Northwestern Middle School has partnered with the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society (NEFAS) to learn about safe solar viewing.
Ms. Webster-Bass's eighth-grade science students learned about the sun and sunspots, and received some first-hand experience using telescopes and other viewing tools. The outdoor experience was facilitated by Stephen Peacock, president of NEFAS and Dan Maris.
This educational session was in alignment with science standards to help students understand distance among the sun and planets, as well as help them gain new knowledge about our galaxy the Milky Way.
Students found the experience exciting and enlightening, and had questions such as, “How many earths can fit into the sun?” and “How long has the sun been in existence?”
“It is amazing to know that the sunspots are almost the size of the earth,” said one of the eighth-graders. “We would have never gotten a chance like this in our lifetime to see solar objects with these tools.”
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