SkyScopes Our Sun Information page

The Earth is one of nine planets orbiting the Sun, and the Sun is one of some 100 billion stars that make up the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way and about 30 other galaxies comprise the Local Group, which in turn is part of the local supercluster of galaxies. Superclusters seem to be grouped into even larger systems, all of which fit within the visible Universe.

-Thomas T. Arny "Explorations An Introduction to Astronomy" 1996

Click here to find out what the rest of the solar system would look like if the sun was only 10 feet tall.

ACE Real Time Solar Wind Information Geomagnetic storms are a natural hazard, like hurricanes and tsunamis, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Environment Center (SEC) forecasts for the public's benefit. Severe geomagnetic storms cause communications problems, abruptly increase drag on spacecraft, and can cause electric utility blackouts over a wide area. The location of ACE at the L1 libration point between the earth and the sun will enable ACE to give about a one hour advance warning of impending geomagnetic activity.

Current Solar Images See the most current images of the Sun.

Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center The Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center, brought to you by the cosmic ray group at NASA GSFC, is designed to increase your interest in cosmic and heliospheric science. (The heliosphere is the HUGE area in space affected by the Sun.) It's an exciting subject to learn about and is a robust area of study.

Eyes on the Skies Robotic Solar Telescope This is the home of the internet-accessible robotic solar telescope, built by Tri-Valley Stargazers member, Mike Rushford. Yes you can control your H-alpha filtered view of the sun by controlling this telescope from your web browser on sunny days in Livermore California, USA. At other times there are other things to do too! Read about the latest solar physics findings a the Stanford Solar Center. and the Sunspots and the Solar Cycle site.

Our Sun The sun is an average star with a mass equal to nearly one-third of a million Earths. Learn about the Sun here.

SOHO Exploring the Sun The SOHO project is being carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a cooperative effort between the two agencies in the framework of the Solar Terrestrial Science Program (STSP) comprising SOHO and CLUSTER, and the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics Program (ISTP), with Geotail (ISAS-Japan), Wind, and Polar.

Spectrohelioscope This web page is presented for those who have an interest in the spectrohelioscope and perhaps the desire to build one of these interesting instruments. George Ellery Hale (1868-1938) invented the spectrohelioscope in 1924 which allowed detection of sudden outbursts of activity on the sun. The following photographs are of such an instrument, built by Leonard Higgins with the support, and guidance of Fredrick Veio, author of the book, "The Spectrohelioscope." This particular instrument has been on display at the RTMC (Riverside Telescope Maker's Conference) at Big Bear Lake, Camp Oaks in California, U.S.A., for the last two conferences, 1998 and 1999. It received a Merit award at the RTMC , 1998.

The SSP Monitor This site has everything you would ever want to know about Solar Power and more.

Sunspots and the Solar Cycle Planning for satellite orbits and space missions often require advance knowledge of solar activity levels. NASA scientists are using new techniques to predict sunspot maxima years in advance. Click here for the latest predictions for the current solar cycle.

Transition Region and Coronal Explorer The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission to image the solar corona and transition region at high angular and temporal resolution. The TRACE project maintains an Open Data Policy: all data are available from our data archives to the science community as soon as the spacecraft data have been processed.

Ulysses Solar Exploration at High Latitudes over the Sun's Poles The Ulysses Mission is the first spacecraft to explore interplanetary space at high solar latitudes. Ulysses is a joint endeavor of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the USA. The spacecraft and spacecraft operations team are provided by ESA, the launch of the spacecraft, radio tracking, and data management operations are provided by NASA. Scientific experiments are provided by investigation teams both in Europe and the USA.

YPOP Solar Classroom The YPOP Solar Classroom is filled with hands-on, solar related activities. There is something for everyone. Many of these activities teach you about the Sun itself. Others teach a physical concept, like rotation, using the Sun as an example. We invite teachers, students, parents and children of all ages to experiment with the activities below. Enjoy!