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Archaeoastronomer: ______________________________________

Date: ________________

SUNSPOTS
The Dawn of Sun Science

1. Among the Inca, Maya and Aztec cultures, which one do you think had observed sunspots? What is the evidence?
   
   
2. Why did most ancient cultures revere the Sun as a god?
   
   
3. Who made the oldest known Eurasian records of the surface of the Sun?
   
   
4. Why did the idea of "blemishes or spots" on the sun puzzle the Europeans of the 17th century?
   
   
5. What kind of radiation from the Sun can severely burn your eyes and permanently damage your eyesight?
   
   
6. Why is the year 1608 important for astronomy?
   
   
7. Why did Galileo conclude that the sunspots must be on the surface of the Sun?
   
   
8. Who argued that the "spots" must be planets or moons orbiting the Sun? Why?
   
   
9. Why did Galileo spent the last 8 years of his life under house arrest?

Student Worksheet

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