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 the properties and characteristics of Earth’s magnetic field as shown through magnetometer data and its 3D vector nature. This resource builds understanding of conceptual tools such as the addition of vectors and... (View More) interpreting contour maps displaying magnetic signature data. Learners will make several paper 3D vector addition models, watch podcasts on how to analyze magnetometer data, and employ 3D vector plots to create a model of the 3D magnetic field in the location of the magnetometer closest to their town. This is a multi-step activity with corresponding worksheets for each step. The activity uses data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) GEONS magnetometer, and requires the use of a computer with internet access and speakers, 2-inch polystyrene balls and bamboo skewers. This is activity 16 from 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 changes in the Earth's magnetic field during magnetic storms. Learners will construct a soda bottle magnetometer, collect data, and analyze the results to detect magnetic storm events. The operation of the student-created... (View More) instrument can be directly related to THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) display measurements. In this activity, learners should ideally collect data over the course of an entire month. This is activity 17 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (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)

This is a lesson plan for an activity to introduce several terms scientists use to discuss Earth's magnetic field. Learners will explore a website, read about the main features and regions of the Earth's magnetosphere and its functioning within the... (View More) Sun-Earth system, and compile a lab book in which to keep notes about Earth's magnetosphere, space weather, and magnetometer data. This resource is Activity 12 of Exploring Magnetism: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora. (View Less)

This is a presentation to be used by educators to teach about the Sun and its effects on Earth's magnetosphere, including characteristics of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, the aurora, and solar wind. A web link to a PDF or PowerPoint presentation... (View More) is supplied, along with background information for the instructor. After the presentation, learners will read about various aspects of the Sun-Earth connection and write about one aspect that they found interesting from the presentation and the printed information. Internet access is required to obtain the presentation resources. This resource is Activity 14 of the Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora teachers guide. (View Less)

This is a lesson to introduce the Kp index, a common numerical indicator of magnetic storminess. Learners will access and analyze Kp index plots of magnetic storm strength and determine the relative frequency of stronger versus weaker magnetic... (View More) storms during years of maximum solar activity. This resource is activity 13 from the Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora teachers guide. Internet access is required for this activity. (View Less)

This website serves as an online textbook about the Earth's magnetosphere and was developed by a retired space physicist. The emphasis of the site is on the history, conceptual understanding, and basics relating to electrons, ions and their motion... (View More) in space, plasmas and energy. The site also covers planetary magnetospheres, cosmic rays, space weather, selected spacecraft missions, an activity for creating a paper model of the magnetosphere, and a project for plotting interplanetary field lines. It includes informational text divided into 35 chapters, a glossary, timeline, questions and answers, a teacher's introduction to the Earth's magnetosphere, suggestions for teaching about magnetism using classroom demonstrations, and articles titled Birth of a Radiation Belt and Secrets of the Polar Aurora. (View Less)