Space Weather and the Sun-Earth Connections

The effects of high energy emissions from the Sun on Earth have received more and more attention lately, and they are one of the main practical aspects behind the RHESSI mission. In fact, the Sun-Earth Connection Forum is one of NASA's Space Science Education divisions. It is known that solar flares can threaten the health of astronauts and can damage electrical power and satellite communications systems. During the period before and after the peak of solar activity in the year 2000, this topic has received a lot of media coverage, so it is very timely to be studying this with your students.