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Observing  the  Sun  

Objectives:  

This lab will introduce students to different observing methods and safety concerns when viewing the Sun. Students will study different types of features on the surface of the Sun, and will measure the Sun's rotation rate by tracking surface features.  

 

 

Checklist:  

□   Complete  the  pre-­‐lab  quiz  with  your  team  (if  required).  □   Compile  a  list  of  resources  you  expect  to  use  in  the  lab.  □   Work  with  your  team  to  complete  the  lab  exercises  and  activities.  □   Record  your  results  and  mark  which  resources  you  used.  □   Share  and  discuss  your  results  with  the  rest  of  the  class.  □   Determine  if  your  team’s  answers  are  reasonable.  □   Submit  an  observation  request  for  next  week  (if  required).    

 

Pre-­‐Lab  Quiz  

Record  your  group's  answers  to  each  question,  along  with  your  reasoning.  These  concepts  will  be  relevant  

later  in  this  lab  exercise.  

1.    

 

 

 

 

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Part  1:  Features  of  the  Sun  

Study  the  hydrogen-­‐alpha  image  of  the  Sun  below  and  identify  and  label  one  or  more  examples  each  of  

filaments,  solar  prominences,  sunspots,  and  granulation.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. On  the  SOHO  website,  what  does  EIT  stand  for  and  what  temperatures  do  the  different  filters  image?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. If  you  wanted  to  look  at  sunspots,  which  images  would  you  look  at  on  the  SOHO  and  BBSO  websites?  

 

 

 

 

 

3. What  features  of  the  sun  are  best  imaged  with  LASCO  images  on  SOHO?  Why  is  the  occulter  disk  important  

for  these  observations?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Describe  the  feature  you  are  tracking  by  drawing  a  diagram  of  the  Sun.  Measure  how  far  the  features  

moves  between  the  two  images  in  pixels  and  determine  the  diameter  of  the  Sun  in  pixels.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distance  Traveled  by  Feature  (pixels):    

Diameter  of  the  Sun  (pixels):  

 

5. If  the  images  were  taken  a  day  apart,  determine  how  long  it  would  take  for  the  feature  to  travel  all  the  

way  around  the  Sun.  Explain  your  reasoning  and  show  your  work.  Report  your  answer  in  days.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Part  2:  Solar  Cycle  

1. Write  down  your  method  for  determining  what  constitutes  a  sunspot  in  the  images.  

 

 

 

 

 

2. Fill  in  the  chart  below  (label  axes),  and  plot  the  number  of  sunspots  for  each  year.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. What  trend  do  you  observe?  What  year  had  the  most  sunspots  and  what  year  had  the  least  number  of  sunspots?    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. How  long  did  it  take  to  go  from  a  solar  minimum  to  a  solar  maximum?  How  long  is  the  solar  cycle?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. From  your  observations,  is  the  Sun  in  solar  maximum  or  solar  minimum?  If  neither,  where  in  the  solar  cycle  is  the  Sun  currently?  What  year  will  the  Sun  be  in  solar  maximum?    

Part  3:  Viewing  the  Sun  

1. Sketch  the  view  through  the  Coronado  Personal  Solar  Telescope  in  the  box  below.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Which  type  of  image  from  the  SOHO  and/or  BBSO  websites  does  the  view  through  the  telescope  most  

resemble?  

 

 

 

 

 

3. What  layers  of  the  Sun  are  you  viewing  with  the  Coronado  Personal  Solar  Telescope?