~Please Note~ |
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ALL Vanderbilt University Virtual School video conferences are scheduled on
CENTRAL time and are for Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY.
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Wednesday, December 2 Dr. Rick Chappell
The Sun-Earth Connection
[REMEMBER that all students should prepare questions to ask presenter during videoconference.]
Your students may think the Sun is a constant, steadily glowing, featureless sphere whose only concern to us involves where and when it will appear. But while it does supply steady warmth and light, it undergoes changes that are turbulent and dynamic with far reaching effects on the environment of Earth and the activities of its inhabitants. This videoconference with Dr. Rick Chappell will help your students understand the Sun and its effects on the Earth, the solar system, and space environmental conditions.
Students will explore the dynamic nature of the Sun and its magnetic fields as well as Earth's magnetic field. Beautiful images of the Sun and an investigation of real data that relate the Sun's variations to the Earth's climate will allow students to understand the connections between the Sun and Earth, sunspots and climate.
Space Weather is the term scientists use to describe the ever-changing conditions in space. Explosions on the Sun create storms of radiation, fluctuating magnetic fields, and swarms of energetic particles. These phenomena travel outward through the Solar System with the solar wind. Upon arrival at Earth, they interact in complex ways with Earth's magnetic field, creating Earth's radiation belts and the Aurora. Some space weather storms can damage satellites, disable electric power grids, and disrupt cell phone communications systems.
Website Questions/Comments
Contact Virtual School Webmaster, Michael Majett
Email: michael.majett@Vanderbilt.edu
Phone: (615) 343-1018 IP:129.59.139.23
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