Observing Features on the Sun Developed by  Kendra Sibbernsen/MCC Big Idea : The sun has surface features in different wavelengths  and  those features have predictable patterns of movements that can be observed and described. Goal :  Students will conduct a series of inquiries about the nature and motion of features in different wavelengths on the Sun using prescribed Internet  applications that use current  solar images. Computer Setup :   Access  - http://helioviewer.org/ Phase I:  Exploration 1) Make sure that you  can  se e the full disk of the sun in the viewer. 2) Under the  Time  frame click the word  latest  next to the calendar. What does  the  Date:  read ?  {Fill in your answers with a different color of text.} What does the  Time:  read? _____________________ What does the  Time-step:  read? ____________________ The time is listed in  UTC . This is a standard coordinated universal time and used to be referred to as GMT (Greenwich mean time). Convert this time in UTC to your time zone. This website can help you with your conversion -  http://www.dxing.com/utcgmt.htm For example, to convert to Central Standard Time (CST), you subtract 6 hours. What is the time of this latest image in your time zone? _____________________ How long ago was that image t aken from  your current time? _____________________ 3) Under the  Images  frame, you can select from 4 satellite observatories: SOHO, SDO, STEREO-A and STEREO-B.  Each of these has choices of Instrument, Detector, and Measurement (most of which is wavelength as measured in Angstroms). Select: Observatory:  SDO Instrument:  AIA Detector:  AIA Measurement:  4500 This is in the visible region of the  electromagnetic spectrum. How many sunspots do you see in this image? ________________ If you do not see any sunspots in your image, step the viewer back by a few days until you can find sunspots. Use the Zoom slider bar and click and drag the image until you can see the sunspot well. Click the  Screenshot  option at the top of the main viewing  frame and select  Full Viewport. Once you have downloaded your image, copy and paste it into the document below. Phase II – Does the Evidence Match the Conclusion? The diameter of the Sun is about 100 times the diameter of the Earth. If a student proposed a generalization that “ An average sunspot is approximately the width of 10 Earths ,” would you agree or disagree with the generalization based on the evidence you collected?   Explain your reasoning and provide  specific  evidence either from the above questions or from evidence you yourself generate  using Helioviewer . Phase III – What Conclusions Can You Draw From the Evidence? You can view two different wavelength images at the same time. For example, if one of the images was viewing: Observatory:  SDO Instrument:  AIA Detector:  AIA Measurement:  4500 You can s elect  [Add] and set the options to: Observatory:  SDO Instrument:  AIA Detector:  AIA Measurement.

1. Observing Features on the Sun
Developed by
Kendra Sibbernsen/MCC
Big Idea
: The sun has surface features in different wavelengths
and
those features have
predictable patterns of movements that can be observed and
described.
Goal
: Students will conduct a series of inquiries about the nature
and motion of features in different wavelengths on the Sun
using prescribed Internet
applications that use current
solar images.
Computer Setup
:
Access
-
http://helioviewer.org/
Phase I: Exploration
1)
Make sure that you
can
se
e the full disk of the sun in the viewer.
2)

2. Under the
Time
frame click the word
latest
next to the calendar.
What does
the
Date:
read
?
{Fill in your answers with a different color of text.}
What does the
Time:
read? _____________________
What does the
Time-step:
read? ____________________
The time is listed in
UTC
. This is a standard coordinated universal time and used to be
referred to as GMT (Greenwich mean time). Convert this time
in UTC to your time zone. This website can help you with your
conversion -
http://www.dxing.com/utcgmt.htm
For example, to convert to Central Standard Time (CST), you
subtract 6 hours.
What is the time of this latest image in your time zone?
_____________________
How long ago was that image t
aken from
your current time? _____________________

3. 3)
Under the
Images
frame, you can select from 4 satellite observatories: SOHO,
SDO, STEREO-A and STEREO-B.
Each of these has choices of Instrument, Detector, and
Measurement (most of which is wavelength as measured in
Angstroms).
Select:
Observatory:
SDO
Instrument:
AIA
Detector:
AIA
Measurement:
4500
This is in the visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
How many sunspots do you see in this image?
________________
If you do not see any sunspots in your image, step the viewer
back by a few days until you can find sunspots.
Use the Zoom slider bar and click and drag the image until you
can see the sunspot well.
Click the
Screenshot
option at the top of the main viewing
frame and select
Full Viewport.
Once you have downloaded your image, copy and paste it into

4. the document below.
Phase II – Does the Evidence Match the Conclusion?
The diameter of the Sun is about 100 times the diameter of the
Earth.
If a student proposed a generalization that “
An average sunspot is approximately the width of 10 Earths
,” would you agree or disagree with the generalization based on
the evidence you collected?
Explain your reasoning and provide
specific
evidence either from the above questions or from evidence you
yourself generate
using
Helioviewer
.
Phase III – What Conclusions Can You Draw From the
Evidence?
You can view two different wavelength images at the same
time. For example, if one of the images was viewing:
Observatory:

5. SDO
Instrument:
AIA
Detector:
AIA
Measurement:
4500
You can s
elect
[Add]
and set the options to:
Observatory:
SDO
Instrument:
AIA
Detector:
AIA
Measurement:
94
This is in the x-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Having two images
automatically sets each image’s opacity at half. You can move
the slider bars back and forth to see one wavelength’s features
more clearly.
The colors you see for the different wa
velengths are false-color
to more
easily distinguish between the images.
A
student decided to look for a relatio
nship between the size

6. of
a
sunspot
’s activity and the size
of
the accompanying
x-ray activity and got the following data set. What conclusions
and generalizations can you make from the following data
collected by a student
as measured size of the features using a ruler on the computer
screen
?
Explain your reasoning and provide
specific
evidence
, with sketches if necessary,
to support your reasoning
.
Date
X-ray
(AIA 94)
Visible
(AIA 4500)
02/01/12
34 mm
5 mm
02/04/12
38 mm
6 mm
02/07/12
18 mm
2 mm
02/11/12
11

7. mm
1
mm
02/15/12
15 mm
1
mm
1)
Evidence-based Conclusion
:
Phase IV – What Evidence Do You Need?
1)
Using the
Helioviewer
, u
nder the
Images
frame s
elect:
Observatory:
SDO
Instrument:
AIA
Detector:
AIA
Measurement:

8. 94
If necessary, click
center
on the main viewing frame and zoom out so you can see the full
disk of the Sun.
You’re going to m
ake a
“
movie
” of these images. Select
the
Movie
option
in the main viewer frame, and then select
Full Viewport
.
Next, choose a
Duration
. T
he more
days’
images you include, the longer the processing time will be
(for example, choosing 28 days will result in a processing time
of approximately 4 minutes)
.
Click on the settings icon in the
Movie Settings
window (to the left of the ? on the top right) to see (and adjust,
if you wish) the frames/second and the length of the video.
Then click OK.
What is your

9. Movie Duration
? ______________
days
How many frames/second is your movie
? _________________
While your movie is processing, you might want to take a few
moments to look at the
Recently Shared
movies on YouTube and
News
.
Once your movie has processed, copy the link here (Note: you
can save it as a Tiny URL):
Describe precisely what evidence you would need to collect in
order to answer the research question of, “
Over what precise period of time does it ta
ke an active region in the
x-ray near the S
un’s equator to complete one rotation?
Create a detailed, step-by-step description of evidence that
needs to be collected and a complete explanation of how this
could be done—not just “look and see when the region returns
to the same point,” but exactly what would someone need to do,
s
tep-by-step, to
accomplish this. You might include a table and sketches-the
goal is to be precise and detailed enough that someone else
could follow your procedure.
Note: You do not need to

10. actually take this data.
Phase V – Formulate a Question, Pursue Evidence, and Justify
Your Conclusion
Your task is design an answerable research question, propose a
plan to pursue evidence, collect data using the
Helioviewer
,
and create an evidence-based conclusion about some
relationship between images of different wavelengths or
changing position of a solar feature, which you have not
completed before.
Research Report
:
2)
Specific Research Question:
3)
Step-by-Step Procedure, with Sketches if Needed, to Collect
Evidence:

11. 4)
Data Table and/or Results:
5)
Evidence-based Conclusion Statement:
Phase
VI
–
Summary
PRINT YOUR NAME
6)
Create a 50-word summary, in your own words, that describes
the features in d
ifferent wavelengths on the S
un and how the motions of these features change over time.
You should cite specific evidence you have collected in your
description, not describe what you have learned in class or
elsewhere. Feel free to create and label sketches to illustrate

12. your response.
2