The Sun, at the center of our Solar System, is often depicted as a huge, homogenous, yellow ball. Is this really the case? SOHO at NASA is responsible for studying our Sun, and provides for public, non-profit use of images and data collected. In this exercise the student will learn about some of the various images generated by the “SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and The EIT Consortium,” investigate the nature of the Sun, discover the relationship between various solar images, and learn why it is important for our modern society to observe and try to understand the Sun.
The student should review the composition of the Sun, its gravitational field, the source of the energy it provides, and other aspects by going to http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ and from the menu bar click on Classroom.
Several Other very useful resources are listed at the end of this handout.
Recall that the Sun is composed of plasma, a very hot, electrically charged material composed of the sub-atomic particles that make up atoms. The energy radiated by the sun is produced primarily within the interior of the Sun through fusion. The energy moves from the interior of the Sun to the outside through convection currents. As the plasma moves, the moving charges cause magnetic fields of tremendous power. Magnetograms image the magnetic fields of the Sun.
Is the Sun just a giant yellow ball? What shape or direction do the magnetic fields have? What affect do they have on the Sun? Why do we care about what happens on the Sun?
Procedure:
- Go to the SOHO website, look at, learn about, and print a recent Solar
Magnetogram. To do this:
- Find out more about these images. Start by accessing the link About these images under the page title. Then browse around that web site for more explanations. The student will find it very useful to look at and read http://solar-center.stanford.edu/about/ “Space Weather” and “Images of Today's Sun” by the Stanford Solar Observatories Group.
- Print a Solar Magnetogram.
Go Back to the web page “The very latest SOHO images,” find a magnetogram and print it. Note the date and time that the image was taken.
- Answer questions 1 and 2 on the Worksheet.
- Now also print at least one image of the Sun in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, taken at the same time as the magnetogram. Be certain to note specifically the wavelength and part of the electromagnetic spectrum being imaged, as well as the date and time of the image. (Notice that the MDI pictures labeled “Continuum” are visible light images.) Be certain that your images are the same size.
- Compare the two (or more images) by laying them atop one another, so they are aligned.
You should be able to look through the pages and see both images superimposed. Hold them up to the light if necessary. Note any similarities or differences. Be certain that your images are the same size.
- Answer questions 3 - 5 on the Worksheet.
Worksheet: Printable Word Document
Referenced URLs:
Additional resources are available at these sites:
Worksheet - Magnetic Fields and the Sun:
Worksheet: Printable Word Document
Name:________________________ Course:_____ Ref. Number:___
- Look at a solar magnetogram. What does a magnetogram show? What do the magnetogram colors represent?
- Hypothesize about the effect the Sun’s magnetic field has on the Sun.
- After comparing the magnetogram to the visible spectrum image, record any similarities or differences.
- Describe the meaning and impact of the similarities.
- Why do we care what happens on the Sun? (What affect could this have on our society?)
Attach your magnetogram and other image(s) behind this page, and turn in this exercise before you leave.
Student Directions: Lab Write Up Version
So It’s The Sun,
Who Cares?
By Michael Dorneman
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Mercer County Community College
Trenton, NJ |
|
The Sun, at the center of our Solar System, is often depicted as a huge, homogenous, yellow ball. Is this really the case? SOHO at NASA is responsible for studying our Sun, and provides for public, non-profit use of images and data collected. In this exercise the student will learn about some of the various images generated by the “SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and The EIT Consortium,” investigate the nature of the Sun, discover the relationship between various solar images, and learn why it is important for our modern society to observe and try to understand the Sun.
Review the composition of the Sun, its gravitational field, the source of the energy it provides, and other aspects by going to http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ and from the menu bar click on Classroom.
Recall that the Sun is composed of plasma, a very hot, electrically charged material composed of the sub-atomic particles that make up atoms. The energy radiated by the sun is produced primarily within the interior of the Sun through fusion. The energy moves from the interior of the Sun to the outside through convection currents. As the plasma moves, the moving charges cause magnetic fields of tremendous power. Magnetograms image the magnetic fields of the Sun.
Is the Sun just a giant yellow ball? What shape or direction do the magnetic fields have? What affect do they have on the Sun? Why do we care about what happens on the Sun?
Procedure:
Go to the SOHO website, look at, learn about, and print a recent Solar Magnetogram. To do this:
Find out more about the images. Start by accessing the link About these images under the title. Then browse around the web site for more explanations. The student will find it very useful to look at and read http://solar-center.stanford.edu/about/ by the Stanford Solar Observatories Group. (Notice that the MDI pictures labeled “Continuum” are visible light images.)
- Print a recent solar magnetogram.
Note the date and time that the image was taken.
- Print at least one image of the Sun in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum that was taken at the same time as the magnetogram. Be certain to note specifically the wavelength and part of the electromagnetic spectrum being imaged, as well as the date and time of the image. Be certain that the images are the same size.
- Compare the two (or more images) by laying them atop one another, so they are aligned, and look through the page to see both images superimposed. You may need to hold them up to the light. Be certain that the images are the same size. Note any similarities or differences.
Write a two page laboratory report (if typed, one page, use 12 point font and use 1.5 line spacing) in the form described earlier in the semester. Your Purpose or Hypothesis must be about the effect of the Sun’s magnetic field. Be certain that you answer the questions posed in the Introduction, as part of your Results or Conclusions. Those questions were:
Is the Sun just a giant yellow ball? What shape or direction do are the magnetic fields of the Sun? What effect do these magnetic fields have on the Sun? Why do we care about what happens on the Sun?
Laboratory Write-Up – Review
- First Line – Title, Your Name, Your Class, Your Lab Ref. Number
- Purpose or Hypothesis
- Theory or Introduction
- Procedure – What you did. Include a listing of all websites visited and a listing of printed images and those images properties (instrument, wavelengths, dates, and other information).
- Observations or Data – For this assignment, this would be the printed images, appropriately labeled.
- Results – For this experiment, note any similarities and differences, and then briefly discuss your images in light of your hypothesis, the meaning of your magnetogram, and the other image(s) of the Sun that you printed.
- Conclusions – Discuss the original purpose or hypothesis with respect to experimental data and results. Was the hypothesis verified or not? What relations exist? Why do we care about what happens on the Sun? What do the SOHO observations and your results have to do with society as we know it?
Referenced URLs:
Additional resources are available at these sites:
