National Center for University Corporation

NSTA Denver Regional 2013

National Center for University Corporation Atmospheric Research for Atmospheric Research

Teresa Eastburn Tim Barnes

NSTA Denver Regional 2013 2

The Interior of the Sun



Sunspots Magnetic “loops” nearsunspot area

Source NASA TRACE Spacecraft


Solar Flares


Coronal Mass Ejection


Solar Cycle


Earth’s Magnetosphere


Activity on The Nature of Light – Absorption, Reflection (Scattering), Transmission,

or Combination of These

Meet the Photon Folks


Where does color come from?

What if...


Weather and Light

TextText


Air Temperature


Atmosphere’s Convection Currents


White-light image of the sun. Taken on September 13, 2001 by the Big Bear Observatory

The Sun in Visible Light --

Whatcolor is

this light?White?Are yousure?

Let’s find out!

Taking Light Apart;Putting It Back Together


Blue Sky* Activity

... and Red Sunsets


Our Atmosphere from Space


Sun seen in light/radiation that isinvisible to our eyes.

Soft X-ray image of the sun. Taken on September 13, 2001 by the Yohko Spacecraft.

Extreme Ultraviolet image of the sun. Taken on September 13, 2001 by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope aboard the SOHO Spacecraft.


Ultraviolet LightInfrared Light

Visible Light



Wavelength is the distance from the crest

of one wave to the crest of the next.

Wavelength is measured in meters.

Frequency is the number of waves in a given unit of

time, usually a second. Frequency is measured in

Hertz.


Wave Demo Activity


Spectroscope Activity


a. Incandescentb. Fluorescentc. Hg low pressured. Hg high pressuree. Metal Halidef. Na (sodium) highg. Na low pressureh. Red Neon Signi. Neon Sign (other than red)


Our Atmospheric Filter


ALBEDO – the amount of light energy

reflected by the Earth, measuredon a scale from 0 to 1 or 0 to 100%

(Earth’s average albedo is about 0.31 or 31% --Snow has a high albedo; the ocean has a low albedo))


AlbedoZebra

Stripes!


Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory & the University of California

IR movie



11 million square miles3 times the size of the U.S.



Refraction of Light

• Light is bent by refraction. The index of refraction for water is 4/3, implying that light travels 3/4 as fast in water as it does in a vacuum.


The LEO tracks the GPS phase while the signal is occulted to determine the Doppler -- when you understand light, you can understand today’s most advanced technological tools. For instance you have to understand principals of refraction to understand radio occultation.

(Demonstrate refraction by having students stick a sharp pencil through a closed baggy filled with water

LEO

vleo

vGPS

Tangent point


Ultraviolet Light


Thank you for joining us today for In a New Light

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