Original Title:

Why does the sunlight energy vary? Explaining solar irradiance variations with SalsaJ

Keywords:

sun irradiance sunspots solar cycle faculae plage

Description:

We owe every living form on Earth to sunlight, more precisely to the radiant energy transported by sunlight. In this activity, we’ll see that the energy that the Earth receives from the Sun (measured by the solar irradiance) varies in the course of time. By analyzing very recent (April 2013) solar images from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra, the student task will be to identify the solar surface phenomena responsible for this irradiance variability.