Module 2 – The Sun
Lesson 1: Solar Prominences and Sunspots
Overview
The first lesson on the Sun starts with the qualitative comparisons that the students practiced in Module
1. Here we compare the size of the Sun to the Earth, locatethe Sun’s sunspots, and determine a rotation
period for the Sun. We also investigate solar prominences and compare them to the size of the Earth.
Students will refine their measurements using Earth-scaled beads on a string as a ruler.
Learning Objectives
•
Qualitatively compare the Earth and Sun in size.
•
Explain what a solar prominence is and quantitatively compare the size of the Earth to the size of a
solar prominence.
•
Describe how solar magnetic fields and coronal loops are produced.
•
Describe what a sunspot is.
•
Given a sunspot shown at different times, calculate the Sun's rotational period at that solar latitude
and compare it to the value given in the text, pg. 35 of "TS".
Materials needed
• Touch the Sun (TS) book by Noreen Grice
• Different size balls, from 1mm to 300 mm
• 3 mm "Earth beads"
• Cafeteria trays or aluminum bins to keep all beads and small materials.
• 12 inch diameter Styrofoam Sun ball with attached sunspots (washers, beads, or indentations).
• Flexible wire loops to attach to the sunspots on the Sun balls.
• Earth measurement ruler: 3 mm Earth beads attached to a stiff wire.
The "Sun" is represented by a 12-inch Styrofoam ball mounted on a regular cold-drink cup so that
students can tell which way is "up." The sunspots are represented by circles cut out of magnetic sheets
and glued onto the foam. By using paper clips or other wire, students can tell the magnetic characteristics
of the "sunspots." The looping wire from two of the sunspots represents a large prominence. If a smaller
foam ball is used for the Sun, then the Earth measuring beads should be proportionally smaller as well to
maintain the correct relative measurements.
Figure 2.1.1. A 12-inch Styrofoam ball is converted into our sun
with sunspots and prominences. The solar equator and poles are
marked but not visible here.
4/10/12
Module-2_.pages
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Pre-assessment Questions and Discussion
Q. Which is the closest star to Earth?
A. The Sun
Q. What makes our star, the Sun, special and important to life on Earth?
dependent on the Sun for energy, warmth; plants use sunlight to grow.
Q. How long does it take light to leave the Sun to reach Earth?
A. Almost all life is
A. About 8 minutes.
A. How long does the light take to leave other stars to reach Earth?
A. A long time! The light from
the closest star to the Sun takes over 4 years to reach us (closest star is the binary system Alpha Centauri
AB, 4.37 light years away)
Text
Students read pages 3-5, 15-29, and 31 - 41 of "TS," broken up into segments. See follow-up questions
for assessing learning and guiding discussions.
A. Earth and Sun Size Comparison: pp. 3-5. Tactile picture on pg. 5 gives the comparison with a line-up
of Earth's across the Sun's equator.
1.How different are the sizes of the Earth and the Sun?
2.Were you surprised at what you found?
B. Comparison of a prominence and our Earth: pp. 19 - 21. Tactile picture on pg. 21 demonstrates a
comparison of the size of a typical solar prominence with the size of our Earth.
1.What is a solar prominence? How is it created?
2.How does the size of the Earth compare to the size of a solar prominence? Were you surprised at
this?
C. The Sun with Magnetic Field Lines and The Sun as Seen by the TRACE Satellite: pp. 23 - 29. Tactile
picture on pg. 25 shows how the Sun would look if we could "see" magnetic field lines. Tactile
picture on pg. 29 shows coronal loops as seen by NASA's TRACE solar telescope.
1.What produces the solar magnetic fields?
2.How are coronal loops produced?
D. The Sun with Sunspots: pp. 31 - 33. Tactile picture on pg. 33 shows an image of the Sun with
sunspots.
1.Describe what a sunspot is, including its temperature, how it is formed, what it looks like.
2.Sunspots in Motion Over Time: pp. 35 - 37. Tactile picture on pg. 37 shows sunspot motion over
time.
3.Comment on what you discovered about the Sun's rotational period.
E. Size Comparison of Earth and a Sunspot: pp. 39 - 41. Tactile picture on pg. 41 gives comparison of
Earth size to size of a sunspot.
1.Quantitatively compare the size of the Earth to the size of other solar features.
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Follow up Questions on Reading
Included with sectional reading above.
Reinforcement Activities
Exploration and Measurement:
Students locate the sunspots on the Styrofoam sun by touch and by using a paper clip to detect them. If
properly placed, some students may discover their distribution both above and below the Sun's equator.
Using the sun ball, students attach flexible wire loops to sunspots on the surface to create solar
prominences and coronal loops.
Students are given an Earth measurement ruler consisting of 3 mm "Earth beads" (each bead representing
an increment of Earth diameter) attached to a stiff wire. This ruler measures the sizes of various solar
features in terms of the Earth's diameter.
Group discussions should follow each part of the lesson. Suggested topics include the detection of the
sunspots, ease in building the solar prominences, expression of the sizes of solar prominences, and
overall impressions of the activity of the Sun.
Summary and Post-Assessment
Discuss with students what they learned.
Have them list at least 3 things they didn't know before doing this study.
Were any of them surprised by the sizes of the sunspots, the prominences, or even the Sun itself?
Relevant Information and Links
•
Hear the Sun Sing http://solar-center.stanford.edu/singing/
•
The Sound of Sunspot 1057
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http://vimeo.com/10552420
Lesson 2: Interior Layers of the Sun, Coronal Mass Ejections, and the Solar
Wind
Overview
This lesson expands upon the material in Touch the Sun by letting the students view 3-D models of the
images they might find confusing about the book's tactile figures. The processes occuring in the various
zones of the Sun and how radiation gets through each layer is emphasized through questions and
discussions. The Earth-Sun connection is briefly covered.
Learning Objectives
•
Given a tactile picture showing the layers of the Sun and/or a Sun ball with the layers cut out and
marked, name each layer.
•
Describe what is going on in each layer and how radiation (the energy or heat) gets through each
layer.
•
Distinguish between coronal mass ejections and the solar wind.
•
Describe how solar activity changes with time.
•
State how the Earth's magnetic field protects us.
•
Identify an interesting fact about the Sun.
Materials
• 'Touch the Sun' (TS) book
• 12-inch or smaller diameter Styrofoam or purchased sun ball with interior layers indentified using
tactile patterns
Figure 2.2.1. Model cross section of the Sun with tactile materials
glued on one interior surface to represent the various regions.
Model was purchased from Science First. Diameter is about 6
inches.
Figure 2.2.2. An 8-inch Styrofoam sun carved using a hot
Styrofoam cutting tool. This model clearly shows the size of the
core and translates the corresponding figure in the TS book into
3-D.
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Pre-assessment Questions & Discussion
Q. What do you think the sun is made of?
A. Gas, primarily hydrogen, helium, other elements.
Q. Describe what the inside of the Sun must be like. What is going on in there?
don't know....
A. Very hot, fusion,
Q. Atmospheric and solar scientists often talk about the "solar wind." What do you think they
mean?
A. Some students may know; goal is to introduce the concept of charged particles
blowing past the Earth.
A. There is a saying that states, "When the Sun sneezes, the Earth catches a cold." What do you think that
means?
A. We feel the effect of any change in the Sun, especially when it releases energetic
charged particles in the direction of Earth.
Text
Students read pages 11 - 13, 43 - 49, and 59 - 65 of "TS," broken into segments. See follow-up questions
for assessing learning and guiding discussions.
A. The Interior Layers of the Sun: pp. 11 - 13. Tactile picture on pg. 13 shows convective zone,
radiative zone, and core.
1. List the names of the interior layers of the Sun from the very center to the surface.
2. What is going on in each of the layers?
3. How does the radiation get through each layer?
B. Coronal Mass Ejection and Solar Activity over Time: pp 43 - 49. Tactile picture on pg. 45 shows
patterns of coronal mass ejections. Tactile picture on pg. 49 shows changes in solar activity over
time.
4. What are coronal mass ejections?
5. How is the solar wind different from coronal mass ejections?
C. The Sun During a Solar Storm and Space Weather: pp. 59-65. Tactile picture on pg. 61 shows the
Sun during an active solar storm. Tactile picture on pg. 65 shows solar wind, coronal mass ejections,
and the shape of the magnetic field of the Earth.
6. What role does the Earth's magnetic field play in protecting us from harmful effects of the
Sun's activity?
Follow up Questions on the Reading
Included in the above section.
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Reinforcing Activities
Exploration:
Students explore a sun ball that has a wedge cut out or the purchased one and its layers or zones and core
marked with tactile patterns similar to those on pg. 13 of TS. As the viewing is occurring, ask the
following:
1. How does the size of the core compare to the rest of the Sun?
2. Fusion occurs only in the core. Why do you think this is?
3. Why does the interior of the Sun have to be so hot, 17,000,000 Kelvin?
4. What zone of the Sun lies just outside the core? How does its size compare to that of the core and the
layer just above it?
5. What would you have to do to imitate the "random walk" of a photon as it gets through the radiative
zone?
6. What zone lies just above the radiative one?
7. We can think of this zone as "boiling" like crazy in order to transport heat out to the surface of the
Sun. What familiar analogy can you think of?
8. We call the surface of the Sun the photosphere. Is it really a surface as we would define the term?
Summary and Post-Assessment
There is a saying that states, "When the Sun sneezes, the Earth catches a cold." How has the meaning of
that sentenced changed for you due to what you learned here?
What role does the Earth's magnetic field play, then, in preventing the Earth's getting sick?
What solar fact or facts did you find particularly interesting?
Teacher plays audio files of sounds of the Sun, Aurora, and the Earth's magnetic field for students to
listen to.
Relevant Information and Links
•
Sounds of the Earth -- http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/inspire.html
•
Earth's magnetic field -- http://gallery.usgs.gov/audio/corefacts/corefacts_03042009.mp3
•
Geomagnetism … Dynamo Called Earth --http://gallery.usgs.gov/audio/corecast/ep11/
geomagnetics.mp3
•
Earth rhythms -- http://www.glcoherence.org/monitoring-system/earth-rhythms.html
•
Earth Songs -- http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast19jan_1/
•
The Music of the Magnetosphere (2000) -- http://www.archive.org/details/auroral_chorus_2_cd
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Learning Outcomes
Module 2 Lesson 1
Qualitatively compare the Earth and Sun in size.
Explain what a solar prominence is and quantitatively compare
the size of the Earth to the size of a solar prominence.
Describe how solar magnetic fields and coronal loops are
produced.
Describe what a sunspot is.
Given a sunspot shown at different times, calculate the Sun's
rotational period at that solar latitude and compare it to the
value given in the text, pg. 35 of "TS".
Module 2 Lesson 2
Given a tactile picture showing the layers of the Sun and/or a
Sun ball with the layers cut out and marked, name each layer.
Describe what is going on in each layer and how radiation (the
energy or heat) gets through each layer.
Distinguish between coronal mass ejections and the solar
wind.
Describe how solar activity changes with time.
State how the Earth's magnetic field protects us.
Identify an interesting fact about the Sun.
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EALR
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