Our Brightest Star: Using Innovative Technologies to Study the Sun

Purpose & objective

How do you create hands-on and engaging activities to teach about the Sun? Virtual reality, 3D printing and dynamic images of the Sun will be used to teach important concepts related to our dynamic star, the Sun.
Content and outcome measures will be included to measure the impact of technology on learning. Oculus Quest with two different virtual reality experiences will be shown during the session and participants may choose to experience these applications developed by NASA. 3D printed objects will be shown and the way in which they are used to teach concepts will be explained. Users will be able to access the stl files that were used to print the objects. Helioviewer will be demonstrated and participants will be shown ways they can incorporate this dynamic data tool into their classrooms for student projects.

Outline

Content related to the Sun and what causes it to be dynamic will be introduced via hands-on innovative technology resources. Specific content will include:
- The Sun produces energy.
- The Sun is the center of our Solar System and is the largest, most massive object in our Solar System.
- The Sun has dark spots, called “sunspots”. Sunspots last from days to weeks and impact the Earth.
- Energy in solar processes moves and changes form.
- The Sun has layers.
- The Sun gives off energies in the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- NASA recently launched the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft to fly closer to the Sun than anyone has ever been to study the outer corona of the Sun. It will make a series of close passes to the sun over seven years.
An overview of a key concept, “What causes the Sun to vary” will be presented to the participants and focused on middle school aged student concepts and activities.
The Oculus Quest provides a virtual reality (VR) experience of flying on the back of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) to study the Sun. Users will be able to learn more about PSP from the VR experience.
A 3D printed sun showing solar flares will be shown and the stl file will be shared with participants. An exploration profile with ways to include the tactile sun project will be provided.
Helioviewer is data visualization software of the sun. Users can create their own movies of the Sun, combine different wavelengths of images over selectable time periods, zoom in and out, crop frames, label features, and image-process the movies in real time. Users can export the finished movies in various formats.

In this 30-minute session, 10 minutes will be spent introducing the topic and how it can be taught using innovative technologies. The remaining time will be used for hands-on experiences. The presenters will model how these concepts are taught using these innovative technologies.

Supporting research

A special edition of the Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching (JCMST) (http://www.learntechlib.org/c/JCMST/) is focused on NASA NSSEC related projects that use technology to teach space science concepts.
The Tactile Sun Project provides a guide on using 3D printed suns for education. http://d2e3j4dnfz1tx9.cloudfront.net/img/profiles/Exploration_Idea_Profile_Tactile_Sunproject.pdf
Helioviewer can be accessed at https://www.helioviewer.org/
How 3D printing is used at NASA for missions: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/manufacturing-materials-3d/index.html