SPACE MATH 1 pdf - ER - Nasa

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The Height of an Aurora. Students use the properties oftriangles to measure the angles in a triangle that helps themdetermine the height of an aurora, based on techniques usedby scientists in the 1800’s. ………………………………………... 11Earth’s Wandering Magnetic Pole. Students interpret a plot ofthe location of the NMP since 300 AD and determine its speedof movement and distance traveled. …………………………….. 12The Plasmasphere. Students interpret an image taken by aNASA satellite to determine the size and characteristics ofEarth’s outer atmosphere. …………………………………………. 13Magnetic Storms. Students interpret a plot of a magneticdisturbance to learn about the duration and scope of changesto Earth’s magnetic field in events called magnetic storms. …… 14The Coronal Mass Ejection. Students learn about theseviolent releases of matter from the sun by estimating theirspeed from a narrative story. ……………………………………… 15Plasma Clouds. Students fill in the missing information in atable by using a simple formula and a calculator. They learnabout radio waves and their reflection from plasmas. ………….. 16An Application of Pythagorean Theorem to Magnetism.Students determine the strength of a magnetic field from itsthree components to assess its strength in a number of citiesacross North America. ……………………………………………... 17Magnetic Forces and Particle Motion. Students solve analgebraic equation for the velocity of a charged particle andsubstitute numerical quantities to determine particle speeds invarious physical systems. …………………………………………. 18The Solar Wind and the Bow Shock. Students solve analgebraic equation for the distance to the bow shock region,and investigate how this changes for various types of solarstorms. ………………………………………………………………. 19Kinetic Energy and Voltage. Students solve an algebraicequation to determine the kinetic energy of various chargedparticles compared to their voltages. Space physicists typicallyuse voltage as a measure of particle kinetic energy. ………….. 20
BackgroundWe live next to a very stormy star, the Sun,but you would hardly notice anything unusualmost of the time. Its constant sunshine hidesspectacular changes. Only the dazzling glow ofthe Northern Lights suggests that invisible forcesare clashing in space. These forces may cause allkinds of problems for us, and our expensivetechnology. It doesn't take long for 'solar storms'to get here, either. X-rays from flares make thetrip to Earth in just under 9 minutes, while thefastest moving plasma can make the journey inonly 17 hours. Solar flares disrupt Earth’sionosphere and can cause satellite malfunctions,while the plasma clouds can change Earth'smagnetic field. This leads to the displays of theaurora that humans have marveled at forthousands of years. Aurora light up the sky withbillions of watts of power and cover millions ofsquare kilometers. Why does all this happen?(Photo- Auroral curtain by Jan Curtis)Space WeatherModels and ForecastingIt has to do with Earth's magnetic field andhow it is disturbed by solar storms and the solarwind. The wind carries its own magnetic field withit, and travels at speeds of millions of kilometersper hour. Scientists keep track of thisinterplanetary storminess using numbers thatfollow its ups and downs just like meteorologistsfollow a storm's speed, pressure and humidity.Periods of increased and decreased solar activitycome and go every 11 years. Solar flares alsohave their own story to tell just like flashes oflightning in a bad storm. (Photo - Coronal MassEjection seen by SOHO satellite)Scientists have to keep track of manydifferent kinds of phenomena in the universe,both big and small. That's why they have inventeda way to write very big and very small numbersusing 'scientific notation. They also have tomaster how to think in three-dimensions and howto use mathematical models. Once they find theright models, they can use them to make betterpredictions of when the next solar storm will arrivehere at Earth, and what it will do when it getshere! (Sketch of Earth's magnetic field)
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