banner aboutdownwhatdowntoolsdowntocspacertocspacerhome


fire headergeneral interestteaching tools

Background Information:

Sunspots have been observed on the surface of the Sun for thousands of years beginning with the meticulous records kept by ancient Chinese observers. Sunspots are actually regions of the solar surface where the magnetic field of the Sun becomes concentrated over 1000-fold. Here are a variety of resources that let you track the sunspot cycle and the daily ebb and flow of solar activity.

general indexhead
       

Web Resources:

The SOHO Mission site
(http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/) contains a wealth of information for the general public interested in the latest news about our Sun.
     
The Sun's surface today!
Here is what the Sun looks like today as seen by a variety of space satellites from X-ray to visible wavelengths!
     
The Exploratorium's Sunspot Primer
An illustrated guide to the history of sunspot studies and what they mean.
     
Big Bear Solar Observatory
Have a look at ground-based images of the Sun's surface to search for sunspots
       
Sunspot Numbers
Have a look at this site to learn about sunspots, and also see their plot of sunspots since 1600 showing the cycles.
       
NOAA Archive of Sunspot Numbers
Archives of sunspot numbers in ASCII format for each day, month and year since 1600, suitable for plotting to show the cycles.
     
Mr. Sunspot's Answer Book
National Solar Observatory web resource with great FAQs about the Sun and sunspots among many other related topics.
     
Stanford Solar Center Sun Pages
Great introductory material, FAQs and other resources and links.
     
Sunspots and the Solar Cycle
Provides today's sunspot counts, plotted counts since 1950 showing cycles, movies, illustrated guide.
     
Sunspot Classroom Activities

Classroom activities designed by the NASA IMAGE satellite program to plot, interpret and forecast sunspot activity. Suitable for middle school students.
         
         
         
         

What is a Forum? | Educators | Scientists | Resource Index | Tools and Site Map
SolarMax | Special Announcements | The Sun Earth Connection Tutorial | Contact Us | Home

Earth | Wind | Fire

top