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Space Weather

MAINSTREAMING SPACE WEATHER:  A Tutorial for Educators and Non-Scientists

How much does the average person understand about "Aurora"?  Most might describe it as a seemingly random natural phenomenon that occurs only in polar regions.  Probing the person by asking such questions as; What causes aurora? Where are they located (altitude)? Can they be predicted?, would, most likely, provide little further information.  There is no doubt that the average person has a vague understanding of aurora.

As part of a summer internship funded by the National Scinece Foundation Research Experience for Educators Program I created lesson plans, demonstrations, and laboratory experiences designed to explain how aurora are created.  More so, the intent of the reasearch was to find a way to help educators understand what "Space Weather" is.

So how would you educate them?  Where would you start?  I chose to begin with "The Earth-Sun Sytem" and a superb video done by The Discover Channel, "The Savage Sun".  These lessons include information on the process of fusion, sunspots, coronal holes, and solar wind.  Geomagnetism included the topics of "The Dynamic Earth", and the Earth's Magnetosphere.  A complete comprehension of "The Electromagnetic Spectrum" is essential for understanding.  This topic is a part of the Masssachusetts Frameworks for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assesment exams on every grade level, to a varying degrees.   No lessons can be completed without some Physics and Chemistry to provide the background necessary.  Finally, we are able to discuss the Earth's atmosphere and the differences between the neutral layer and the Ionosphere, as well as terms like "Electron Density", and "Incoherent Scatter", "D,E,F Layers".

The ability of a non-atmospheric scientist to understand the cause and affect of geomagnetic storms relies heavily on their educational level and relative experiences.  My goal was to provide an inservice training program to give an educator enough background information so they will be able to discuss space weather in their classroom in an informed and effective manner
 

Created by:              

Willliam J. Bowen, Westford Academy  (bbowen@massed.net) (978-692-5571 x383)
Westford Academy, 30 Patten Road, Westford, MA 01886, United States

In Association with:   

Philip J. Erickson, MIT Haystack Observatory (pje@haystack.mit.edu) (617-715-5769)

Larisa Goncharenko, MIT Haystack Observatory(lgonchar@haystack.mit.edu) (617-715-5622)

Haystack Observatory Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886-1299, United States
 

The tutorial begins with a Pre-Post test.  All of the answers to the test and the links to find the answers are imbedded within the test.  If you know the answer to a question then you can skip that link.  Good luck.  We hope you enjoy your tutorial.

Begin the SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

 

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