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Solar flares and coronal Mass ejections (CMEs) emit a broad range of light - most of this light is invisible to us. Since all light travels at the same speed (186,000 miles per second or 300,000 km per second), all of the light gets to Earth in a little over 8 minutes. Scientists monitor the Sun using instruments that detect many of the different kinds of light emitted. For detecting solar storms we will use radio waves, x-rays, and ultraviolet light. Radio waves are especially useful because they can be measured by instruments on the Earth and in interplanetary space. Scientists put instruments on satellites to detect X-rays and ultraviolet light because the Earth's atmosphere interferes with emissions of these kinds of light from the Sun. You will use radio, x-ray and ultraviolet data to tell you when a major solar storm has taken place and where on the Sun that storm occurred.

From Students: Learn how to construct your own inexpensive radio telescope and use it to monitor the Sun for solar storms that might affect Earth.

From Observatories: Ground-based radio observatories provide real-time measurements of radio emissions from the Sun and archives of results from earlier measurements. Find out how to get and interpret this data to determine whether a solar storm has erupted.

From Satellites: NASA satellites monitor the Sun for solar flares and CMEs. These satellites supply scientific data from instruments that detect radio and x-ray emissions. With this data you will be able to tell if a solar storm has occurred, how big the storm is and where on the Sun the storm occurred.

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