Title: The Sun and its Effect on Earth
1The Sun and its Effect on Earth
2Course Vitals
- Date/time Wednesday 900-950AM
- Goal/Motivation
- To delve into more detail about the Sun, how it
changes, and how it effects Earth and its
inhabitants, than in a broader gen-ed course. - This will be a discussion-driven class!
- I will lecture 15-20 minutes each day, the rest
of the period will be devoted to discussion. - Lets see where the topics go!
- No math but we will discuss science.
3Course Vitals (cont.)
- Grading
- 40 participation
- 30 writing assignment
- 30 in-class presentation (8-10 minutes)
- Course home page
- www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/fall2006/Gia
calone_195A - (see this page for a tentative list of topics)
- Instructor office hours after class, or just
stop by (431 Kuiper Space Sciences)
4General outline of the course
- How does the Sun effect Earth?
- Does the Sun change? How?
- How does the changing Sun effect Earth?
- What is space radiation and how does it affect
humans in space?
5(No Transcript)
6An x-ray image of the Sun (SoHO)
The largest flare seen since the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began
recording them in 1976
7A Fact About Huge Solar Flares (slightly smaller
ones occur, on average, about 3 times per day
during solar max)
Artists depiction of a large asteroid striking
the Earth (which occur, on average, about 1 every
100 million years)
Asteroid Energy 5x1030 ergs 100 times less than
a flare!
Flare Energy 5x1032 ergs
8The Sun seen from space
SOHO/LASCO (C3) movie of the Halloween Solar
Storms of 2003
9Why Study the Sun ?
- Influence on Earth
- Important for Astronomy/Planetary Sciences
- Only star that we can see closely
- The source of many interesting and important
physics problems - Many interesting research projects
- For me?
- Many basic properties are a mystery
- Understanding the space radiation environment,
space weather, cosmic rays
Inti, The Inca Sun God
10What does the Sun Look like from Earth?
Photosphere as seen with a Mylar filter
Chromosphere as seen using an Ha filter
11(No Transcript)
12SOLAR CORONA SEEN DURING A TOTAL ECLIPSE
13(No Transcript)
14The Sun seen in x-rays
15Close up of the Sun seen by the spacecraft
Hinode
16Close-up images of the solar surface and a
sunspot with Earth as a scale
17The Sunspot Cycle
Number of Sunspots versus time they come and go
every 11 years
Lots of sunspots ? Solar Maximum
lots of solar
activity Few sunspots ? Solar Minimum
quiet Sun
18Reading For Next Week
- Further discussion of the Sun
- What is the structure of the Sun?
- What is the solar constant?
- What are the consequences on Earth of incoming
solar energy? - Be prepared to get involved in the discussion
about these topics - A few useful internet links will be posted on the
course website this afternoon. You should read
the information on these sites before next class.