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 activity about how the Sun can affect the Earth's atmosphere, specifically the ionosphere. Learners will use real data from a Sudden Ionosphere Disturbance Monitor, or SID Monitor, to identify the signatures in the graphed data that can... (View More) be used to determine the times of sunrise and sunset. Although the SID monitors are designed to detect SIDs caused by solar flares, they also detect the normal influence of solar X-rays and UV light during the day as well as cosmic rays at nighttime. There is a distinct shape to a 24-hour SID data graph, with unique shapes, or signatures, of the graph appearing at sunrise and sunset.This activity is part of the Research with Space Weather Monitor Data educators guide. Use of and access to a Stanford Solar Center SID monitor and the internet is encouraged but not required. Locations without a SID monitor can use sample data provided in the educators guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about identifying solar flares. Learners will cross-reference data collected from a Sudden Ionosphere Disturbance, or SID, Monitor, the GOES solar catalog, and SOHO spacecraft images of the Sun to identify solar flares coming... (View More) from the Sun that are affecting Earth's ionosphere. This activity is part of the Research with Space Weather Monitor Data educators guide. Use of and access to a Stanford Solar Center SID monitor and the internet is encouraged but not required. Locations without a SID monitor can use SID data posted online: http://sid.stanford.edu/database-browser/. (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)