NASA Invites Children, Families to Learn About NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Mission

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Sep 03, 2013, 04:09 ET

GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md. will host this month's Sunday Experiment on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. EDT. The Sunday Experiment is a free afternoon for children of all ages and their families to discover NASA Goddard's exciting missions.

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The Sept. 15 Sunday Experiment will explore NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission. SDO was launched in 2010, and is currently studying solar activity and how it causes space weather. Space weather affects our lives on Earth, and even satellites and astronauts out in space!

SDO is helping us understand where the sun's energy comes from, what happens inside of the sun, and how energy is stored and released in the sun's atmosphere. By better understanding the sun and how it works, we will be able to better predict space weather events.

Planned hands-on activities to be featured this month include building an electromagnet, comparing the magnetic fields of the Earth and sun using a "magnaprobe," and experimenting with UV light detectors.

Participants at Sunday Experiment event will learn about solar events and how they affect Earth from an SDO scientist; they can also participate in hands-on activities that explore the magnetic fields of the sun and ultraviolet light. Families will leave inspired by the activities, wowed by the scientists and engineers, and excited about Goddard's revolutionary research and technology. Visitors can witness the mesmerizing Science on a Sphere and explore the cosmos and Goddard's cutting edge science and discovery.

The Sunday Experiment usually held the third Sunday of each month from Sept. through May, with some exceptions, spotlights Goddard's world-renowned science and engineering research and technological developments. Families leave inspired by the activities, wowed by the scientists and engineers, and excited about Goddard's revolutionary research and technology. In addition to celebrating all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the Sunday Experiment celebrates major science missions that are managed by Goddard and set to launch in the near future.

For more information on Sunday Experiment, visit Goddard's Visitor Center Web page:

http://visitorcenterevents.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more information and directions to the NASA Goddard Visitor's Center, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/home/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/directions/index.html

SOURCE NASA