Teaching Space Weather

These are the "talking points" that can be used with the slide presentation . Any teacher can make use of this presentation as a beginning to explore the subject of space weather. This SEC web site may be a source of follow-on information, as will as the many links here to other sites.    

§ Indicates follow-on activities for interested students

1. Solar Emission

• 95% of the Sun’s energy reaches us as “sunshine,” that is, light and heat
• Photosynthesis (how plants grow), sunburn, weather are all attributed to this energy
• The last 5% of the energy determines space weather

  Sunburn, solar index, sunscreen all have to do with the first type of emission. The variability of the small portion of the Sun's output listed last is the cause of space weather.

2. The Sun

• At 5 billion years old, our sun is an energy machine
• The sun's energy released in 1 sec, could power the U.S. for 9 million years

  § What kind of a star is our Sun?`How long will it burn?

3. Parts of the Sun

The sun is a gas ball with various temperatures and densities

• Core: millions of degrees
• Surface: thousands of degrees
• Corona: millions of degrees

  While all these temperatures are very hot, they are really different from each other. Consider how big the range of temperature is..  

4. The Surface We See

Photosphere

• “Surface” of the sun
• You couldn’t stand on surface because of low density. In fact the density of the surface is like our atmosphere. Half way in to the core of the Sun the density is finally up to that of water.
• Constantly bubbling
• 6000 K  

5. Faint  Upper Atmosphere

Corona

• Visible during an eclipse
• This outer layer extends millions of miles
• Earth is immersed in this  

6. Between Sun and Earth

• Called "solar-terrestrial environment"  Solar=Sun, Terrestrial=Earth. Everything in between is this environment.We care most about the near-Earth environment, out as far as our satellites orbit.
• Solar wind, blows 1 million miles/hr How many km/hr?
• Shapes Earth’s magnetosphere

  § So "space" isn't empty. What is in it?

7. Earth’s Magnetic Field

• Earth's magnetic field, without solar wind distortion
• Magnetic field lines channel charged particles

  § Rich exploration potential of magnets, filings
  § Electric currents and magnetic fields

8. Sun and Earth are Alike

Each have:

• Equator
• Magnetic field, N and S poles   Sun has much more complex magnetic structure
• Rotation (“day”)    Sun's rate is about 27 Earth days
• Seasons  Analogy is poor, but sense of cycles is good
• Atmospheric Weather   Sun has surface "storms", much gaseous motion

§ Explore what seasons are on Earth (relates to position around Sun) and what they are on the Sun (we don't really know why).
§ The polar orientation on the Sun reverses every 11 years; it reverses on the Earth every 100,000 years or so.
§ The various definitions of a day are interesting for Earth and for the Sun.

9. Solar Activity

• Active and Quiet Sun look quite different
• One Solar Cycle is 11 years long.

§ Plotting a list of monthly or yearly sunspot numbers reveals the solar cycle plot. Easy to get that data on the Web

10. Sunspots!

• Cooler regions 4400 Kelvin compared to the 6000 K. Consider that difference is 1600 K (how much is that?)
• Appear in moments or hours, last hours, days, or weeks
• Disturbed magnetic field, is one cause for solar flares 

11. Sunspots Travel

• Sunspots move across the surface of the sun as the sun rotates
• They change as they age and may produce repeated flares

  § Can use sunspots as "fixed points" on the surface to calculate the rotation rate of the Sun

12. Solar Flare

• This sunspot, 2 Earths wide, produced a bright flare. 100 Earths would fit across the disk of the Sun, which gives an idea of the size of the Sun.

§ Marvelous pictures on the web of the Sun, features in various wavelengths
§ Different wavelengths are looking at different temperatures, therefore different layers
 

13. Prominence

• Magnetic fields give structure to ejecta
• When very disturbed, the ejects breaks and plasma goes shooting out into space.

  §      Movies on the Web of CMEs blasting off the Sun

14. Optical Telescopes

• In white light one can easily see sunspots
• Light is projected onto a sheet so the eye doesn't look directly through the telescope at the sun.
• Telescope like one Galileo might have used

§      Galileo was subjet to political/religious persecution. Why? Science and Religion in conflict.

15. Other Telescopes

• Radio telescopes, satellite imager tell us other information about the Sun

  NOAA's GOES satellite has given us the most information about the space environment over the years, not with images but particle sensors.Ususally this information is plotted in a graph, and that is what we look at, not pictures.

16. Effects: Aurora

• The aurora is directly due to the energy coming from the sun

  Aurora borealis and Aurora australis

  § There are Northern Lights. Are there Southern Lights?
  § When can you see aurora? Check the NOAA SEC site, especially if you are in the north part of the country

17. Effects: Navigation

• Ships at sea  require good navigation signals
• Navigation errors can lead to wasted fuel, groundings, and spilled cargo

  § The result of the Exxon Valdez grounding is an example not of space weather but of navigation (pilot) error.

18. Effects: Radio

• Signals can get lost or absorbed, bounce and miss the receivers
• Communication over the poles at certain frequencies can be completely blacked out

§ Any Hams among your students? There are advantages to a disturbed ionosphere for those wanting to communicate around the world with whomever they can reach.

19. Effects: Electric Power

• Huge transformers can be damaged by geomagnetic storms
• Blackouts can be widespread
  

20. Effects: Pipelines

• Alaska Pipeline This is what the Alaska Pipeline looks like!
• Pipelines can corrode with geomagnetic storms
• Without mitigation, corrosion can cause severe leaks and damage the environment

  § Have there been any such spills? In the U.S.? in the world?

21. Effects: Satellites

• Satellites can be damaged, lost, returned to Earth early
• Satellites sit in the space environment and alert us

  The ACE satellite sits out in front of the magnetopause and can measure all of the solar wind; Sometimes the satellites that are measuring the space environment are damaged by the space environment.

22. Effects: Radiation

• Astronauts in space (EVA, Extra Vehicular Activity)
• All Space Shuttle missions
• SST (the Concorde) flying at high altitude, at high latitude

§ How serious is the radiation hazard on airplanes? Who is most seceptable to the risks?

23. Work in Space

• Dangers of space travel are many. Going to Mars will be a long trip and a space weather will make it hazardous.
• Astronauts working on the Moon

  § Working in space is necessary for space exploration, but will pose some ethical and pratical dilemmas.

24. Effects: Climate

• Is the Sun's variability tied to Earth's climate?
• Controversial correlation with droughts, ice ages, large-scale weather patterns on Earth

  NOAA is doing research on this topic today. Latest research suggests the answer is YES, this small variability of the Sun drives large-scale changes to weather.

25. Summary of Effects

Space Weather effects on:

• Satellites

  What technology is dependent on satellties?

TV feeds, navigation signals, some telephone signals, credit card transactions (for gas stations), weather maps, military surveillance, pager service

• Navigation

  What are the risks of lost navigation signals?

Tankers need to follow great circles to save on fuel costs, so wasted fuel; groundings, and spilled cargo

• Manned Space Flights

  As an astronaut, would you care about this?

NASA cares. Every person has a daily limit and a lifetime limit of exposure. Can astronauts get to Mars without exceeding the limits? And without getting cancer?

• Communication

  How are communications disrupted?

Radio signals bounce differently or not at all when they are expected to, so some places can receive signals during disturbed times. Air Force One has lost all radio contact while flying over the pole.

• Electric Power

How would you know about this disruption?

Electrical blackouts. And these days, as the grids are interconnected more, larger areas will be affected.

 

26. NOAA Space Weather Scales

• Easy way to communicate conditions and forecasts
• Like the hurricane or earthquake scales
• Will be hearing these, seeing them in the news

§ Understanding the scales is an excellent exercise in table reading; and is new and important

27. NOAA Science Ed Poster

• Poster shows effects on different systems
• Also Facts about space weather; Questions to answer; Websites
• What would you like to study about Space Weather? 

  § Lots of good ideas for projects and study

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