valuable for an undergraduate space science course or as an application in a physics course. The activity is designed for students to work in groups of 3 or 4 sharing a computer and a large work space. The instructors guide includes a discussion of lab goals, a set of concept questions, responses to student guide questions, and some student misconceptions. (View Less)

This is an online Flash-based interactive tool kit that provides access to illustrations, visualizations, videos, and near-real time images of the Sun from a variety of NASA spacecraft missions. Learners can access this information to supplement... (View More) other materials related to the Sun and heliophysics. (View Less)

This is an activity about solar rotation and sunspot motion. Learners will use a sphere or ball to model the Sun and compare the observed lateral motion of sunspots to their line-of-sight motion. This is Activity 1 of the Space Weather Forecast... (View More) curriculum. (View Less)

This is an activity about how the Sun can affect the Earth's atmosphere, specifically the ionosphere. Learners will use real data from a Sudden Ionosphere Disturbance Monitor, or SID Monitor, to identify the signatures in the graphed data that can... (View More) be used to determine the times of sunrise and sunset. Although the SID monitors are designed to detect SIDs caused by solar flares, they also detect the normal influence of solar X-rays and UV light during the day as well as cosmic rays at nighttime. There is a distinct shape to a 24-hour SID data graph, with unique shapes, or signatures, of the graph appearing at sunrise and sunset.This activity is part of the Research with Space Weather Monitor Data educators guide. Use of and access to a Stanford Solar Center SID monitor and the internet is encouraged but not required. Locations without a SID monitor can use sample data provided in the educators guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about the Kp index, a quantification of fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field due to the relative strength of a magnetic storm. Learners will take a reading from a magnetometer site and make a Kp index estimate to predict... (View More) whether or not an aurora display will occur near that site. This resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access. This is activity 18 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth’s Magnetic Personality. (View Less)

This is an activity about the properties and characteristics of Earth’s magnetic field as shown through magnetometer data and its 3D vector nature. This resource builds understanding of conceptual tools such as the addition of vectors and... (View More) interpreting contour maps displaying magnetic signature data. Learners will make several paper 3D vector addition models, watch podcasts on how to analyze magnetometer data, and employ 3D vector plots to create a model of the 3D magnetic field in the location of the magnetometer closest to their town. This is a multi-step activity with corresponding worksheets for each step. The activity uses data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) GEONS magnetometer, and requires the use of a computer with internet access and speakers, 2-inch polystyrene balls and bamboo skewers. This is activity 16 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)

This is an activity about vectors and velocity. It outlines the addition and subtraction of vectors, and introduces the application of trigonometry to describing vectors. The resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History... (View More) of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. Learners will complete worksheets consisting of problem sets that allow them to work with vector data in magnetic fields. This is activity 15 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)

This is an activity about auroras and the scientific terminology used to describe them. Learners will read an article that provides an introduction to specific terms and concepts related to auroras and auroral substorms and examine photographs of a... (View More) 2003 aurora and descriptions of an 1859 aurora to identify the various phases of auroral substorms. This is activity 11 from Exploring Magnetism: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora. (View Less)

This is an activity about changes in the Earth's magnetic field during magnetic storms. Learners will construct a soda bottle magnetometer, collect data, and analyze the results to detect magnetic storm events. The operation of the student-created... (View More) instrument can be directly related to THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) display measurements. In this activity, learners should ideally collect data over the course of an entire month. This is activity 17 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)