A) UNDERWRITER ANNOUNCE
LIVE FROM THE SUN 2000 IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY NASA, THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION.
1) TEASE
EACH YEAR, EARTH'S ORBIT AROUND THE SUN BRINGS US THE SEASONS... A TIME TO RELAX IN THE SUMMER SUN... AND THEN A TIME FOR SNOW AND WINTER CHILL.
BUT THE SUN ALSO HAS ITS SEASONS, DRIVEN BY FORCES WE NOW UNDERSTAND BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE.
EVERY ELEVEN YEARS OR SO OUR STAR, THE SUN, EXPERIENCES A PERIOD OF INCREASED ACTIVITY, DURING WHICH EXPLOSIVE EVENTS COME MORE FREQUENTLY AND MORE VIOLENTLY.
DOWN HERE ON EARTH WE MAY EXPERIENCE STRONGER AND MORE COLORFUL AURORA, AND SEE THEM FARTHER SOUTH.
THIS IS THE TIME KNOWN AS "SOLAR MAXIMUM", AND IT'S EXPECTED TO PEAK IN MID-2000 AND CONTINUE FOR A YEAR OR SO INTO 2001.
Mike Carlowicz, Science Writer, ITSS Raytheon at NASA Goddard on what to expect
WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SUN DURING SOLAR MAXIMUM, AND WHY...
...AND ITS EFFECTS DOWN HERE ON EARTH...
...ARE THE THEME OF THIS PROGRAM...
2) TITLES
LIVE FROM THE SUN 2000...
"TO THE MAX"
3) BLACKOUT 1989
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED DOWN HERE DURING LAST "SOLAR MAXIMUM", IN MARCH 1989.
ON THE SUN, A MASSIVE EXPLOSION OF PARTICLES AND MAGNETISM, KNOWN AS A "CORONAL MASS EJECTION", BLASTED OFF A BILLION TONS OF MATTER AT PERHAPS A MILLION MILES AN HOUR.
THE SHOCKWAVE TRAVELED ACROSS SPACE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AND BUMPED INTO EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD.
SURGES OF ENERGY PULSED DOWN TO EARTH...
AT 2:42 A.M., EASTERN TIME, EARTH'S GEOMAGNETIC FIELD BEGAN TO REACT.
IN CANADA, POWER LINES FAILED.
90 SECONDS LATER THE 3RD LARGEST POWER GRID ON THE CONTINENT, HYDRO QUEBEC, HAD COLLAPSED.
WITHIN 2 MINUTES THIS STORM FROM THE SUN HAD SPREAD CLEAR AROUND OUR PLANET.
MILLIONS OF HOMES LOST ELECTRICITY.
THE LIGHTS WENT OUT OVER QUEBEC. SOME STAYED OUT FOR WEEKS.
THE EVERYDAY CONVENIENCES OF MODERN LIFE BECAME TRAPS.
HOSPITALS TURNED TO GENERATORS-IF THEY WERE LUCKY.
IN 200 SEPARATE INCIDENTS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, GENERATING EQUIPMENT BURNED OUT AND HAD TO BE REPLACED.
NO-ONE KNOWS IF THIS SOLAR MAXIMUM WILL BRING SIMILAR DISRUPTION, BUT WE NOW RELY MORE THAN EVER BEFORE ON SATELLITES FOR GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMERCE.
THESE KINDS OF SUN-EARTH EVENTS CAN FRY SATELLITE CIRCUITS AND TURN THEM INTO SPACE JUNK.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, REQUIRING MANY SPACE WALKS EACH YEAR MAY HAVE TO PAUSE SO ASTRONAUTS CAN BE PROTECTED FROM EXCESSIVE RADIATION.
DOWN HERE ON EARTH, LONG DISTANCE OIL PIPELINES MAY BE WEAKENED BY UNUSUAL GEOMAGNETICALLY-INDUCED CURRENTS.
NO-ONE ON EARTH CAN STOP OR CHANGE THE SUN'S 11-YEAR CYCLE OF ACTIVITY, BUT WE CAN UNDERSTAND IT BETTER AND FIGURE OUT WAYS TO PROTECT OUR TECHNOLOGY AND OUR WAY OF LIFE.
Scenes of NOAA press conference: Ernie Hildner of NOAA SEC Boulder and NOAA Administrator James Baker on camera:
IN NOVEMBER 1999, NOAA-THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION-ANNOUNCED A NEW WAY TO CATEGORIZE THESE KINDS OF "SPACE WEATHER" EVENTS, JUST AS THEY DO FOR HURRICANES AND TORNADOES.
ON THIS NEW SCALE, THE QUEBEC EVENT WOULD HAVE BEEN A CATEGORY 5-THE MOST SEVERE.
NOAA'S HOPE IS TO ALERT POWER COMPANIES AND SATELLITE OPERATORS TO IMMINENT DANGER, AND GIVE THEM JUST A LITTLE MARGIN TO REACT AND PROTECT THEIR SYSTEMS.
THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S CALLED "SPACE WEATHER" IS NEW FOR MANY OF US. WE'VE GROWN UP BELIEVING THE SUN IS CONSTANT AND UNCHANGING.
SOLAR RESEARCHERS KNOW OTHERWISE...
Craig DeForest, Stanford/NASA, describes changes seen on the Sun between 1996 and 1999.
4) PROGRAM SET-UP
IN THIS VIDEO WE'LL LOOK AT THE FORCES WHICH CREATE SOLAR MAXIMUM, AND HOW THEY RESULT IN SUNSPOTS, FLARES AND OTHER VIOLENT AND SPECTACULAR PHENOMENA...
WE'LL SEE HOW SPACECRAFT STUDY THE SUN, AND HOW YOU TOO CAN FOLLOW ALONG, VIA THE INTERNET, AND MEET SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST SOLAR RESEARCHERS...
WE'LL LOOK BACK AT THE BIRTH OF OUR SUN, ITS LONG LIFE AS A TYPICAL STAR, AND FORWARD TO ITS FINAL DAYS, BILLIONS OF YEARS FROM NOW...
YOU'LL SEE HOW YOU CAN "FOLLOW THE SUN" DOWN HERE ON EARTH, WITH FUN AND INFORMATIVE HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES...
WE'LL GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, ONE OF AMERICA'S LEADING SOLAR RESEARCH SITES...
AND WE'LL VISIT NASA'S >GODDARD< SPACE FLIGHT CENTER TO SEE HOW SOUNDING ROCKETS AND ADVANCED SATELLITES HELP US UNDERSTAND THE SUN AS NEVER BEFORE.
5) ONLINE TIE-IN
THROUGHOUT THIS PROGRAM, WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU'LL KNOW THE "LIVE FROM THE SUN" WEB SITE PROVIDES A PORTAL TO LOTS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUN, SOLAR MAXIMUM, AND SUN-EARTH CONNECTIONS.
RIGHT NOW, OR AT ANY TIME THROUGHOUT THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR, FOLLOW THE "ON-AIR" OR "RESEARCHER Q&A" LINKS AND YOU'LL FIND OUT HOW TO INTERACT WITH SOME OF AMERICA'S LEADING SOLAR SCIENTISTS TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
6) SOLAR MAX: what to expect
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, OBSERVERS HAVE CAREFULLY WATCHED THE SUN AND COUNTED THE MOST OBVIOUS PHENOMENA THAT CAN BE SEEN IN WHITE LIGHT-SUNSPOTS.
AS THEY RECORDED THE NUMBER AND POSITION OF THE SPOTS, THEY DISCOVERED THERE WAS A REGULAR 11-YEAR PATTERN.
AT TIMES THERE WOULD BE NO SPOTS AT ALL...
...AT OTHER TIMES, NEARLY 300!
RESEARCHERS LIKE RON MOORE CAN TELL WHAT PART OF ITS CYCLE THE SUN IS IN SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT THE NUMBER AND POSITION OF THE SPOTS.
Ron Moore, NASA Marshall, describes the position and number of sunspots.
THIS IS WHAT SUNSPOTS LOOK LIKE THROUGH A TELESCOPE, SEEN FROM EARTH... BUT HOW WOULD THEY APPEAR IF YOU COULD SOMEHOW HOVER RIGHT OVER THEM, CLOSE TO THE SUN?
Moore describes the physical characteristics of sunspots.
SUNSPOTS DON'T JUST MARK THE PEAK OF SOLAR CYCLES. THEY ARE THE STRONGEST INDICATION, AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS, OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FORCE WHICH SHAPES THE SUN-MAGNETISM!
Moore and DeForest explain how magnetism shapes the Sun.
OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF WHY THE SUN IS SHAPED BY MAGNETISM IS THAT THE WHOLE STAR IS ELECTRICALLY CHARGED GAS IN MOTION.
DOWN IN THE SUN'S CORE, IT'S SO HOT THAT NUCLEAR FUSION TURNS HYDROGEN INTO HELIUM, PRODUCING VAST AMOUNTS OF ENERGY IN THE PROCESS.
THE ENERGY RADIATES UP, COOLS, AND THEN CONVECTION CELLS BRING THE HEAT UP TO THE SUN'S VISIBLE DISK IN VAST BUBBLES OF SIX THOUSAND DEGREE GAS.
UNLIKE GASES IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, THE ENTIRE SUN IS PLASMA, WHICH IS THE 4TH STATE OF MATTER.
PLASMA IS GAS WHOSE ATOMS HAVE HAD SOME OF THEIR USUAL COMPLEMENT OF ELECTRONS KNOCKED OFF BECAUSE OF THE SUN'S EXTREME CONDITIONS AND SO CAN BECOME ELECTRICALLY CHARGED.
AS YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE LEARNED THROUGH HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES IN SCIENCE CLASS, ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM ARE CLOSELY RELATED.
IN 1820 HANS CHRISTIAN OERSTED (OAR-STEAD) DISCOVERED THAT AN ELECTRIC CURRENT WILL CAUSE A COMPASS NEEDLE TO DEFLECT.
11 YEARS LATER, MICHAEL FARADAY SHOWED THAT MOVING MAGNETS GENERATE ELECTRICITY...
BUT OUR SUN HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATING THE UNITY OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM FOR SOME 5 BILLION YEARS!
(SOT)
SUNSPOTS IN VISIBLE LIGHT KEEP STEP WITH ALL OF THESE EVEN MORE DRAMATIC CHANGES, WHICH ONLY APPEAR AT DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT, NOT VISIBLE WITHOUT SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS.
THIS IS WHAT THE JAPANESE-US "YOHKOH" SATELLITE SEES AS IT TRACKS THE SUN IN X-RAY LIGHT THROUGH AN ENTIRE 11-YEAR SOLAR CYCLE...
FROM ACTIVE PERIODS...
TO QUIETER YEARS...
AND BACK TO TIMES OF INTENSE ACTIVITY...
ELIZABETH NEWTON USES SPECIAL DETECTORS...
...ABOARD THE COMPTON GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY TO STUDY WHAT HAPPENS DURING SOLAR FLARES.
THE EXPERIMENT IS CALLED THE "BURST AND TRANSIENT SOURCE EXPERIMENT", "BATSE" (BAT-SEE) FOR SHORT.
ELIZABETH SPOKE WITH US IN WHAT RESEARCHERS HAVE NICKNAMED THE "BAT CAVE" AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER.
BEHIND HER YOU CAN SEE THE PATH OF THE COMPTON GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY AS IT PASSES OVER EARTH, ORBITING ABOUT ONCE EVERY 90 MINUTES.
Elizabeth Newton describes her research on flares, and the incredible velocities to which they accelerate particles.
IN 1998, A NEW SPACECRAFT, "TRACE", WAS READY.
ITS IMAGING SYSTEM WOULD BRING US MORE DETAILED VIEWS OF THE SUN THAN EVER BEFORE.
SLUNG BENEATH A JET PLANE, ITS ROCKET LAUNCHER WAS CARRIED HIGH UP ABOVE EARTH.
THEN, FLAWLESSLY, "TRACE" BLASTED OFF TO ITS FINAL ORBIT....
IMAGES FROM TRACE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW US IMAGES WITH UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL OF WHAT HAPPENS IN DIFFERENT LAYERS OF THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE, ABOVE THE ACTIVE REGIONS MARKED BY SUNSPOTS.
LOCKHEED MARTIN'S ALAN TITLE GIVES US A KIND OF "PLAY BY PLAY" OF THE INCREDIBLY DYNAMIC ACTION HAPPENING ON THE SUN...
Alan Title describes CMEs, loops and filaments in fantastic motion.
LIKE ALL OTHER SPACECRAFT NOW FLYING, THE "TRACE" TEAM IS HOPING THAT STUDYING SOLAR MAXIMUM WITH THEIR NEW INSTRUMENTS WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE PHENOMENA AS NEVER BEFORE.
Title on looking forward to discovering the unexpected!
TO HELP >YOU< "THINK IN NEW WAYS", "LIVE FROM THE SUN" PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES ONLINE TO ASK QUESTIONS OF MANY OF THE RESEARCHERS YOU'RE SEEING DURING THIS PROGRAM.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE SCIENTISTS ARE HAPPY TO RESPOND.
7) 2 STUDENT QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ELIZABETH NEWTON AND CRAIG DeFOREST
8) MARSHALL TOUR
NEW IDEAS, AND NEW TOOLS TO EXPLORE THEM... THAT'S WHAT WE FOUND WHEN WE WENT "BEHIND THE SCENES" AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER... WHICH SPECIALIZES IN SOLAR RESEARCH... AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!
John Horack, who heads up the education section of Marshall's Science Directorate, takes students on a video tour. Rocket enginers from Apollo and the Shuttle, new propulsion designs, and more...
9) TIMELINE
Solar Max will bring increased numbers of sunspots... but humans have been tracking them for over 2000 years, since the Chinese left the first sunspot record in 165 BC...
The first European and Arab records date from the 9th Century AD...
In 1613, Galileo made the first observations using a telescope...
3 decades later came a 70 year period with few sunspots... coinciding with the "Little Ice Age" in Europe...
In 1843 Schwabe discovered the 11-year sunspot cycle...
In 1859 Carrington used sunspots to discover the differential rotation of the Sun's equator and pole...
So when you look at sunspots, using safe projection techniques, you're following in a long and grand tradition!
10) SOLAR MAX ON EARTH
LIGHT FROM THE SUN, CARRIED BY THE MASS-LESS PARTICLES WE CALL PHOTONS, TAKES ABOUT 8 MINUTES TO TRAVEL TO EARTH.
THE HEAVIER PARTICLES BLOWN OFF IN CME'S TAKE LONGER... EVEN WHEN TRAVELING AT HALF A MILLION MILES AN HOUR OR MORE.
WE CAN THINK OF CME'S AS STRONG GUSTS IN THE EVER-BLOWING SOLAR WIND.
WE SEE THE BIRTH OF THE SOLAR WIND IN THE SUN'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE, OR CORONA, DURING ECLIPSES, BUT IT'S ALWAYS BLOWING OUT, IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
BUT IT'S WHEN THE STRONG GUSTS OF CME'S ARE DIRECTED RIGHT TOWARDS EARTH THAT WE HAVE TO WATCH OUT... AND THOSE TIMES OF TURBULENT SPACE WEATHER COME AROUND MORE OFTEN AT SOLAR MAXIMUM.
NICKY FOX IS A SUN-EARTH CONNECTION RESEARCHER, ORIGINALLY FROM "RAINY OLD ENGLAND."
SO MAYBE THAT'S WHY SHE LOVES TO DRIVE A CONVERTIBLE...
COMMUTING BETWEEN HER 2 OFFICES AT NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER AND THE JOHNS HOPKINS' ADVANCED PHYSICS LABORATORY, NICKY DESCRIBES HOW OUR NETWORK OF SPACECRAFT CAN TELL WHICH EXPLOSIONS ON THE SUN MAY CREATE MAGNETIC STORMS HERE AT EARTH.
Nicky Fox describes the speed and density of the solar wind by analogy to traffic on the road.
ONCE WHAT RESEARCHERS CALL A "GEO-EFFECTIVE" EVENT REACHES OUR PLANET, THERE'S ANOTHER WAY YOU'LL KNOW IT... AT LEAST IF YOU LIVE IN THE FAR NORTH... OR SOUTH!
...AURORAS-THE NORTHERN OR SOUTHERN LIGHTS!
Nicky Fox on auroras.
AURORAS MAY BE BEAUTIFUL, BUT PERHAPS THE ANCIENT CHINESE WERE ONTO SOMETHING WHEN THEY REGARDED THEM AS >DRAGONS IN THE SKY<... GEOMAGNETIC STORMS CAN BE DANGEROUS.
Mike Carlowicz details some specific results of past space weather events.
THIS IS A TEN MILLION DOLLAR TRANSFORMER IN A LARGE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN NEW JERSEY. IN THE MARCH 98 EVENT, INTERNAL HEATING WAS ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE LARGE COPPER WINDINGS TO MELT.
IT WAS 6 WEEKS BEFORE THIS PLANT WAS BACK IN OPERATION, AND EXPERTS SAY IT WAS JUST GOOD LUCK SPARES WERE AT HAND-IT COULD HAVE TAKEN A YEAR!!!
Carlowicz on what to expect.
11) LIFE CYCLE OF THE SUN
SOLAR CYCLES ARE NATURAL AND INEVITABLE, AND SO WE SHOULD BE >PREPARED< FOR "SOLAR MAX", NOT UNNECESSARILY >ALARMED<.
BUT PERHAPS WE TAKE OUR STAR, THE SUN, FOR GRANTED, IMAGINING THAT IT'S ALWAYS EXISTED, AND THAT IT WILL CONTINUE FOREVER WITH LITTLE CHANGE.
BUT, LIKE EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE, THE SUN HAD A BEGINNING, AND WILL-SOMEDAY-END.
LET'S FOLLOW A FEW BILLION YEARS IN THE HISTORY OF "LIFE UNDER OUR SUN", IN THIS ARTIST'S PANORAMIC DEPICTION.
3 BILLION YEARS AGO...
THE MOON WAS ORBITING CLOSER TO EARTH THAN NOW...
...AND TIDES WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE EXTREME THAN TODAY.
CHURNING SURF MIXED MINERALS AND NUTRIENTS AND THE SUN'S ENERGY IN A PLANETARY BLENDER.
LIFE HAD BEGUN IN ITS VERY SIMPLEST, MINUTEST FORM PERHAPS A BILLION YEARS EARLIER, ONLY A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS AFTER THE PLANET FORMED...
NOW EARTH'S CHEMICALS, ALONG WITH...
...GASES FROM VOLCANOES, AND-PERHAPS-MOLECULES FROM SPACE
...BEGAN TO ASSEMBLE THEMSELVES INTO LARGER AND LARGER COLONIES, LIKE THE CYANOBACTERIA (CY, AS IN YOUNG, ANN, OH, BACTERIA) WE SEE BUILDING THE HALF-ROCK, HALF-LIVING STROMATOLITES WE SEE HERE. (STROM-AS IN THURMOND, MAT-AS IN DOOR, TOE-LIGHTS.)
NOW LIFE ITSELF BEGAN TO TRANSFORM THE ATMOSPHERE OF OUR PLANET, ADDING OXYGEN TO THE NITROGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE THAT HAD PREDOMINATED EARLIER.
THE GROWING SUPPLY OF OXYGEN TURNED BANDS OF IRON RUST RED...
1.8 BILLION YEARS AGO... AND OUR PLANET WAS WELL ON THE WAY TO THE WORLD WE KNOW TODAY...
...A PLACE THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY GIVE BIRTH TO MULTI-CELLED ORGANISMS...
...WHO WOULD DEVELOP BRAINS THAT WOULD ENABLE THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE SUN THAT WARMED THEIR WORLD...
...THE STAR THAT ORIGINALLY GAVE THEM LIFE.
12) FOLLOW THE SUN from space
THIS SOLAR MAXIMUM WILL BE THE FIRST TO BE STUDIED BY THE FLOTILLA OF SPACECRAFT OF THE "INTERNATIONAL SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS PROGRAM", ISTP.
BUT AS WE'LL SEE, THESE POWERFUL OBSERVATORIES WILL SOON BE JOINED BY EVEN MORE SENSITIVE INSTRUMENTS AND REVOLUTIONARY NEW DETECTORS.
Nicky Fox describes the contribution of ACE as a "space weather" satellite.
THE NEWEST OF THE CURRENT FLEET OF SPACECRAFT IS "ACE"... JOINTLY OPERATED BY NOAA AND NASA.
DESIGNED TO STUDY THE PHYSICS OF THE SOLAR WIND, IT ALSO MAKES IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO SPACE WEATHER FORECASTS.
IT WAS BUILT HERE AT THE ADVANCED PHYSICS LABORATORY OF JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY...
Fox on ACE/
LAUNCHING IN EARLY 2000, IN TIME TO STUDY SOLAR MAX, WILL BE THE APTLY NAMED "IMAGE" SPACECRAFT.
UP IN SPACE "IMAGE" WILL DEPLOY SEVERAL INNOVATIVE INSTRUMENTS TO STUDY HOW EARTH'S INNER MAGNETOSPHERE RESPONDS TO VARIATIONS IN THE FLOW OF CHARGED PARTICLES FROM THE SUN.
Jim Green of NASA Goddard describes IMAGE.
SOON AFTER "IMAGE" IS DEPLOYED, THE "TIMED" SPACECRAFT WILL FOLLOW.
"TIMED" WILL STUDY THE AREA FROM 60-180 KM ABOVE EARTH, THE LEAST UNDERSTOOD REGION OF OUR ATMOSPHERE.
IT WILL TRACK THE SUN'S INFLUENCE AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS. "TIMED" WILL ALSO HELP IMPROVE SPACE WEATHER PREDICTIONS, AND PROVIDE A BASELINE AGAINST WHICH TO MEASURE HUMAN INFLUENCES ON THE ATMOSPHERE.
IT WILL ALSO LOOK AT HOW SOLAR FLARES AFFECT SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND THE IONOSPHERE.
STUDYING FLARES THEMSELVES IS THE MISSION OF THE "HESSI" (HESS-EE) SPACECRAFT, ALSO SLATED TO LAUNCH DURING SOLAR MAXIMUM.
MISSION CONTROL, USING A GIANT NEW ANTENNA, WILL BE OUT WEST, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY.
AS WE'VE SEEN, FLARES, CME'S AND SUNSPOTS ALL DERIVE THEIR ENERGY FROM THE SUN'S MAGNETIC FIELD, AND HESSI'S SENSITIVE X-RAY AND GAMMA RAY DETECTORS WILL STUDY THEM WITH FINER RESOLUTION THAN EVER BEFORE.
THEN HESSI RESEARCHERS WILL USE DATA FROM SOHO, TRACE AND YOHKOH (YOH [AS IN "ROCKY"]-KOH) TO RELATE THEIR CLOSE-UP X-RAY IMAGES TO PHYSICAL STRUCTURES ON THE SUN, HOPING FINALLY TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF HOW SOLAR FLARES RELEASE SO MUCH ENERGY SO RAPIDLY.
WITH ALL THESE SPACECRAFT >AND< SOLAR MAXIMUM, RESEARCHERS SHOULD ENJOY A GOLDEN AGE OF ASTRONOMY IN THE COMING YEARS...
AND ONE CONTRIBUTING SPACECRAFT WILL BE A VETERAN TRAVELER.
THE EUROPEAN-NASA "ULYSSES" MISSION WAS LAUNCHED IN 1990, BUT FIRST HAD TO TRAVEL OUT AWAY FROM THE SUN-ITS ULTIMATE TARGET-TO MIGHTY JUPITER, TO GET A GRAVITY ASSIST TO SLINGSHOT IT UP AND OUT OF THE PLANE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, HIGH ABOVE THE SUN'S POLES.
HERE, FARTHER FROM OUR STAR THAN THE SUN IS FROM EARTH, "ULYSSES" GATHERED THE FIRST EVER DATA ABOUT THE SOLAR WIND ABOVE THE SUN'S POLES.
IT FOUND A FAST SOLAR WIND, BLOWING CONSTANTLY AT NEARLY 800 KMS A SECOND, UNLIKE THE GENTLER AND INCONSTANT BREEZES CLOSER TO THE EQUATOR...
IN 2001, FOR THE FIRST TIME, "ULYSSES" WILL LOOK DOWN ON THE SUN'S POLES DURING A PERIOD OF SOLAR MAXIMUM.
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SIMILARLY-EQUIPPED "ACE" SPACECRAFT, IT WILL ALSO HELP US UNDERSTAND THE 3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF CME'S.
THROUGH ALL THESE MISSIONS, ASTRONOMERS WILL BE ABLE TO "LIVE" WITH A STAR, IN CLOSE-UP... UNDERSTANDING OUR SUN AS A TYPICAL STAR, YET ALSO APPRECIATING ITS DEEP CONNECTION TO OUR PLANET AS NEVER BEFORE.
BUT ONE OF OUR STUDENT PARTICIPANTS WONDERED IF WE COULD DO STILL MORE, AND GET AN EVEN CLOSER VIEW...
13) 2 MORE STUDENT QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY RESEARCHERS.
14) "ROCKET SCIENCE": THE "SERTS" PROJECT AT NASA GODDARD
GETTING THAT CLOSE TO THE SUN WOULD CERTAINLY BE A TREMENDOUS FEAT OF ENGINEERING, RESULTING IN SOME INCREDIBLE NEW SCIENCE.
BUT WITH DEDICATION AND HARD WORK, THIS TEAM OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS AT NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER ARE MAKING A CONSIDERABLE CONTRIBUTION TO SOLAR RESEARCH WITH A MUCH OLDER TECHNOLOGY.
THEY FLY THIS "SOLAR EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET ROCKET TELESCOPE AND SPECTROGRAPH", "SERTS" FOR SHORT, ON BOARD SOUNDING ROCKETS, LAUNCHED FROM THE WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, IN NEW MEXICO.
GODDARD IS NAMED AFTER ROBERT GODDARD, THE FOUNDING FATHER OF AMERICAN ROCKETRY.
NO DOUBT, HE'D BE PROUD THAT TODAY'S ENGINEERS ARE PUTTING HIS LEGACY TO WORK FOR CUTTING-EDGE SOLAR SCIENCE.
Comments from various members of the SERTS team, including Joe Davila, Barbara Thompson, Pat Haas, Les Payne, Marvin Swartz: Roger Thomas is also seen.
NONE OF THESE REAL-LIFE ROCKET SCIENTISTS ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE POPULAR MISCONCEPTION THAT "ROCKET SCIENCE" IS JUST TOO HARD FOR MOST PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND!
Joe Davila: rocket science isn't just for "rocket scientists"!
"SERTS" NOT ONLY PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY SPECTRA OF THE SUN, BUT IS ALSO USED TO CALIBRATE INSTRUMENTS ABOARD "SOHO" AND OTHER SPACECRAFT.
MEMBERS OF THE SMALL "SERTS" TEAM, ARE 30 SOMETHING AND ALSO 70 SOMETHING.
BUT ALL APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THEY CAN REALLY GET THEIR HANDS-ON THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THIS EXPERIMENT, AND FOLLOW THE PROCESS FROM >LABORATORY< TO >LAUNCH.<
Marvin Swartz
LIKE MANY OTHER NASA RESEARCHERS, THE SERTS TEAM IS ALSO COMMITTED TO EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
YOU CAN READ THEIR JOURNALS ONLINE, AND SEE A WEBCAST OF THEIR MOST RECENT LAUNCH. THE NEXT WILL COME SOMETIME IN THE YEAR 2000.
Scenes of Sarah Brown and the SUNBEAMS students, "Students United with NASA Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science."
AND THANKS TO NASA GODDARD AND THE "SUNBEAMS" PROGRAM, PERHAPS THIS GENERATION WILL NOT THINK THAT "ROCKET SCIENCE" IS BEYOND THEM.
THESE 6TH GRADERS FROM MURCH ELEMENTARY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ARE HERE FOR A WEEK OF HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES.
TODAY, IT'S ALKA SELTZER ROCKETS. SOME OF THE "SERTS" TEAM CAME ALONG TO LEND A HAND AND PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT.
"SUNBEAMS" COORDINATOR SARAH BROWN WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT NASA PROJECT MANAGER, CHECKING DESIGNS AND ROCKET STATUS IN A FINAL "PRE-SHIP REVIEW."
SOON IT'S TIME FOR SARAH TO BECOME THE VOICE OF "MISSION CONTROL."
Students excitedly launch their rockets: it's quite clear they are having a great time.
WE NEVER FOUND OUT WHETHER ALKA SELTZER IN WATER WAS A "SOLID" OR A "LIQUID" FUEL, BUT THE LOOKS ON THE FACES OF THESE STUDENTS SURE SHOWED THAT IN THEIR BOOK, "ROCKET SCIENCE" WAS FOR EVERYONE.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT "SERTS" OR "SUNBEAMS", CHECK OUT THE "LIVE FROM THE SUN" WEB SITE.
AND REMEMBER THAT OUR SITE, AND MANY SUPPORTED BY NASA, MAKE IT EASY TO ASK YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY OF NASA SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS.
15) 2 MORE STUDENT QUESTIONS
16) FOLLOW THE SUN down here on Earth
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUN, SOLAR MAX OR THE SUN-EARTH CONNECTION, CHECK OUT THE LIVE FROM THE SUN WEB SITE, NOW, OR THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR.
IF YOU'RE A STUDENT, FOLLOW SOME OF THE LINKS FROM OUR MAIN "LIVE FROM THE SUN" PAGES OR IN "URL POST" TO SOME MORE GREAT SITES, WITH COOL MOVIES AND HOT PICTURES!
BE SURE TO VISIT JAN CURTIS' BEAUTIFUL AURORA PAGES...
AND CHECK OUT ALL THE NASA MISSIONS WE'VE BRIEFLY MENTIONED.
AND THEN CHILL OUT WITH SOME NEAT GAMES AND PUZZLES-ALL VERY "EDUCATIONAL", OF COURSE!
WANT TO SEE WHAT OTHER STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN "LIVE FROM THE SUN" HAVE BEEN UP TO?
PEEK IN THE TEACHERS' SECTION-WE'RE SURE THEY WON'T MIND-UNDER "STUDENT WORK".
THIS ANIMATION SHOWS HOW YOU CAN SIMULATE THE FUSION WHICH MAKES THE SUN SHINE-USING M&M'S!
AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BOXES OF SALT IT TAKES TO MAKE A BILLION GRAINS? THESE STUDENTS DO-AND THEY ALSO KNOW HOW MANY STARS THERE ARE IN A TYPICAL GALAXY!
READ JOURNALS FROM RESEARCHERS AND ENGINEERS READYING THE "IMAGE" MISSION FOR LAUNCH DURING SOLAR MAX. THANKS TO SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR CONTRIBUTING THIS INSIDE LOOK AT THE CRITICAL LAST MONTHS BEFORE COUNTDOWN!
IF YOU WANT TO ORDER THE "LIVE FROM THE SUN" TEACHER'S GUIDE... MULTIMEDIA KIT... OR TAPES OF PREVIOUS PROGRAMS, YOU CAN ALSO FIND OUT HOW, RIGHT ON THE WEB SITE.
AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU'LL FIND SUGGESTIONS FROM RESEARCHER CRAIG DeFOREST ABOUT HOW TO OBSERVE SUNSPOTS SAFELY WITH PROJECTION TECHNIQUES.
REMEMBER, AS "THE CHROMATICS" SANG FOR US IN AN EARLIER VIDEO...
(SOT)
"...NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN, YOU COULD GO BLIND, JUST KEEP ON ENJOYING THAT WARM SUNSHINE!"
OUR "LIVE FROM THE SUN" MISSION IS TO HELP YOU BETTER APPRECIATE SOLAR SCIENCE BY LINKING YOU DIRECTLY TO WORLD-CLASS RESEARCHERS... AND PROVIDING YOU WITH UNIQUE, INTERACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES.
YOU CAN VISIT SOME OF THOSE RESEARCHERS-VIRTUALLY, AT LEAST-ONLINE, AT THEIR HOME INSTITUTIONS, VIA "SITE TOURS."
AND ONE OF THE PLACES TO BE SURE TO CHECK OUT IS THE NATIONAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY, AT KITT PEAK...
17) THE "GONG" PROJECT and helioseismology
Global Oscillation Network Group
THE SUN RISES EACH MORNING, AND SETS EACH NIGHT. IT'S PERHAPS THE MOST UNIVERSAL PHENOMENON WE EXPERIENCE HERE ON EARTH.
BUT IF YOU'RE A SCIENTIST, SEEKING TO "FOLLOW THE SUN" 24 HOURS A DAY, EACH SUN SET STOPS YOUR RESEARCH IN ITS TRACKS.
UNLESS YOU'RE AS INGENIOUS AS FRANK HILL AND HIS COLLEAGUES AT KITT PEAK...
TO FOLLOW THE SUN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THEY DEVELOPED A WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF OBSERVATORIES, PROVIDING NEARLY CONTINUOUS, 24 HOURS A DAY COVERAGE.
THERE'S BIG BEAR IN CALIFORNIA, WHERE LAKE WATERS KEEP THE AIR CALM AROUND THE OBSERVATORY...
THE HIGH ALTITUDE OBSERVATORY ABOVE THE CLOUDS ATOP MAUNA LOA IN HAIWAII... (Monna-Low-ah)
LEARMONTH IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA...
UDAIPUR IN INDIA... (oo-die-poor)
THE CANARY ISLANDS...
AND THE CERRO TOLLOLO INTERAMERICAN OBSERVATORY IN CHILE. (chair-oh tol-low-low)
IT'S CALLED THE "GONG" PROJECT, BUT FRANK USED A BELL TO SHOW US HOW HIS GROUP USES SOUND TO PEER DOWN DEEP INSIDE THE SUN.
Frank Hill describes sun sounds, and we see cutaway animation of the Sun's internal structure as revealed by GONG and other such research.
18) LFSUN materials and follow up
YOU CAN FIND OUT MUCH MORE ABOUT KITT PEAK AND THE GONG PROJECT ONLINE, AND ALSO READ JOURNALS FROM FRANK HILL AND HIS COLLEAGUES.
FRANK RACES SPORTS CARS, AND JOHN LEIBACHER IS AN AVID SAILPLANE PILOT! SOLAR RESEARCHERS ARE A VARIED GROUP, BUT WE'VE FOUND THEY ALL HAVE PRETTY >SUNNY< DISPOSITIONS!
IF >YOU< WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE GONG PROJECT'S HELIOSEISMOLOGY FOR YOURSELF, CHECK OUT ACTIVITY 2.3 IN THE "LIVE FROM THE SUN" TEACHER'S GUIDE.
"SUN SOUNDS AND STAR QUAKES" AND MORE THAN 20 OTHER HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES HELP BRING SOLAR SCIENCE DOWN TO EARTH, WHILE ENABLING YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY THE STARS SHINE!
19) "SOLAR MAX" WRAP
SOLAR MAX IS NOW PREDICTED TO PEAK IN MID-2000, BUT OUR SUN MAY CONTINUE TO BE VERY ACTIVE WELL INTO THE YEAR 2001. SO YOU'RE INVITED TO USE THE "LIVE FROM THE SUN" WEB SITE TO "FOLLOW THE SUN" RIGHT THROUGH THIS EXCITING PERIOD.
WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT NASA, "LIVE FROM THE SUN" WILL HELP YOU TRACK CME'S FROM SUN TO EARTH, STUDY THE AURORA, AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON BY INTERACTING ONLINE WITH SOME OF AMERICA'S LEADING RESEARCHERS WHO'VE AGREED TO WORK WITH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, AND MENTOR LIFELONG LEARNERS OF ALL AGES!
SO THAT'S "LIVE FROM THE SUN 2000", "TO THE MAX"... FOR ONCE, EARTH'S SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT.
THIS IS JANE PURCELL, AND THANKS FOR JOINING US... AND REMEMBER... MAKE YOUR COMPUTER, YOUR TV AND YOUR CURIOSITY YOUR "PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE."
20) END CREDITS
21) UNDERWRITER ANNOUNCE
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