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Material:
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CSUB NASA 2008 NASA Education Standards Quilt
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| Submitted by: |
Javier Ruiz on Jul 24, 2008 |
| Date Last Modified: |
Jul 24, 2008 |
| Title: |
Ulysses Solar Observation from Pole to Pole: Maunder Mystery Story |
| Description: |
Compare the historical data of number of sunspots to the Earth's climate. Also has links to literature, art and history. |
| Type of Task: |
Individual,
Student-centered,
Supervised
|
| Time Required |
55 minutes |
| Topics: |
Maunder Mystery Story |
| Course: |
Science |
| Audience: |
High School,
Middle School
|
| Categories: |
|
| Prerequisites Skills: |
The Ulysses Discoveries
Ulysses is on an exploration mission to study our star, the Sun.
What has the Ulysses mission discovered? How has the mission
interpreted the observed sunspots and their minimum and
maximum cycles? Ulysses has investigated a solar minimum
heliosphere, passing by both poles during the minimum. (The
term heliosphere refers to the Suns environment.) In recent
years (20002001), Ulysses has been sending back information
while the Sun is in a solar maximum cycle. The primary objective
of the Ulysses Solar Maximum Mission was to study the Sun over
the poles at or near maximum solar conditions. The most recent
information (2003) shows a decline in solar activity; however,
sometimes powerful storms can occur as the cycle ends. Ulysses,
having studied the Sun during solar minimum and solar maximum
years, has allowed scientists to create a three-dimensional picture
of the Sun and its heliosphere.
Although the Ulysses space probe does not have imaging instruments
on board, it has been able to gather and transmit a great
deal of useful information about the Suns environment. Using
this information, scientists have created a map of the Suns
heliosphere. Using instruments to fi gure out something we dont
have pictures of is the way scientists mapped the ocean fl oor and
Earths interior. Information is used to create a picture of what the
actual model might look like. The Ulysses map of the Suns heliosphere
includes magnetic fi elds, energized particles, solar storms,
and solar winds.
If your students dont have a clear understanding of what sunspots
are, the following websites have simple activities that will allow
your students to observe and draw sunspots, much like earlier
astronomers, including Galileo and the Maunders. Galileo Galilei
fi rst observed and recorded sunspots around 1610. Other people
some were scientists, some not observed and recorded
sunspots after 1610. |
| Learning Objectives: |
The completion of the following activities will allow students to
see how a theory develops from inception through various studies
where supporting evidence is found and how current technology
might be used in supporting the theory. We will be looking at the
theory set out by E. W. Maunder concerning the correlation between
numbers of sunspots and Earths climate. Maunder believed
that the low sunspot activity observed during the 17th18th centuries
was a major cause for the climate change that occurred during
a period known as the Little Ice Age, when temperatures became
signifi cantly cooler. |
| Technical Notes: |
Other Information
A picture of Ulysses can be found at http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov
or at http://helio.estec.esa.nl/ulysses. Sunspot activity during the
Ulysses mission can be seen on the NASA lithograph, Sunspot
Activity, JPL 400-819C 3/99. |
| Text of Learning Exercise: |
Maunder Mystery Story JPL 400-1133 Rev.1 12/05
Objective
The completion of the following activities will allow students to
see how a theory develops from inception through various studies
where supporting evidence is found and how current technology
might be used in supporting the theory. We will be looking at the
theory set out by E. W. Maunder concerning the correlation between
numbers of sunspots and Earths climate. Maunder believed
that the low sunspot activity observed during the 17th18th centuries
was a major cause for the climate change that occurred during
a period known as the Little Ice Age, when temperatures became
signifi cantly cooler.
Grade Levels
The activities are keyed to Grades 58.
Setup for Classroom
Students will be assigned to detective teams of four persons each.
They will be provided with three clues to complete their research.
Overview
There are three activities in this mystery. They are set up in the
same order in which the theory progressed. First, the students will
learn about E. W. Maunder and his wife Annie. Then the student
teams will follow the clues. The fi rst two activities have to do with
Maunder and his predecessors and their explorations of sunspots
(clue #2 has three parts). The third activity introduces students
to what tree rings tell us about sunspot history. The Internet links
provided will give you supplemental information or back up activities
that are presented here.
What Is the Maunder Minimum?
Temperatures in northern Europe became cooler beginning about
1300, and became very cold about 15601850. The period from
about the mid-14th century to the mid-19th century is known as
the Little Ice Age. The Maunder Minimum refers to a period of time
during the mid-1600s to the early 1700s (about 16451715)
when solar observers noted a virtual absence of sunspots, corresponding
to very cold temperatures during northern European winters,
when normally ice-free bodies of water froze. The Maunder
Minimum period was the coldest part of the Little Ice Age.
Background Information
Why are we studying the Sun? It has become important to us here
on Earth to understand the solar activity that occurs during solar
minimum and solar maximum. The activity appears to affect the
solar wind, which in turn affects radio transmissions and satellite
communications. Solar activity is determined by the number of
sunspots present. Sunspots are related to the active areas of the
Sun where eruptions like solar fl ares originate.
The Ulysses Discoveries
Ulysses is on an exploration mission to study our star, the Sun.
What has the Ulysses mission discovered? How has the mission
interpreted the observed sunspots and their minimum and
maximum cycles? Ulysses has investigated a solar minimum
heliosphere, passing by both poles during the minimum. (The
term heliosphere refers to the Suns environment.) In recent
years (20002001), Ulysses has been sending back information
while the Sun is in a solar maximum cycle. The primary objective
of the Ulysses Solar Maximum Mission was to study the Sun over
the poles at or near maximum solar conditions. The most recent
information (2003) shows a decline in solar activity; however,
sometimes powerful storms can occur as the cycle ends. Ulysses,
having studied the Sun during solar minimum and solar maximum
years, has allowed scientists to create a three-dimensional picture
of the Sun and its heliosphere.
Although the Ulysses space probe does not have imaging instruments
on board, it has been able to gather and transmit a great
deal of useful information about the Suns environment. Using
this information, scientists have created a map of the Suns
heliosphere. Using instruments to fi gure out something we dont
have pictures of is the way scientists mapped the ocean fl oor and
Earths interior. Information is used to create a picture of what the
actual model might look like. The Ulysses map of the Suns heliosphere
includes magnetic fi elds, energized particles, solar storms,
and solar winds.
We depend on satellites that orbit Earth for communications via
telephone and television and for weather forecasts. These communications
can be interrupted by events happening on the Sun.
These events infl uence space weather, including solar storms that
affect the solar wind. It is this wind and its magnetic forces that
affect our communication systems. It is important to understand
how these storms occur and possibly learn how to predict them.
Other Information
A picture of Ulysses can be found at http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov
or at http://helio.estec.esa.nl/ulysses. Sunspot activity during the
Ulysses mission can be seen on the NASA lithograph, Sunspot
Activity, JPL 400-819C 3/99.
Defi nitions
Sunspot: A dark spot on the Suns surface that indicates a concentration
of magnetic forces. Sunspots are actually about 2000
degrees Celsius cooler than the solar surface, and only look dark
because they emit light faintly.
Sunspot Cycle: The change in the number of sunspots from one
period of its maximum to the next, over the course of about 11
years.
(Defi nitions from Solar Storms and You: Exploring Sunspots and
Solar Activity Cycles, NASA EG-2000-03-002-GSFC.)
Extensions
Question to explore: How do the solar wind and magnetic fi eld
change during sunspot maximum conditions?
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/edask.htm
T E A C H E R S . D I R E C T I O N S
Educators
Please take a moment to evaluate this product at
http://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educational_wallsheet
Your evaluation and suggestions are vital to continually
improving NASA educational materials.
Thank you. |
| Additional Information URL: |
http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/pdfs/UlyssesPosterFinal.pdf |
| Assessment: |
Maunder Mystery Conclusion
In the past, a connection seems to have been made between the
lack of sunspot activity and the overall climate changes here on
Earth. Temperatures dropped by several degrees (2 to 4 degrees
Fahrenheit). This was enough to cause normally ice-free rivers to
freeze. Do you think that in present times the same Little Ice Age
could happen? Take into account that the Industrial Age (post-
1850) has allowed human activity to become more infl uential in
environmental events.
Look back over your results: observations, graphs, and other data.
Do you agree with the theory that the Maunders put forth? What
questions do you still have that havent been answered yet?
Would some of the technology that we have available today help
the Maunders convince other scientists of the validity of their
theory? Where might |
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