This collection of images, movies, and animations from NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) features a large selection of images of the sun and of solar phenomena. Although most of the imagery is of the sun, a few images of comets and planets as they transit the solar disk are available.

Students are introduced to our Sun as they explore its composition, what is happening inside it, its relationship to our planet (our energy source), and the ways engineers help us learn about it.

Using differences in polarization of light directly from the Sun vs. scattered from the CME electrons, it is possible to derive a distance of matter along the line-of-sight. This version is an enhanced version of animation ID 2950 (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov-vis-a000000-a002900-a002950-) with a color table enhanced to show fainter regions of the CME.

This view from SOHO-EIT in the 195 Angstrom band, shows the multitude of solar flares released in the Fall of 2003 as a group of active regions rotated back into view. This movie is synchronized to play with animation IDs 2960 (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov-vis-a000000-a002900-a002960) and 2961 (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov-vis-a000000-a002900-a002961). For more information on how X-ray solar flares are classified (B, C, M, X), visit (http://www.spaceweather.com-glossary-flareclasses.html).

This movie is a combination of SOHO-EIT at 195 Angstroms as well as the LASCO-C2 and C3 cameras. At this scale we can see the flashes from solar flares in SOHO-EIT (green) and the subsequent coronal mass ejections in SOHO-LASCO-C2 (red) and SOHO-LASCO-C3 (blue). This movie is synchronized to play with animation IDs 2960 (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov-vis-a000000-a002900-a002960) and 2959 (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov-vis-a000000-a002900-a002959). For more information on how X-ray solar flares are classified (B, C, M, X), visit (http://www.spaceweather.com-glossary-flareclasses.html).

Here's a view of the Sun, from the point of view of a fleet of Sun-observing spacecraft - SOHO, TRACE, and RHESSI. The time scales of the data samples in this visualization range from 6 hours to as short as 12 seconds and the display rate varies throughout the movie. The region and event of interest is the solar flare over solar active region AR9906 on April 21, 2002. In this visualization, the instrument names appear in a color roughly matching the color used for the data, and black corresponds to no (current) instrument coverage.

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the students to the Sun. They explore various aspects of the Sun including its composition, its interior workings, and its relationship to the Earth.

The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO-LASCO-C3 data is the occulting disk pylon.

This educational brief provides an overview of solar activity, including a description of Earth's magnetosphere and of various solar phenomena such as the solar wind, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), sunspots, solar flares, and others. A list of links to additional material is also provided.

This educational brief provides an overview of the types of solar activity and their potential effects on Earth, along with brief descriptions of some spacecraft and instruments that are used to study solar activity Links to a glossary and to additional information are included.

Teachers can access activities and lesson plans, introductory material, a glossary, and frequently asked questions about the sun. Materials include images, videos, CDs, and posters. An extensive selection of links to other sun-related materials is also provided.

Students participating in Storm Signals play a critical role in the overall process of the Student Observation Network (S.O.N.). They are able to confirm the predictions of the Sunspotter's Sunspot Suspect, and they will predict magnetic storms around Earth, issuing Space Weather alerts that tell other students to begin monitoring the Magnetosphere for magnetic storms. By collecting and analyzing real-time data from their radio antennas, professional observatories, and NASA satellites, they can carry out the same duties as NASA researchers! The Space Weather alerts issued by the Space Environment Center (SEC) of NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) are essential to protect satellites, power grids and astronauts.

In Storm Signals you will learn:

1. How to instruct students in the construction of a simple device to detect radio emissions from the Sun.
2. How to enable students to obtain and interpret radio emissions from ground-based professional observatories.
3. How to enable students to obtain and interpret radio, x-ray and ultraviolet emissions from NASA satellites.

The Sunspotters program of the Student Observation Network (SON) is excellent for grades K +12. There are activities for all grades available. You or your students may think of other questions to investigate that can lead to open inquiry by using live and archived data. By collecting and analyzing real-time data from student telescopes, professional observatories, and NASA satellites, they can carry out the same duties as NASA researchers!

In Sunspotters you will learn:
How to instruct students in the construction and use of simple solar telescopes to observe sunspots and to predict which sunspots are most likely to produce solar flares or coronal mass ejections,
How to enable students to obtain and interpret data from ground-based professional observatories,
How to enable students to obtain and interpret data from NASA satellites.

Spacecraft (green trajectory) on their way from the Earth (blue orbit) to Mars (red orbit) risk being hit by energetic events from the Sun, such as X-rays, energetic protons (blue streaks), and material from Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) (red blobs). The spiral lines from the Sun represent the magnetic field lines frozen into the solar wind.

These classroom activities cover topics such as sunspots, the solar wind, magnetic storms, auroras, satellite design, and impacts of solar activity on humans. Included are materials lists, instructions, concluding concepts, and links to related topics