For Your Astronomers: Sunspotter [Another Zooniverse Project]

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Link: Sunspotter

 

We need your help to organize sunspot images in order of complexity to better understand and predict how the Sun's magnetic activity affects us on Earth.

 

CAN I USE SUNSPOTTER IN THE CLASSROOM?

 

Of course! Like all Zooniverse projects, Sunspotter is primarily a science project but offers students a great way to contribute to current cutting-edge research.

 

WHAT RESOURCES ARE THERE TO SUPPORT SUNSPOTTER IN THE CLASSROOM?

 

Videos are a great tool to introduce students to sunspots. Here are a couple of our favorites

 

• Mysteries of the Sun by NASA — These videos overview a variety of heliophysics topics including sunspots and space weather.
  
• — Sunspots are only one example of our Sun’s dynamic activity. In this video Daniel Ryan from the Sunspotters science team introduces solar storms and how they affect our lives on Earth.
  
• — This video overviews how solar activity affects technology here on Earth and using radio telescopes to monitor the sun’s activity.
  
• Dr. Paul Higgins — A member of the Sunspotter science team, explains his interest in solar physics and how you can help.
  

 

ZooTeach is a companion website to the Zooniverse where educators can find and share educational resources relating to Sunspotters and the other Zooniverse citizen science projects. Here are a couple to get started.

 

• The Magnetic Sun — Originally created for Zooniverse’s Solar Stormwatch, in this lesson students learn about the role magnetism plays in sunspots, how sunspots can lead to solar flares, and how to identify them.
  
• Explore Sunspots — Let your students try their hand at measuring the size of sunspot groups and then plot solar flare magnitude vs sunspot area and complexity.
  
• Explore Sunspots Introductory Presentation — Introduce your students to the science behind Sunspotter with this PowerPoint developed by Daniel Ryan, a member of the Sunspotter Science Team and adapted by Zooniverse educators.
  

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Link: Backyard Worlds: Planet 9