LIVE FROM THE AURORA

Tuesday March 18, 2003
13:00-14:00 Eastern
Aurora Images taken in March including some from the HEX mission

Student viewers interact in real-time with researchers at live uplink sites such as NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and at high latitudes in Alaska, where auroras are frequent and intense. The diverse cadre of on-camera researchers will post BIOgraphies and Field Journals online allowing students to go behind the scenes in ways no textbook can.

Through the website, students will be able to "Ask an Auroral Scientist" any time from January 2003 through May 2003, the end of the school year. The website will also house PDF files with teacher-tested, inquiry-based hands-on activities.

Most of us take the Sun for granted, and-apart from the seasons-don't really appreciate its impact on every aspect of our lives. Auroras, however, are the most outward, visible, dramatic and downright beautiful sign of our deep connections to the local star. Their shimmering colors reveal the otherwise invisible layers of the atmosphere. They demonstrate the importance of Earth's magnetosphere to life on our planet, an all-important protection against the vast energies of the Universe around us.

  • Witness the world's most beautiful auroras, seen from the ground, and captured by NASA spacecraft such as IMAGE and POLAR, as well as dramatic views from the Space Shuttle
  • See dynamic animations demonstrating Sun-Earth connections, showing how explosions on the Sun energize Earth's radiation belts, and generate the northern and southern auroras
  • Meet the engaging men and women who study the aurora with increasingly sophisticated instruments, including satellites, sounding rockets, and radars
  • Find out about "space weather" and explore its increasing importance to 21st century society
  • Understand how and why Sun-Earth Connections like those seen in the aurora can impact life on our planet by disrupting satellite communications, generating power surges and blackouts, endangering human spaceflight and even air travel, and ultimately affecting global climate.

Explore and explain...

 • Electricity and magnetism
 • Atoms and particles
 • Optics and the electromagnetic spectrum
 • The structure and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere
 • Sunspots and solar cycles...

Excite students with...

 • Spectacular images and remote locations
 • Real time interaction with leading researchers
 • Animations of key science concepts
 • Background on high tech careers
 • Real life adventures in cutting edge science...