Global
climate change -- is it real? How much, if any, is being caused
by the Sun? Who will be most affected by future problems caused
by rising seas, growing deserts, and more frequent droughts?
Visit our
Global Warming section, which is frequently updated
with new research links.
Would
your high school like to monitor solar storms? High above us lies
a desolate place where continual blasts of particles and energy
from the Sun pound the top of Earth's atmosphere. This "ionized"
region, where electrons and nuclei dart around freely, is a plasma
we call the ionosphere. The ionosphere reacts strongly to the intense
x-ray and ultraviolet radiation released by the Sun during a solar
flare or solar storm. We can track these solar disturbances by monitoring
changes to the Earth's ionosphere. The Solar Center has a project
to place ionospheric monitors in high schools and community colleges
around the world.
Check
out Space Weather
Monitors.
In 1609, Galileo first pointed his homemade telescope toward the heavens. Over the next several years he would discover sunspots, the moons of Jupiter, the "seas" and craters on the Moon, and the phases of Venus, and in the words of
Albert Einstein, he would become "the father of modern science". This page contains a short biography, links, and activities related to Galileo's discoveries.
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Test Your Knowledge!
What
do you know about the Sun? Earth's fascinating star, our
Sun, can teach us about many things, for example, about the formation
of our Solar System, basic physics processes, or our space environment.
Try some of our quizzes to learn more about the Sun:
-
- Sunspot
Quiz
- Why are sunspots dark? How long is the sunspot cycle, on average?
- Granulation
Quiz
- These sets of questions test your knowlege of solar granules.
More
Interactive Features...
News and images of the July 22 2009 eclipse, general information about eclipses, and links to classroom activities
Space
Weather Center is a site designed especially for kids.
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