The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet radiation (UV) at ground level on the Earth. UV exists to the left of the visible spectrum and is divided into three components (UV-A, UV-B and UV-C). UV-B (290-320 wavelengths) is the most dangerous form of UV radiation that can reach ground level. Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can effect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV-B at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms.

The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet radiation (UV) at ground level on the Earth. UV exists to the left of the visible spectrum and is divided into three components (UV-A, UV-B and UV-C). UV-B (290-320 wavelengths) is the most dangerous form of UV radiation that can reach ground level. Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can effect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV-B at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms.

The Erythemal Index is a measure of ultraviolet radiation (UV) at ground level on the Earth. UV exists to the left of the visible spectrum and is divided into three components (UV-A, UV-B and UV-C). UV-B (290-320 wavelengths) is the most dangerous form of UV radiation that can reach ground level. Atmospheric ozone shields life at the surface from most of the harmful components of solar radiation. Chemical processes in the atmosphere can effect the level of protection provided by the ozone in the upper atmosphere. This thinning of the atmospheric ozone in the stratosphere leads to elevated levels of UV-B at ground level and increases the risks of DNA damage in living organisms.

The IMAGE spacecraft views the Earths plasmasphere. This animation has no earth inset

In this activity, students learn how to prevent exposure to the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Students will systematically test various sunscreens to determine the relationship between spf (sun protection factor) value and sun exposure. At the end of the activity, students are asked to consider how this investigation could be used to help them design a new sunscreen.

SOHO-EITs view of the Sun in late January 2005.

Laboratory Chemistry (5.310) introduces experimental chemistry for students requiring a chemistry laboratory who are not majoring in chemistry. Students must have completed general chemistry (5.111) and have completed or be concurrently enrolled in the first semester of organic chemistry (5.12). The course covers principles and applications of chemical laboratory techniques, including preparation and analysis of chemical materials, measurement of pH, gas and liquid chromatography, visible-ultraviolet spectrophotometry, infrared spectroscopy, kinetics, data analysis, and elementary synthesis.

Do you ever wonder how a greenhouse gas affects the climate, or why the ozone layer is important? Use the sim to explore how light interacts with molecules in our atmosphere.

This educational brief provides an overview of how previously unrevealed information about our galaxy and other celestial objects can be obtained by examining their energy emissions in parts of the electromagnetic spectrum other than that visible to the human eye. Remote imagery of the Milky way in several wavelengths is included, and links to additional information are embedded in the text.

The Earths plasmasphere, as seen by IMAGE-EUV.

Plasmasphere movie, as seen by IMAGE-EUV

This version of IMAGE observing the Earths plasmasphere includes an inset showing the size of 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.

The SORCE mission monitors solar variability to determine its impact on the Earths climate. The X-ray photometer aboard SORCE observes the record-breaking solar flares in the Fall of 2003. The line graph shows the photometers measured solar radiation flux in the 1-7 nanometer wavelength band (x-ray) measured in milliwatts per square meter. The ultraviolet (195 Angstrom) imagery from SOHO-EIT (green) illustrates where the flares (the bright white spots) are located on the solar disk. This version has the contents slightly smaller for use in video.

Students will be instructed to make an observation of a flower (tulip) given the one stipulation that they will only be allowed to detect the parts of the plant that are green. Through observation and discussion, students will be led to understand that only seeing parts of the flower leads to an incomplete and even inaccurate understanding of its structure.

Students will construct their own knowledge of the Sun emitting light above and below the visible spectrum by using UV beads to detect ultraviolet radiation coming from the Sun, and, in a second experiment, will record the temperature readings of thermometers placed in the visible and infrared region of a spectrum produced using a prism. An optional M&M Filter Activity is included in the lesson to demonstrate how filter work.

Students explore serial dilution, an important technique in physical science and engineering. They use a fluorescent compound as the dye to track through a series of dilution steps. They observe how the changing color intensity, or saturation, of each subsequent solution. They also keep a running calculation of the concentration dye in each serial dilution. Finally, using a UV lamp, they investigate whether the fluorescent dye can be detected after it disappears from view under normal lighting conditions.

Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. While learning how a magnifying glass works, students see how the orientation of an image changes with the distance of the lens from its focal point. They also discover how a prism works by refracting light and making rainbows. And, students investigate the polar nature of light using sunglasses and polarized light film.

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.

Students use authentic spectral data from the Cassini mission of Saturn and Saturn's moon, Titan, gathered by instrumentation developed by engineers. Taking these unknown data, and comparing it with known data, students determine the chemical composition of Saturn's rings and Titan's atmosphere.