The lesson includes interviews with solar physicists and archeoastronomers, historic images, modern NASA images and movies, and a sunspot research activity. There are three sections. This section describes how and why ancient cultures studied and revered the sun, and details how the development of the telescope began the advent of modern solar research. This section addresses how modern telescopes and technology permit scientists to study the sun in new ways and in various wavelengths. The modern picture of the sun includes its dynamic magnetic field, the formation and nature of sunspots, the solar activity associated with them and their effect on the earth's environment.
Students assume the role of the scientist.
They use a Java applet to measure and graph the areas of sunspots in white light images and active regions in x-ray images. By comparing the two areas, students investigate if a correlation exists between the two. Students can compare their data with others by making their own plots, using printable student work sheets for plotting areas vs. time or sunspot vs. x-ray areas. Students learn about the importance of solar observations in ancient cultures and how solar science changed with the advent of telescopes. Students learn how to view the Sun safely using a simple projector, with or without a telescope.