Our Dynamic Sun

The Sun, our star, affects everything on Earth. It provides us with the energy, warmth and light we need to live. It is a fundamental part of our lives, and the centre of the solar system. We think of it as being a rather constant, 'yellowish' disk of light, but it is far from this. It is a highly dynamic ball of very hot gas, which sometimes produces huge explosions which can shoot material far out into space, sometimes even hitting the Earth's environment. The solar atmosphere, the corona, seen during a total eclipse is over a million degrees. Viewed from space, in the ultraviolet or with X-rays, the Sun is amazingly beautiful and very dynamic.
The aim of this project is to provide information and resources for schools about the Sun and its effect on the Earth, which can excite the interest of students and support teachers. This will be achieved through further development of the Sun|trek (www.suntrek.org) website, by personal contact with Dr Helen Mason (participation in teachers' workshops, talks to school students, visits to schools), and also by helping and supporting young solar researchers throughout the UK to engage in outreach work. The Sun|trek website, launched in 2007, has been a huge success, far in excess of expectations. It is used worldwide, with the main usage from the USA, followed by the UK, but also reaching to the far corners of the world. The Sun|trek project is led by Dr Helen Mason (University of Cambridge) with support from Dr Dave Pike (now retired from the Rutherford Appleton laboratory) together with the software company IMDC. It has been funded by STFC SiS grants.
Solar astronomy has great advantages for schools, since the Sun is accessible during the daytime (sometimes!) and projects can be based around various activities, for example with solar telescopes, sunspotters or UV beads. The images and movies of the Sun from space are also spectacular and can engage children (and adults!) of all ages. In addition, studies and discussions about the Sun can be tailored to all ages, from the very young (primary) to A-level students. Different aspects of the curriculum can be linked in - from the motions of the planets, seasons, day and night, big and small, to the Sun's magnetic field, electromagnetic radiation, gravity, the Earth's energy resources, space weather and climate change. The schools targeted in this project would be mainly state schools in inner city areas, with diverse ethnic catchments.
Sun|trek covers many aspects of school science and links these with the most recent solar observations from space. The aim of this project is to further update Sun|trek, and to incorporate more classroom projects and ideas, linking with the use of modern technology (use of whiteboards, facebook, i-pads etc). International links (with the USA/NASA, Europe/ESA and other countries, India and S.Africa) will be developed further.
Dr Helen Mason is an internationally well known solar scientist, who has worked on many solar space missions. In 2010, she received one of the 'Woman of Outstanding Achievement' awards for her outreach work. She is frequently asked to participate in workshops for teachers (eg those organised by the Institute of Physics) and to visit schools and to talk to students. She has even participated in outreach activities at summer music festivals. She has a particular interest in encouraging girls to take an interest in science. She intends to also target women's groups (for example the WI) and write some articles for women's and girl's magazines.
The project 'Our Dynamic Sun' provides an opportunity to share with others (especially teachers and students) the fascinating images, movies and information being provided by solar space observations. In addition, students will be encouraged to explore the close connections between the Sun and the Earth. The ultimate aim is to excite the interest of students in science, in an era which depends more and more on technology.