Sunspots and Space Weather

Name: _________________________________       Date: _____________

Can events that happen over 90 million miles away really have an effect on Earth? Although sunspots look like tiny dots on the solar surface, they can have a huge effect on "space weather." You'll find out more in this Planet Diary activity.

1. Go to NASA's Sunspots page. What are sunspots?
2. Where is the magnetic field strongest within a sunspot?
3. Find out about the Sunspot Cycle.
   1. How does the number of sunspots change in the cycle?
   2. How long is the solar cycle (in years)?
4. Look at the Sunspot Number graph on the left.
   1. When was the last peak of sunspot activity?
   2. What was the sunspot number at the last peak?
5. How do sunspots affect space weather? visit the Space Weather Bureau. Sunspots are linked to solar flares and streams of charged particles carried in the solar wind. In Earth's atmosphere, they can trigger geomagnetic storms. Look at the top of the left column for today's solar wind. What is its velocity? What is the density of protons?
6. Scroll to today's Daily Sun. What is today's sunspot number?
7. Scroll to NOAA forecasts for solar flares. What is the probability of medium-sized (M-class) and major (X-class) flares over the next 24 and 48 hours?
8. Finally, scroll to the geomagnetic storm forecast. What is the probability of each kind of geomagnetic storm over the next 24 and 48 hours?