Astronomy GCSE : Week 10
2016–17 course delivered by Think Physics and the Centre for Life
Another week looking at the Sun, but this time including the aurora.
Web links for Week 10
The weblinks for last week are still relevant this week. Other sites to investigate are:
- The Lab for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado have a really good Sun interactive which allows you to investigate the features of the Sun at different wavelengths.
- Short film about what causes Northern lights
- Forecasting aurora using data from satellites.
- Aurora watch for the UK.
- NASA’s explanation of the Solar Wind
- Observing the sun at H-alpha wavelengths
- Veritasium’s film about where the Sun gets its energy from.
And just in case you need it, a reminder about the electromagnetic spectrum.
Specification statements for week 10
- demonstrate an understanding that the Sun’s energy is generated by nuclear fusion reactions at its core, converting hydrogen into helium
- describe how astronomers observe the Sun at different wavelengths
- demonstrate an understanding of the appearance of the Sun at different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible, H-alpha, X-ray
- describe the structure and nature of the solar wind.
- describe aurorae and recall from where on Earth they are most likely to be observed
- explain how aurorae are caused.
