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 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 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 using spectrogram plots as an indicator of magnetic activity on Earth. Learners will analyze spectrogram data and compare it to local Kp indices in an attempt to determine global magnetic storminess. This activity uses real... (View More) data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer, and requires a computer with Internet access. This is activity 20 in the Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality teachers guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) magnetometer and its ability to reveal many different types of disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. Learners will work with vector... (View More) data using THEMIS XYZ plots to complete two student worksheets: Activity A analyzes data to determine if the Earth's magnetic field is slowly weakening, and Activity B analyzes data to determine whether the Earth's magnetic pole is moving. This is activity 19 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)