Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Classroom Resources: Space Weather

Get to know the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

3rd - 5th Grade

Middle School

High School/College

Next Generation Science Standards

Grade Level

Standard

NOAA Boulder Science

1st

1-ESS1-1 Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

Space weather forecasters and researchers observe sunspot groups and can predict solar storms.

3rd

3-PS2-3 Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

The magnetic field in a coronal mass ejection interacts with earth’s magnetic field and can induce electric currents on earth.

4th

4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

During space weather events, an immense amount of light, energy and radiation leave the sun and interact with earth’s atmosphere.

Middle School

MS-PS2-3 Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

 

MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

 

>MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Space weather forecasters observe the orientation of the magnetic field in a coronal mass ejection and its overall size to determine the impacts on earth. 

 

Space weather events travel 93 million miles to reach earth. SWPC forecasters use a satellite located 1 million miles from earth to learn about storms before they arrive.

High School

HS-PS1-8 Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.

 

HS-PS2-5 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.

 

HS-PS3-5 Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.

Space weather forecasters and researchers learn about processes on the sun that create radiation storms so they can better forecast storms and warn about potential impacts.

 

Electric currents are generated on earth when the magnetic field of a coronal mass ejection interacts with earth’s magnetic field.

 

Space researchers work to create and improve models that depict how space weather events interact with earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.