Building a Permanent Human
Presence in Space
Sunspots
This lesson is taken from an education module developed for
Challenger Center’s Journey through the Universe program. Journey
through the Universe takes entire communities to the space frontier.
Start the Journey at www.challenger.org/journey.
Funded by grants from NASA’s Human Exploration and Development of Space Enterprise and NASA’s Office
of Space Science
Challenger Center, Challenger Center for Space Science Education, and the Challenger Center logotype are registered trademarks of
Challenger Center for Space Science Education. No portion of this module may be reproduced without written permission, except for
use within a Journey community. ©2001, Challenger Center for Space Science Education.
January 2001
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Grade Level
K -12
Family & Home Activity: Sunspots
Overview
Why do we watch the weather? Everyone knows what the weather is like right
now. However, what the weather reports can tell us is what may happen later in
the day, tomorrow, or even in three days. Predicting the weather is big business
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
here on Earth.
It can even help save lives. When forecasters see a hurricane forming in the
How can Sunspot observations
help astronauts?
Atlantic Ocean, they track its speed, size, and strength (how fast the surrounding winds are blowing) and warn threatened communities. As we saw with
Hurricane Floyd, several states along the East Coast evacuated residents long
before the hurricane made landfall. Luckily, Hurricane Floyd was not as powerful
as predicted and relatively little property damage was done. However, the hurricane could have been devastating and many lives would have been saved by the
OBJECTIVES
early evacuation.
Students will:
◗ Create a pinhole camera.
Out in space, where there are no hurricanes, there are other dangers that astronauts living in space will need to be aware of. Solar storms can send out huge
amounts of radiation across our Solar System. Although our atmosphere protects us here on Earth, astronauts living on the International Space Station will
not have that protection. This large amount of solar radiation can harm people
and damage equipment.
But how do we know when this extra solar radiation is coming. Much like we
can predict the weather. The Sun shows spots that are an indicator for solar
storms. Depending upon the size of the spots, we can anticipate solar storms
and determine if the solar radiation is likely to be headed toward earth.
◗ Observe the number and size
of Sunspots.
◗ Compare the size and shape
of Sunspots.
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Procedures
1. Give students directions to make their own pinhole camera in class and
instruct them in its use.
2. Have students observe the Sun using the pinhole camera and draw the
shape and size of the Sunspots.
3. Students will complete the Sunspot Observation Worksheet for their grade
level.
MATERIALS
◗ Mirror
◗ Piece of paper
4. Discuss with students their observations and what they have learned about
◗ Sunspot Observation Worksheet
Sunspots and how they can affect the astronauts living on the International
◗ Pinhole Camera How-To Guide
Space Station.
Warning: Never look at the Sun directly. Only view the Sun when it is projected
on the wall. We strongly recommend that K-8 students work under a parent’s
supervision when making observations at home
Transfer and Extension
1. Talk about the conditions necessary to predict a tornado, hurricane, or other
large storm. Discuss with students the conditions necessary to produce a
solar flare. Based on these conditions, predict whether any of the Sunspots
your students observed might result in a solar flare. For more information
check out this website: http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/flares.htm or
http://learn.jpl.nasa.gov/spotsat.htm
Pinhole Camera
How-To Guide
First, we’ll go over how to build a pinhole camera, so that you’ll have experience with everything important to how it
works. Then we’ll talk about how it works and why it works. You can learn an amazing amount about light and vision
and how the world works just from understanding pinhole cameras.
How to Build a Pinhole Camera
The basics are simple: we need an opaque shield (like a piece of aluminum foil) with a tiny hole in it, a screen in a
darkened area on which to project an image, and something bright to look at. We are trying to make a pinhole camera to look at the Sun, which is just about the brightest thing we could possibly try to look at, so brightness is not a
problem. In order to have a dark place to see the image, we will put a mirror outside a window and use it to beam
the light from the Sun onto a spot on a wall. A light-colored wall definitely is better for this! If your walls are darkcolored, stick up a piece of white paper. Then we’ll put our pinhole into the beam of light from the mirror, as close to
the mirror as we can get, and go to look at the image of the Sun on the wall. Any flat mirror will do perfectly well —
mirrors that are not flat include funhouse mirrors or mirrors with curved surfaces. Concave mirrors are those that
appear to magnify the reflected image; convex mirrors are those that they use in stores or on the passenger side of
cars to show you a wide area, but they make the objects look smaller (“objects in mirrors are closer than they
appear”). After you get the idea of the pinhole camera by using a flat mirror, have some fun and try curved mirrors,
too, to see what happens.
You will need to make holders for your pinhole shield and for your mirror. You will want to be able to adjust your
mirror holder to get the Sun where you want it, but then you’ll want to be able to have the mirror stay put. You’ll
need a holder for the pinhole shield that you can move around separately, since you probably will need to try more
than one pinhole and it’s easiest if you can get them all ready first and then just try them one after another. We’ll
suggest holders that you can build out of cardboard, but they really don’t have to be much like ours — we’re just
making a suggestion to give you the idea for what’s needed.
Pinhole Holder: The pinhole holder needs to stand pretty much straight up and
down without anyone holding it. The second easiest way is to get a sheet of
stiff cardboard and stick pieces of cardboard to its edges using tape, so that it
can’t fall over. The main sheet of cardboard should be bigger than your mirror
so that all the sunlight reflected from the mirror will be caught by the pinhole
holder. Cut a big sloppy hole in the center of the vertical piece of cardboard,
and stick a piece of aluminum foil over the hole using tape. Poke a pinhole in
the center of the foil. A pinhole directly in the cardboard would work, but it’s
hard to get as clean an edge on the hole and a clean edge will make a better
image. A ‘pinhole’ about one millimeter across is about right for the 23 foot
long pinhole camera we’re talking about here. The length required for your pinhole camera is proportional to the size of your pinhole. Since you may not get
the second easiest
pinhole holder
to choose the length you have to work with, it may be handy to make a bunch
of different size pinholes before you start, all the way from a true pinhole up to about 2 millimeters across, and have
them ready to try out until you get one that you like. Smaller pinholes make somewhat sharper images, but the image
will be much more dim. That is, a pinhole half the size will make an image twice as sharp, but only one-quarter as bright.
Pinhole Camera How-To Guide
K-12: page 1 of 3
The absolute easiest holder for the pinhole is to cut your big sloppy hole into either side of a cereal box and stick
your pinhole over that hole. Drop something into the bottom of the cereal
box to weigh it down and keep it from falling over.
Mirror Holder: First, stick the back of a flat mirror onto a flat piece of
cardboard using something like double-stick tape (not glue, unless you
want to stick your mirror down forever!). Fold the edges of the cardboard
like in the drawing, so you can stick the mirror piece onto the sides that
you’ll make. Make a “yoke” by folding up two sides from a long strip of stiff
cardboard, like in the drawing. The middle part of the yoke needs to be
about the same width as the piece of cardboard holding the mirror, and
the sides need to be about as high as the piece of cardboard holding the
mirror. Don’t stick them together yet! Technically, we are making what is
called an alt-az mount, named for motion in altitude (tilting our reflection
up and down) and azimuth (swinging our reflection from side-to-side). Rest
one edge of the mirror-holder on a table or on the ground, and rotate it
side to side and tilt it up and down until you can reflect the sun’s light
stick
it over
the hole
in the
box
sheet of
aluminum
foil with a
pinhole
in it
through a window and onto the wall of a darkened room. For the pinhole
camera that we are making, with a 1 mm pinhole, the wall should be about
23 feet from the mirror. (It won’t matter if it’s several feet more or less
the easiest pinhole holder
than this.) Once the Sun is reflected where you want it, use tape to stick
the piece of cardboard with the mirror on it to the sides of the yoke so
that the mirror won’t fall down.
cardboard
t
ligh
sun
sunlight
mirror holder yoke
mirror
mirror holder
Pinhole Camera How-To Guide
K-12: page 2 of 3
Adjustments: Stand the pinhole in the beam of light reflected from the mirror, close to the mirror. The pinhole
shield will block the light everywhere except where it goes through the pinhole. Check the quality of the image
reflected onto the wall. With a 1 mm diameter pinhole and about 23 feet from the pinhole to the wall, there should
be an image of the Sun about 6 cm (2.5 inches) across. The image is round because the Sun is round, not because
the pinhole is round (once you get it all working, try square, rectangular, or triangular pinholes and you will see). To
get an image twice as big, you’ll need to double the distance from the pinhole to the wall to about 45 feet.
However, the image will be four times dimmer. To get it bright again, you’ll need to double the pinhole size. Since
you are probably stuck with the distance from your pinhole to the wall, experiment with different size pinholes
instead. Keep the smallest pinhole that gives you a bright enough image to see reasonably well, it will give the
sharpest image. With the 1 mm pinhole and the 23 feet camera length, the Sun’s image should be about 22 times
brighter than the light of a full Moon. Since that’s easy to see, you may be able to use a rather small pinhole.
Altitude Adjustment
t
ligh
sun
sunlight
Try to get the beam of sunlight
to come out horizontally.
mirror
Azimuth Adjustment
mirror-holder viewed from the side
Use tape to hold the mirror panel at a
right angle from the vertical by sticking
it to the sides of the yoke.
mirror-holder viewed from the top
Looking at the Rest of the World: If it’s a really
bright day, and you have a really dark room to project your image into, you’ll be able to see things dimmer than the
Sun. Just take away the mirror and your pinhole camera will give you a sharp image of the world on the other side of
the pinhole from where the screen is. You can use a bigger pinhole to get a less sharp image that’s easier to see. Do
you notice anything funny about the image that you see? Can you figure out why it works this way? There’s really
nothing wrong with your pinhole camera, they all work this way — but can you figure out why?
Pinhole Camera How-To Guide
K-12: page 3 of 3
Sunspot Observation
Student Worksheet (K-4)
Name _________________________________________________________
Directions
1. Using the instructions, create a pinhole camera.
2. On two or more different days (at least 5 days apart), use the camera to observe the
Sun. Make observations approximately 5-7 days apart, but less than 9 days apart.
3. Each day, draw what you see in the image projected by the pinhole camera.
4. Answer the following questions and return the Worksheet to your teacher.
Day 1
Day 2
Questions
1. How many spots (called Sunspots) did you see in your Sun image each day?
2. Were the Sunspots all the same size?
3. Do all of the Sunspots have the same shape?
4. Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2. Were there any differences? Describe the differences.
5. Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2. What stayed the same?
Sun Spot Observation Student
Worksheet K-4: page 1 of 1
Sunspot Observation
Student Worksheet (5-8)
Name _________________________________________________________
Directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Using the instructions, create a pinhole camera.
On two different days (at least 5 days apart), use the camera to observe the Sun.
Each day, draw what you see in the image projected by the pinhole camera.
Answer the following questions and return the Worksheet.
Day 1
Day 2
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How many spots (called Sunspots) did you see in your Sun image each day?
Were the Sunspots all the same size?
Do all of the Sunspots have the same shape?
Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2.Were there any differences? Describe the differences.
Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2. What stayed the same?
Measure the diameter of the largest and smallest Sunspot. Measure the size of the projected Sun
image. The diameter of the Sun is _________. What are the real sizes of the largest and smallest
Sunspots? Show your work.
7. The diameter of the Earth is ___________. How much of the Earth would the largest Sunspots
cover? The smallest?
8. Did you observe any clusters of Sunspots? How many Sunspots were in the cluster? Was this
cluster facing the earth, or some other direction?
Sun Spot Observation Student
Worksheet 5-8: page 1 of 1
Sunspot Observation
Student Worksheet (9-12)
Name _________________________________________________________
Directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Using the instructions, create a pinhole camera.
On two different days (at least 5 days apart), use the camera to observe the Sun.
Each day, draw what you see in the image projected by the pinhole camera.
Answer the following questions and return the Worksheet.
Day 1
Day 2
Questions
1. How many spots (called Sunspots) did you see in your Sun image each day? Were the Sunspots all the
same size?
2. Do all of the Sunspots have the same shape?
3. Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2. Were there any differences? Describe the differences.
4. Compare the Sunspots on Day 1 with Day 2. What stayed the same?
5. Measure the diameter of the largest and smallest Sunspots. Measure the size of the projected Sun image.
The diameter of the Sun is _______. What are the relative sizes of the largest and smallest Sunspots? Show
your work.
6. The diameter of the Earth is ________. What are the sizes of these Sunspots relative to the size of Earth?
7. What percentage of the Earth’s surface would the largest Sunspots cover? The smallest?
8. Did you observe any clusters of Sunspots? How many Sunspots were in the cluster? Was this cluster facing
the earth, or some other direction?
Sun Spot Observation Student
Worksheet 9-12: page 1 of 1
C H A L L E N G E R C E N T E R ’ S J O U R N E Y T H RO U G H T H E U N I V E R S E
Resources
To provide you with even more information, we have listed several web sites for your information. These
sites provide lots of information on the topics related to the Building a Permanent Human Presence in Space
Module. We have broken them down into the three main content areas; however, many of the sites will
overlap.
What is the space environment like?
http://kids.msfc.nas.gov/
Click on “In zero-g” for a great pictorial explanation of why astronauts experience microgravity during space
flight.
http://microgravity.hq.nasa.gov/
Microgravity Research Program Office. All sorts of information about microgravity, including research and
development of new space products.
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/products/Microgravity/
Resource materials on microgravity, including a downloadable Teacher’s Guide and Instructional Materials.
http://www.discovery.com/stories/science/glenn/body.html
What does your body feel like in space? Students can read short descriptions about what happens to your
bones and muscles, your taste and smell, hearing, sight, sleep and balance.
http://www.spaceweather.com
Learn more about the weather out in space.... yes, space. This NASA site includes information on solar flares,
Sunspots, and how these phenomena can affect the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, as well as
us here on Earth.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov
Quest. Lots of online opportunities and resources for the classroom.
http://www.stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute. This is the home of the Hubble Space Telescope. Go here for lots of terrific
images and links.
http://www.windows.umich.edu
An exciting and interactive web site about Earth and space sciences. Includes separate areas for kids and
teachers.
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http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/lpi.html
Lunar & Planetary Institute (LPI). Grab your 3-D glasses . and check out their 3-D tour of the Solar System
(also available on CD-ROM). Also find an incredible library of resources.
http://www.solarviews.com
Views of the Solar System. A wonderful, easy to use site full of pictures and information. Also a CD-ROM
available from NSTA <www.nsta.org>
http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/nasa/core/shtml
NASA Observatorium. Cool stuff and images ... and the stories behind them. Get on their e-mail distribution
(lots of new stuff all the time)!
Why do we want to build a permanent human presence in space?
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/history.html
NASA History Office. Save lots of time by using the search function.
http://www.mariner.org/age/histexp.html
This Age of Exploration Timeline covers major events in exploration from 3200 BC to 1779.
http://www.transport.com/~marvhett/
Information on space exploration and astronauts. Includes a timeline of NASA’s space program.
How do we build a permanent human presence in space?
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/core.html
International Space Station. A WOW! site ... be sure to check out the reference section for great resources!
http://www.nas.edu/cets/aseb/statdebl.html
Look here for a diagram of the space station showing areas most likely to be hit by meteoroids and debris.
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov
Track the locations of orbiting spacecraft.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov
Ask questions to people working with the Space Shuttles.
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/shuttle.html
Tour of a space shuttle.
http://leonardo.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/home.html
Spacecraft facts.
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General Resources
http://spacelink.nasa.gov
NASA Spacelink. The primary NASA education web site offers educational materials, software, and images
on aerospace topics. Special features for teachers who sign-up for accounts. Check for upcoming educator
events.
http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html
NASA Photo Gallery. Lots & lots of really cool images ... and the rules for using them!
http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/fsheet_index.html
NASA Fact Sheets. Just the facts! Make great handouts and reference documents.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) and its Photo Gallery.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/
Cassini. Destination Saturn ... fabulous artwork and great resources. Downloadable teachers guide.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/gem
Galileo and Galileo Europa Missions (GEM). Spectacular Jupiter images ... and the final daring “ice ... water ...
fire” finale. Lots of classroom resources.
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov
Lunar Prospector. Back to the Moon ... and into the classroom (check out Moonlink <www.moonlink.com/>).
http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov
There is a lot on Pathfinder & Sojourner, but don’t miss Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Surveyor 98, and Mars
Surveyor 2001.
http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/
New Millennium Program. Innovative technology and science ... comets, asteroids, planets and more.
http://stard ust.jpl.nasa.gov/
Comets are cool! Want a piece? STARDUST plans to bring a sample back to Earth! Look for the downloadable classroom activities.
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$IBMMFOHFS$FOUFS1SPHSBNT
The internationally acclaimed Challenger Learning Center Network currently consists of state-ofthe-art, innovative educational simulators located at 49 sites across 29 states, Canada, and the United
Kingdom. Staffed by master teachers, the core of each Center is a two-room simulator consisting of
a space station, complete with communications, medical, life, and computer science equipment, and
a mission control room patterned after NASA’s Johnson Space Center. See www.challenger.org for
information.
A joint initiative of Challenger Center for Space Science Education, the Smithsonian
Institution, and NASA, Voyage — A Journey through our Solar System is a space
science exhibition project that includes permanent placement of a scale model solar
system on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and at locations all over the world. See
www.voyageonline.org for information.
Space DaySM launches new Design Challenges created by Challenger Center each school
year. The inquiry-based challenges are designed to inspire students in grades 4-8 to
create innovative solutions that could aid future exploration of our solar system. See
www.spaceday.org for information.
Challenger Center’s Journey through the Universe program provides under-served
communities with diverse national resources, including K-12 curriculum materials, teacher
workshops, classroom visits by scientists from all over the country, and Family Science
Nights. See www.challenger.org/journey for information.
The MESSENGER spacecraft (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and
Ranging) is to be launched in 2004 and go into Mercurian orbit in 2009. Challenger Center is one
of the partner organizations charged with MESSENGER education and public outreach activities.
See www.messenger.jhuapl.edu for information.
Through the Challenger Center Speakers Bureau, Voyages Across the Universe, staff members speak
to student audiences of 30-1,000, conduct workshops for 100-300 educators, give keynote and featured
presentations at conferences, as well as conduct Family Science Nights at the National Air and Space
Museum, and other facilities across the nation, for audiences of 300-1,000 parents, students, and teachers.
See www.challenger.org/speakers for information.
For information about other Challenger Center programs,
or to purchase our classroom resources, visit www.challenger.org/store.