Sunspot Science Lesson Plan

Close-up of sunspots on the surface of the Sun.

Two sunspots seen during the period of February 19-20, 2013. These two sunspots are part of the same system and are over six Earths across

NASA/SDO/AIA/HMI/Goddard Space Flight Center

Levels	Intermediate (6-8) Advanced (9-12+)
Material Type	Lesson Plan
Heliophysics Big Ideas	Big Idea 1.2 – The Sun is active…
NGSS	ESS1 - Earth's Place in the Universe PS4 - Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
Heliophysics Topics	Space Weather Sunspot Solar Cycle
Heliophysics Missions	Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Material Cost per Learner	Free
Language	English

Analyze sunspots on NASA’s SOHO coronagraph images to make meaning of cyclical patterns using the terms period and frequency. This activity is appropriate for high school and university introductory physics and astronomy courses. It can be adapted for use in middle school.

This resource includes a Digi Kit, which is a web-based interactive lab that blends physics, geometry, and astronomy as students build and use a physical model to explore how scientists study sunspots.

Access the Sunspot Science Digi Kit here. ↗

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