A tmospheric

1
Space Weather Monitors A Global Education and
Small Instruments Program for the IHY 2007
Deborah Scherrer, Ray Mitchell, Morris Cohen,
William Clark, Rick Styner, Alan Roche, Philip
Scherrer, Umran Inan, Shannon Lee, Scott
Winegarden, Justin Tan, Sharad Khanal Stanford
University et al
SID The Low Cost Monitor
AWESOME the Research Quality Monitor
S udden I onospheric D isturbance
Monitor

A tmospheric W eather E ducational S
ystem for O bservation and M odeling
of E ffects Monitor
http//solar-center.stanford.edu/SID

• Preassembled and pretuned
• Students build their own, simple antennas
• Sample rate of 1 per 5 seconds
• Data handled and plotted by Excel or gnu-based
  software
• (provided)
• Changeable frequency boards tuned to particular
  VLF
• transmitters around the world
• Easy to set up and use
• Suitable for use in high school and community
  colleges
• Low cost (150 per monitor)
• Based on AAVSO original concept

Earth's ionosphere reacts strongly to the intense
x-ray and ultraviolet radiation released by the
Sun during solar events and by lightning during
thunderstorms. Students around the world can
directly monitor and track these sudden
ionospheric disturbances (SIDs) by using a
receiver to monitor the signal strength from
distant VLF transmitters, and noting unusual
changes as the waves bounce off the ionosphere.

• Designed to capture ELF/VLF frequencies, 30
  Hz-50kHz
• Dual use system -- Daytime monitor solar
  activity
• Nighttime monitor atmospheric phenomena, e.g.
  lightning
• Precision timing/phase accuracy
• So sensitive that nearly any signal above the
  ambient
• Earth noise floor can be detected
• Broadband sample rate of 100KHz on each channel
• Preassembled but students build their own
  antenna
• Data appropriate for high school and college as
  well as
• solar and ionospheric researchers
• Moderate cost (3100 per monitor)
• Based on existing technology with an established
  research
• base (see http//www-star.stanford.edu/vlf/hail
  /hail.htm)

Stanford's Solar Center, in conjunction with
Stanfords Space, Telecommunications and
Radioscience Laboratory and local educators, have
developed inexpensive ionospheric disturbance
monitors that students can install and use at
their local schools around the world. Students
"buy in" to the project by building their own
antenna, a simple structure costing little and
taking a few hours to assemble. Data collection
and analysis is handled by a local PC. Stanford
is providing a centralized data repository where
students can exchange and discuss data. Two
versions of the monitors exist a low-cost
version (nicknamed SID) designed to detect
solar flares, and a more sensitive version
(AWESOME) that provides both solar and
nighttime research-quality data.
Pre-Amp
All frequencies
Band-pass, Only 24.8KHz (Amplitude Modulation)
24.8KHz Filter
Coax
DC voltage Level

Signal Strength
Computer
DATAQ
RS-232
10 bit, Analog to Digital Conversion
Sample every 5 Seconds
Data
Partners
Our Space Weather monitors have been chosen as
educational and small instruments projects for
the International Heliophysical Year 2007. The
goal is to place 5 SIDs and 1 AWESOME monitor in
schools in each of the UN-recognized 191
countries of the world. To the extent possible,
schools hosting monitors will be paired with
researchers serving as Scientist Mentors.
Funding is being sought from private foundations.
Students receive their data as a signal strength
value and a timestamp. The data collected are
easily read and graphed either by Excel or a
gnu-based plot program (provided). Solar events
show up as spikes in the signal strength.
Students compare their spikes to data
from the GOES satellite to identify flares.
Occasionally, students will detect flares that
the (human) GOES data interpreter has missed.
Students can also track down the solar active
region which generated the disturbance. Or,
using farside imagery of the Suns backside,
they can attempt to predict possible flares from
upcoming active regions.
Stanford Solar Center NSF/CISM Deborah
Scherrer Nick Gross,
Boston U. Hao Thai
Roberta Johnson, NCAR
Scott Winegarden
Ramon Lopez, FIT (now at UC Irvine)
Pat Reiff, Rice U. Stanford
Solar Observatories Group Philip Scherrer Sharad
Khanal Stanford EE Department Umran Inan Morris
Cohen Justin Tan Cal State University East
Bay Ray Mitchell, Chief Engineer Chabot Community
College University College Dublin Shannon
Lee (now at Cal State SF) Peter Gallagher Tim
Dave San Lorenzo High School Deer
Valley HS, Antioch William Clark, Senior
Engineer Jeff Adkins, Master Teacher Rick
Styner, Master Teacher Concept AAVSO and Paul
Mortfield
GOES
SID
Educator Support

• Curriculum materials, designed and tested by
  Master Teachers, developed for both
• high school and community college levels.
• Activities and labs will be inquiry-based and
  aligned with NAS/NRCs National
• Science Education Standards.
• Online and CD/DVD/video teacher training will be
  available.
• Extensive web-based background materials
• Centralized (at Stanford) database and
  communications hub for communication
• amongst teachers and students worldwide
• Access to scientists for discussions about
  problems, data, and research
• Professional assessment of materials and project

SOHO
AWESOME