April 24, 2016
Let's celebrate our star, the Sun! Awareness and appreciation of the Sun are all you need to participate. Throw your own SunDay Party and celebrate our nearest star!
Planning a SunDay event?
Find plenty of activities, including Observing the Sun for Yourself, at the Stanford Solar Center. Hold a solar viewing like this one (right) in Oman for SunDay in GAM2014.
What if it’s raining? Be ready for an indoor program with a presentation of “The Sun: Our Nearest Star” from Galilean Nights (available in English, French and Portuguese).
Look at The Sun Now via the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory or contact your local astronomy club to find a solar viewing event. Remember, NEVER look directly at the Sun.
Don't forget to register your event!
Involving people with visual impairment:
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Amazing Space - downloadable images from the Hubble Telescope for printing on microcapsule paper.
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SEE Project - Space Exploration for the Blind and Visually Impaired - Information on the Sun and sunspots
Check out our Observing Resources and People with Disabilities Astronomy Resources.
Create a Camera Obscura
Examine the sun by making a pin-hole camera. Punch a hole at one end of a shoe box with a small nail. Place a piece of white paper inside of the box at its other end. Face away from the sun, turn the box over, and hold it with the hole toward the sun. Look at the sun's small image projected on the paper.
If there are large sunspots, they should be discernible as small, darkened blots on the solar disk projected on the paper. (If possible, stand in a darkened room with the box held in sunlight. This should give better contrast.) Repeat this for a few days, and the sunspots will be seen to move across the solar disk, allowing an estimation of the sun’s rotational period.
Thanks to The Astronomical League for the great suggestion!
Share your SunDay images of outreach, solar photography, or tell us that you love the Sun on Facebook, or Twitter using #GAM2016 hashtag (@gam_awb).
(Click here for a higher resolution)
