As this imaginary trip to the Sun begins, students monitor their altitude above Earth while travelling directly towards the Sun in a straight line at sunrise (with the Sun on the horizon). Their altitude above the Earth is increasing because of the round shape of the Earth. This reinforces their conception of the Earth as a sphere. They will also get a sense of the scale of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Towards the end of the trip, students examine close-up images of the Sun. They then set up a scale model of the trip and find that the distance to the Sun is very large compared to the size of the Earth.

The Sun-Earth Connection examines the most important and dynamic features of the active Sun and its effects on Earth.     Here are more amazing views of the Earth taken by astronauts and satellites, which can be used to supplement the activity journey to the Sun.     How big is the Sun? What is the distance from the Earth to the Sun? To learn more about the basic facts of the Sun, go to the Sun Facts Table.	A trip to the Sun from San Francisco would cross the United States and give a great view of the land. NASA astronauts and satellites in orbit have taken some spectacular photos.     NASA has begun design work on the Solar Probe mission, a spacecraft designed to go on a journey to the Sun. Read more about the Solar Probe and how it will be designed.     This brief article suggests a formula that can be used to approximate the Earth's curvature.

Telescopes in space have been able to capture images of the Sun in action. For example, the Sun can be seen ejecting a cloud of material, or a comet can be seen falling into the Sun. Other images show the Sun’s rotation, which takes about a month. Satellite cameras have even captured solar eclipses, where the Moon passes in front of the Sun. View some of these movies to get an idea of what can be seen using space-based instruments.   These images show the Sun ejecting a cloud of plasma, a comet being destroyed, and the Milky Way in the background.     On the way to the Sun, our journey might come close to the International Space Station. This animation shows what such a close approach might look like.     Rotating solar disk viewed by the light from ionized iron atoms. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.     Animation of solar wind emerging from granulation cells on solar surface.

A comparison of how the Sun looks in X-ray and visible light showing how sunspots and X-ray regions are related on a rotating Sun.     The GOES7 weather satellite shot this sequence showing the shadow of the solar eclipse tracking across the face of the Earth.     Mass was ejected from the Sun on April 7, 1997 and seen by this satellite. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between the European Space Agency and NASA.     Yohkoh solar disk seen in the light of X-rays from the Yohkoh satellite on November 18, 1997.     Link to GEMS guide "Living with a Star." The online version of the companion CD to this popular GEMS guide. (Web link requires an internet connection)

Students discover that the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun is very nearly a circle. To further reinforce this concept, try this supplemental activity on measuring the apparent size of the Sun.     A variety of solar images are available from Mount Wilson, an observatory near Los Angeles. (Web link requires an internet connection)	Data on the orbits and eccentricities of the planets can be found at the Nine Planets web site at SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) at the University of Arizona. (Web link requires an internet connection)

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