Highlighting the Space Weather Monitor Program

1. Highlighting the Space Weather Monitor Program CISM Space Weather Professional Development for Educators Deborah Scherrer, Roberta Johnson, Ramon Lopez, Pat Reiff, Marius Schamschula Stanford U., NCAR, Florida Institute of Tech., Rice U., Alabama A&M

2. Quick Overview • Objectives • The Plan • Details • CISM Interconnections • Center Leverage • Educational Professional Development • Web-based Training • IHY • The Monitors – SID and AWESOME • Project Structure • Our Team

3. Provide space weather resources and professional development for grades 6-14 teachers Integrate CISM research and education Leverage off Center concept and engage CISM scientists with the educational program Respond to diversity needs Objectives

4. The Plan • Team community college & high school educators with scientists to: • Design, develop, & classroom-test VLF radio receivers that track changes to the Earth’s ionosphere caused by solar activity • Provide Standards-based, hands-on, inquiry-driven science experience for teachers and students • Return data useful to researchers • Involve high school, undergraduate (incl. community college), and graduate students • Involve researchers

5. How? • Based on AAVSO original concept • 2 versions: • SID – inexpensive (~$150) • AWESOME – research quality (~$3000) • Preassembled, but students build their own antenna (~$10) • Centralized data repository & chat site

6. Are placing 100 SIDs and 15 AWESOMES in under-represented high schools, community colleges, & science museums • Leverage from CISM Education Partners • Teacher workshops (NCAR) • University application (Alabama A&M) • Integration into teacher-training courses (Rice U.) • Development of web-based training (Exploratorium, NCAR, Stanford) • Engagement from CISM Science Partners: • Distribute in a Partnership model, to encourage scientist-teacher-student collaborations • Return data to CISM and other researchers • All materials standards-based • Professional formative & summative assessment • Obtained supplemental funding from NASA

7. CISM Interconnections Integration of research and education • Space Weather data returned • Engagement of scientists with K-14 schools & students Sphere of Broadening impact “Pipeline” bridges High School -> community college/university  grad school Space Weather Monitor Program -- Helping to address multiple dimensions of CISM review criteria K-14 Introduced to Space Weather Infrastructure for science or education Web-based training resources, produced in conjunction with CISM scientists: Exploratorium website NCAR website Stanford website Centralized data repository Software for data analysis Diversity Teacher interns, students, professional development, workshops, courses

8. It takes a Center… • Space Monitor program leverages off Center concept • Provides coherence – interconnection with multiple partners and varied programs • Integrates research and education

9. Educator Professional Development • NCAR provides professional development workshops, in person and online, about space weather topics to teachers – these will be modified to include the Space Weather Monitors • Rice U. will be integrating the monitors into their Physics of Ham Radio course for teachers. • Alabama A&M will be integrating the monitors into their space science program

10. CISMWeb-based Training Resources • Exploratorium Space Weather Research Explorer http://www.exploratorium.edu/spaceweather/ Produced in conjunction with CISM partners @ UC Berkeley & Stanford Includes CISM imagery, interviews with CISM scientists, pointers to “live” CISM data • NCAR’s Windows to the Universe – Space Weather http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_weather/space_weather.html • Stanford Solar Center – Space Weather Monitors http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID

11. IHY 2007 • The United Nations and organizers of the International Heliophysical Year, 2007, have designated these Space Weather Monitors as official IHY instruments, to be placed in 191 countries around the world.

12. Overview of the Monitors • The Sun & Earth’s Ionosphere • VLF Transmitters • About our monitors • Data & tracking • Connecting monitor data with GOES • Connecting data to solar active regions

13. The Sun, ionosphere, and radio waves

14. VLF Transmitters 24 around the world Antenna Wires Primarily U.S. Navy stations for communicating with submarines “NLK” 24.8 KHz Navy Radio Station, Jim Creek, WA 1 cycle = 7.5 miles (12 km) 200’ Towers • VLF signals can be received all over the world, because of the ionosphere!

15. SID Low Cost (~$150) Single band 1 sample/5 seconds Preassembled & tuned Students build antenna Available free to underserved schools AWESOME Moderate cost (~$3000) Broadband; sample rate of 100kHz on each channel Capture ELF/VLF frequencies ~30 Hz - 50kHz Dual use system: Daytime: monitor solar activity Nighttime: monitor atmospheric phenomena (e.g. lightning) So sensitive that nearly any signal above the ambient Earth noise floor can be detected Data useable for ionospheric and solar researchers Our Monitors

16. Detecting Solar Flares – SID(s) SID Events! Not all events are readily explainable – students can research these

17. GOES-12 Weather Satellite Detecting X-Rays

18. Connecting SID to GOES Data C5.9 M1.3 C4.5 C3.8 Students have also found flares not cataloged by GOES!!!

19. Connecting SID events to sunspots (Active Regions) #Event Begin Max End Obs Q Type Loc/Frq Particulars Reg# #------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1960 + 1727 1736 1744 G12 5 XRA 1-8A C4.5 3.1E-03 0424 1990 + 1930 1946 1954 G12 5 XRA 1-8A C5.9 5.9E-03 0424 2000 + 2112 2134 2140 G12 5 XRA 1-8A C3.8 3.1E-03 0424 2040 + 2341 2354 0002 G12 5 XRA 1-8A M1.3 8.5E-03 0424

20. Funding NSF-CISM NASA Teachers Ionospheric Researchers Solar Researchers Students AAVSO Teacher Workshops & courses Science museums NCAR Rice U 5 AWESOME Web-based training in space weather NCAR Exploratorium Solar Center Centralized database & communications D D = Includes diversity component Technology & expertize D Integration back into science research Integration back into science research Design & develop SID & AWESOME Planning Communications Coordination Integration into university environment Alabama A&M D Partners Production Reporting Distribution Traffic Control Distribution Distribution Partnerships Engagement of CISM scientists with teachers & students D D General Public Interest in & awareness of Space Weather Teachers and classrooms – high school & community college D D 100 SIDs 10 AWESOME

21. Stanford Partners Philip Scherrer, Solar Observatories Group Umran Inan, Stanford EE Hao Thai, Solar Observatories Group Deborah Scherrer, Stanford Solar Center Students Morris Cohen, Stanford EE Justin Tan, Stanford EE Shannon Lee, Chabot Community College Sharad Khanal, Stanford Physics Scott Winegarden, Mid Penninsula High School (now at UC Irvine) Mitch Patenaude, Cal State Hayward Sam Penrose, Cal State Hayward Kenny Oslund, Castro Valley High (now at CalTech) Educators Ray Mitchell, Chief Engineer; Chabot Community College, Cal State Hayward William Clark, San Lorenzo High School Richard Styner, San Lorenzo High School Sean Fotrell, Castro Valley High School Tim Dave, Chabot Community College CISM Partners Roberta Johnson, NCAR Ramon Lopez, Florida Institute of Tech. Pat Reiff, Rice University Marius Schamschula, Alabama A&M Concept: Paul Mortfield Our Team

22. For more informationon Space Weather Monitors http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID dscherrer@solar.stanford.edu