OCT 27, 2001

Gone are the days of using continually over-reproduced images to make measurements in order to generate data and perform calculations. In this workshop, we downloaded current information available on a web-site http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html which has dated images of the sun’s surface.

Using the solar rotation lab software from http://solar-center.stanford.edu/spin-sun/spin-sun.html you can look at the images individually, as a collection, or even as a continually running series. Other tools allow one to scale the drawing, which we did so that we could find the X & Y coordinates of various sunspots as they made their way across the sun. We then used that information to compute on Excel the distance traveled as well as the amount of time to do so. This information is then used to calculate the circumference of the sun and the sun’s rotation rate. He gave out CDs and disks of these images and handouts too. I can see where a teacher can use this activity for individuals and/or groups as well.

Chris even brought a simple, yet pricey device that can directly image the sun as well. He provided hard copies of a write-up he has for a grant to obtain such equipment. He is even asking the shop teachers at his school if they can build this item, which I think is quite possible.

In all, here was a way to bring together the elements of the computer, the internet, applications software use, mathematics, data analysis, astronomy, and physics all under one roof.

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