Bringing the Sun to Earth: Solar and Sun-Earth Science Education and Public Outreach Efforts I Posters
Presiding: E Drobnes, L3-Corp.; C Denker, NJIT
SH11A-01 0830h
Solar-B E/PO Program at Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland, California
Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California, conducts the Education/Public Outreach program for the Lockheed-Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab Solar-B Focal Plane Package project. Since opening its doors in August 2000, Chabot has carried out this program in activities and educational products in the public outreach, informal education, and formal education spheres. We propose a poster presentation that illustrates the spectrum of our Solar-B E/PO program. Solar-B, scheduled to launch in September 2006, is another step in an increasingly sophisticated investigation and understanding of our Sun, its behavior, and its effects on the Earth and our technological civilization. A mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Solar-B is an international collaboration between Japan, the US/NASA, and the UK/PPARC. Solar-B's main optical telescope, extreme ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, and x-ray telescope will collect data on the Sun's magnetic dynamics from the photosphere through the corona at higher spatial and time resolution than on current and previous solar satellite missions, furthering our understanding of the Sun's behavior and, ultimately, its effects on the Earth. Chabot's E/PO program for the Lockheed-Martin Solar-B Focal Plane Package is multi-faceted, including elements focused on technology/engineering, solar physics, and Sun-Earth Connection themes. In the Public Outreach arena, we conduct events surrounding NASA Sun-Earth Day themes and programs other live and/or interactive events, facilitate live solar viewing, and present a series of exhibits focused on the Solar-B and other space-based missions, the dynamic Sun, and light and optics. In the Informal Education sector we run a solar day camp for kids and produce educational products, including a poster on the Solar-B mission and CDROM multimedia packages. In Formal Education, we develop classroom curriculum guides and conduct workshops training teachers in their implementation. Our poster presentation will address the highlights of our program in all three of these areas.
SH11A-02 0830h
Evaluation of the Accuracy of the CAU Multiple-Wavelength Sun Photometer for Spectral Measurements of Total Atmospheric Extinction
Researchers at Clark Atlanta University have developed a second-generation LED sun photometer with significant improvements over the LED haze sensor distributed to high schools by NASA. We compared sun photometer results obtained in the Atlanta area with simultaneous observations that used a more expensive, handheld, 5-filter Microtops II Sunphotometer, manufactured by Solar Light Company, Inc. This device measures precipitable water (using a 940 nm filter with 10 nm bandwidth) and aerosol optical depth (using a 1020 nm filter with 10 nm bandwidth). It also measures ozone column depth using 3 filters for wavelengths in the Huggins ozone absorption band. Our most recent sun photometer results agreed within expected errors when comparing LED results at the 3 longest wavelengths (660, 860, and 940 nm) with the Microtops aerosol optical thicknesses. However, some problems were encountered with data obtained at the shortest wavelength (400 nm), and that issue needs to be resolved. We are evaluating the performance of our instrument using a series of computer calculations that address the finite bandwidth of the LED detectors. The Bouguer-Beer law assumes the light source is monochromatic. However, the LED bandwidth varies from 30-50 nm (widest at the longest wavelengths). We must determine whether this bandwidth is narrow enough to justify the use of a standard Langley plot. MODTRAN4 is used to obtain the transmissivity of light at relative high resolution through a variety of atmospheric conditions. By assuming realistic concentrations of water vapor, ozone and aerosol content, the wavelength-dependent overlap between radiation reaching the surface and the spectral response of the LEDs is computed to determine the magnitude of any deviations from Beer's law.
SH11A-03 0830h
Solar Fireworks - Integrating an Exhibit on Solar Physics and Space Science into the Science and Astronomy Curriculum of High-School and College Students
Astronomers at The Newark Museum's Alice and Leonard Dreyfuss Planetarium teamed up with the New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT) Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR) and the Big Bear Solar Observatory in presenting Solar Fireworks. The exhibit opened on May 15, 2004 and features two exhibition kiosks with interactive touch screen displays, where students and other visitors can take "virtual tours" in the fields of solar physics, solar activity, Sun-Earth connection, and geo-sciences. Planetarium and museum visits are an integral part of the introductory physics and astronomy classes at NJIT and the exhibition has been integrated in the astronomy curriculum. For example, NJIT students of the Astronomy Club and regular astronomy courses were closely involved in the design and development of the exhibit. The exhibit is the latest addition to the long-running natural science exhibit "Dynamic Earth: Revealing Nature's Secrets" at the museum. More than 30,000 people per year attend various programs offered by the planetarium including public shows, more than a dozen programs for school groups, after school activities, portable planetarium outreach, outdoor sky watches, solar observing and other family events. More than 1,000 high school students visited the planetarium in 2004. The exhibit is accompanied by a yearly teacher workshop (the first one was held on October 18-20, 2004) to enhance the learning experience of classes visiting the Newark Museum. The planetarium and museum staff has been working with teachers of Newark high schools and has presented many workshops for educators on a wide range of topics from astronomy to zoology. At the conclusion of the exhibit in December 2005, the exhibit will go "on the road" and will be made available to schools or other museums. Finally, the exhibit will find its permanent home at the new office complex of CSTR at NJIT. Acknowledgements: Solar Fireworks was organized by The Newark Museum and the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research and supported by a two-year grant from NASA's Office of Space Science Education/Public Outreach Program (NASA NAG5-12733 EPO-02-219).
http://www.newarkmuseum.org and http://www.bbso.njit.edu
SH11A-04 0830h
Our Solar Connection: A Themed Set of Activities for Grades 5-12
We present a set of 7 interconnected activities on the theme of Sun-Earth connections that we have developed and presented at teacher workshops as part of a NASA-funded Education and Public Outreach project. Associated with the activities are two resource centers that are maintained locally at NJIT in Newark, NJ, and at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in North Branch, NJ. We describe each of the activities and the resource equipment, and present some statistics of how successful the teachers have been in using the activities in their classrooms. A resource CD containing the text of a teacher's guide is available that explains each activity, lists the associated materials needed for each activity, gives estimates for the time required for each activity, and points out specific New Jersey Science Standards met by each activity. Additional resources including movies and photos are included on the CD, and links to this material are contained in the teacher's guide.
SH11A-05 0830h
Exploring Magnetism: Bringing The Sun-Earth Connection into the Classroom via Basic Science
The E/PO programs of NASA missions often face the challenge of making complex science investigations relevant for the classroom. Magnetism is one of the basic topics taught in classrooms throughout the nation. It also has profound importance within a great variety of astrophysical systems. We have used the topic of magnetism to form the basis of a series of teacher's lesson guides that connect the basic science concepts to the more complex systems being studied by scientists today. These guides use hands-on, inquiry based activities to teach concepts of magnetism for students of grades 6-9. The primary guide, Exploring Magnetism, examines the fundamental properties of magnetism and electromagnetism. Supplemental guides teach about current NASA investigations by connecting the basic science to the science being studied by these space missions. Currently, there are two supplemental guides: Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind, which explores how the STEREO mission uses a spacecraft boom to measure the magnetic field of the solar wind free from contamination of the spacecraft itself; and Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares, which uses RHESSI observations to demonstrate how rapidly changing magnetic fields can unleash enormous amounts of energy.
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/ExploringMagnetism
SH11A-06 0830h
THEMIS Ground Based Magnetometers and the Involvement of GEONS Schools
The THEMIS Education and Public Outreach team selected ten ground-based magnetometer stations each located in the proximity of a rural school in traditionally under-served, under-represented communities from Alaska to Vermont. These `ground based magnetometer' observatories will assist the THEMIS Mission's five identical satellites, called probes, when they are launched in the fall of 2006. The five probes, placed in strategic locations in Earth's magnetosphere, will help to determine the onset of auroral substorms. A teacher at each of these schools is responsible for their magnetometer data and system as well as using the data with their students through lesson plans developed collaboratively with the E/PO team. The network of teachers, students, and magnetometers together with other students who participate in monitoring the geomagnetic disturbances using the web is called the Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS). We will report specific contributions to the project from the Oregon, South Dakota and Michigan GEONS teachers. We have installed five magnetometers during the Fall of 2004, and will be installing the remaining five in the Spring of 2005, and have started to display the data from the first five schools on the web. We will describe the pedagogical challenges of bringing understanding of the physics behind the THEMIS science which requires some understanding of magnetic fields, charged particles, forces, motions, and energy to middle school and high school classrooms. We will also include the formative evaluation results to date.
http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/schools/geons_schools.html
SH11A-07 0830h
Using Solar Science to Inspire: The Education and Public Outreach Projects of the HMI Instrument on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Solar exploration inspires students and the public to gain a better understanding of the Sun's role in the Earth's environment. New solar discoveries also inspire innovative educational efforts to communicate the results of these explorations. We will describe the E/PO plans associated with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument planned for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, to be launched in 2008. Our program addresses aspects of formal education, informal education, and public outreach. Projects include a student Science Fellow program being developed in collaboration with Stanford's Haas Center for Public Service, a high-school-appropriate ionospheric disturbance monitor that tracks solar-induced changes in the Earth's ionosphere, development of a new solar program for portable planetaria -- including almost-full-dome projection, and a planned StarDate radio series.
http://solar-center.stanford.edu