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

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Jan 10, 2013, 09:40 ET

GREENBELT, Md., Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., will host this month's Sunday Experiment on Jan. 20 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. 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 Jan. 20 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 not only our lives on Earth, but Earth itself, and everything outside its atmosphere (astronauts and satellites out in space and even the other planets).

SDO is helping us understand where the sun's energy comes from, how the inside of the sun works, 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 and better forecast space weather events.

Participants at this 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.

The Sunday Experiment, held the third Sunday of each month, celebrates all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and spotlights major science missions managed by NASA Goddard.

For more information on Sunday Experiment, visit Goddard's Visitor Center webpage:
http://visitorcenterevents.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more information and directions to the NASA Goddard Visitor Center, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/home/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/directions/index.html

SOURCE NASA