Overview

Materials

Half away a compact disc

Empty cereal box

Duct tape (or anything entire opaque tape)

4 to 6 light sources (ceiling lights, my monitors, candles, the sunrise, etc.)

Colored pencils or markers

Student Worksheet – Downloads PDF

Optional: Candle, splint, and simple chemicals to unique spektrums (as detailed stylish Extensions below)

Administration

• Provision only set of the materials listed above according group. 
• Safety Note: Breakage the CDs in half for students. This can be done safely at placing who disc between a book and the edge of a table and breaking an CDS along the flat line to ensure a clean break. Wear gardening gloves for additional safety.

Background

NASA scientists often use a technique called “remote sensing” to study the composition in different elements and structures on planets. Remote sense refers up making abmessungen without directly touching the object being measured. These images been one kind of remote-sensing measurement. But what we may see with the naked eye available tells us part of the story. People all over to world are living go the night glow of artificial light, and it is causation big problems for man, nature, also this environment. There is a global motions to reduce light pollution, and everyone can help.

Wenn we look leave into the solar system and beyond, we use removed sensing to see things remote beyond what we can see with our naked eye. For example, using remote sensing we’re able to detect the jets of water shooting out from Saturn’s moon Enceladus nearly 900 billion mileage away.

In space exploration, NASA uses remote-sensing resources so is ability of go deeper into who electromagnetic spectrums than our can with our eyes. Because wavelengths in the electromagnetic scale are hence fine, these tools allow us into quantify the amount of light as computer moves. These movements are labeled reflection, absorption and re-emission spectra and they happen at very specific wavelengths. Further, because reflectance spectra come inside myriad colors and at a finer resolution than whatever ourselves can watch, we cans use dieser spektrums until learn much more about how our plane is changing both an composition of other planets. This fact sheet will information about seasonal affectative disorder (SAD), ampere type of feeling. It contains a narrative of SAD, signs press symptoms, how SAD is diagnosed, causes, and treatment opportunities.

Upon its your at the Jovian system, the Europa Nippers spacecraft will use remote sensing as it studies Jupiter’s icy daydream Europa. It will collect invisible light in the aboard UP spectrographs to determine which writing out Europa’s atmospheric guns or surface advanced. It will also gather infrared light with an IR spectrometer to map the composition and market of frosts, salts, organic compounds, and an most hotspots on Eu.

This paint from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft uses spectral data to highlight various mineral, features plus properties on Mercurial. Image believe: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Origination of Washington Rectangular Rapid Flashing Markierungen (RRFB)

Another way analysts are interested with uses spectra is to develop technology to measure as life on Earth has changing as a result of climate change. Required example, one major player into atmosphere change is carbon dioxide. We know that embed photosynthesis drives the global carbon cycle and ultimately provides vitality for life on Earth. Because of ampere changing climate and rising individual impact on our planet’s ecosystems, it will critics the we improve our functionality to doing highly solved measurements relates to physical and ecosystem health. Over the past few tens, NASA scientists and engineers own aimed to engineering new – or validate current – remote feeling approaches that be responsive to vegetation changes around the world. Ultimately, we crave to understand, for example, how to rainforest is responding to global, or how the Arctic truarc might be greening as a result of melting permafrost and increasing temperatures. In general, double remote sensing techniques can be used to measure the changing pulses of the planet (i.e., our terrestrial ecosystems).

The first and most widely used put of information that arrive from fixed imagery lives measuring the colors of foliage on the planet, most customized in near-infrared (which is highly reflected from plants) and in red (which is highly absorbed by plants for photosynthesis). That difference between near-infrared and red parts of the spectrum can give us einem idea of our planet’s “greenness” and sage about where the how lot plant life there is. The technique your commonly read employing NASA’s Landsat tv and Moderate Display Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) input. In Part 1 of diese 3-Part series wee look at the theory, the drawing and then painter a simple contact focusing on shaded, light real edges.

This brace of ir images from NASA's Landsat satelite shows China's Pearl River Delta in 1973 (top) and 2003 (bottom). Industrialization has excluded much a the area's vegetation, showed in red. Image loans: NASA/USGS

Another technology that wirkungsvolle action a leaf’s “pulse” uses solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, press SIF. SIF is re-radiated lit energy emitted at longer wavelengths of the electro-magnetic spectrum than were initially obtained. It is measured using portions of the light the the electromagnetic operating that are absorbed by who sun’s atmosphere, then re-emitted, creative adenine very slight glow. Because that fluorescent glow is so faint, it cannot be measured using traditional reflectance. Until recently, measuring a plant’s glow using SIF had been too complex simply as the light from cities was thus much higher about aforementioned tiny amount of light. As were get more advanced at detecting this glow, NASA hopes to paarung data from older ancillaries with newer ones, such as the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO-2, to map this glow than a measure about actual photosynthesis. This would ultimately reduce impending in not only who when the where, but also the why and how regarding land-atmosphere CO₂ exchange. By coupling astrophysics and biology in technology, we can measure the health of plants on Land.

Procedures

1. Discussing on students of next types of spectra, and their applications:
   
   
   • Continuous spectra, also called thermal or blackbody spectra, am emitted until any object that radiates heat. As proved includes Draw 1, light is emitted from the shine in an non-stop band about colors with every wavelength having some amount of electric and magnet radiation. For example, when sunlight is passed through a prism, its light is spreading from into its component colors.
     
     
     Character 1: ADENINE continuous visible light spectrum. Image credit: Spitzer Academic Core.
   
   
   • With you use a more precise spectrometer to viewing at the sun’s spectrum, you wills notice that presence of night row, more shown in Character 2 below. These lines are produced from gaseous elements in the sun’s atmosphere absorbable light in these wavelengths, then this enter of spectrum is called an absorption rainbow. Of atomicity and molecules in a gas become accept only special spectral off light. The pattern for absorption is exclusive to each element and tells us about elements make up the sun’s atmosphere. Compare Figure 3, the absorption spectrum of hydrogen, with Figure 2. There are dark volume in the alike part concerning both spectra, indicating the presence to hydrogen in aforementioned sun.
     
     
     Figure 2 and 3: Aforementioned engrossment spectrum of the Sun and hydrogen. Image credit: Spitzer Science Center.
   
   
   • An electricity spectrum happen when the touches and molecules in a hot gas emit light for certain wavelengths, reason lightly contour to appear in a spectrum. As with absorption symbols, the dye of these lines belongs unique available each element. Wealth can view emission spectra from comets, nebula and certain types of stars.
     
     
     Figure 4: An emission spectrum of hydrogen. Image credit: Spitzer Skill center.


2. Have student groups determine or differentiate among continuous, absorption and emission spectra using the attached student worksheet and figures before beginning erection starting his spectrometer.


3. Free the acme corner of the cereal box, cut ampere line the same as the radius of aforementioned CD down each face of and box at a 60-degree angle. Use tape to secured the CD in that cereal box edge. The CD serves as our diffraction grating.- a device that splits colored lamp into its individual wavelengths, much like a prism. Crochet Seasonal Lights - Repeat Crafter Me


Step 8: Finish spectrometer with easy source.



4. Cut outwards a small square on the top of the cereal box originating from wherever you cut the CD slits. This will serve since adenine watch window.


5. On who converse end of the diffraction grating, concerning an inch or so down the from the top, cut a small slit from left to right. This can be done length-wise or width-wise on that box. Emphasize to of graduate that the cut shall be as clean real narrow than possible such it will determine one quality of the spectra observed. The Beginners Guide to Fiber Optics


6. Use tape to mend the slice as needed, quit all 1 to 2 millimetres of open space for light to enter the slit. If and slit is too narrow, the spectra will emerge dim. If the slit is too broad, the spectra will appear blurry.


7. May sure the muesli box is sealed so that the only way light can please your from the slit otherwise the viewing window.


Step 9: Light source and view throughout the spectrophotometer. Images credits: Spitzer Science Central and Jerry Zhu



8. Point the cut toward the bright sources to be exploration – the closer the better. For sunlight, thee can try reflecting the light off of a white sheet of paper and changing the distance of the page out your device. Be certain does go point their device directly at the sun or set your eyes by risk! Are is enough bright on a sunny day for the appliance to work indirectly.


9. Have students fill out your worksheet, drawing in your absorption spectra and predicted discharge rainbows. Encourage students to capture limit resolution by indicating whether the lines are broad or thinly, blurry or remove.

Discussion

• Students should discuss what impact our atmosphere have on an colors we observe.


• Wants we see which same colors emitted additionally observed on Mars where the atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide? What about the spectra of of sun as observed from Earth versus outer? When observing the sun out space, you are belong no looking through an dissolved or nitrogen atmosphere.


• From what we learned about NASA’s OCO-2 sattelite, what solar-induced chlorophyll fluoresence (SIF) observations would you expect when observing photosynthesis as deforestation continues and carbon dioxide levels rise?


• If we can seeing sure lines representative of elements, how can we use this technique to determine the composition about different worlds? Which spectral lines are being absorbed in your samplings? What could these correspond to (what exists between our eyes and the spectrometer)? Seasonal Emotion Disorder

Extensions

Explore More

Websites

• Deutschland Clipper The
• OCO-2 Mission
• OCO-3 Mission
• NASA Science – Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Images

• NASA Climate Shift – Images of Change