Marbled Sun Prints

Levels
  • beginner
  • intermediate
NGSS
  • ps1
Requirements
  • low_tech
  • low_cost
Big Ideas
  • big_ideas_3.1
Helio Topics
  • solar_flare
  • coronal_mass_ejection
CreditUniversity of Alaska Museum of the North
Language
  • english

Make marbled paper that looks like our dynamic Sun using shaving cream and food coloring. The Sun is a burning ball of superheated gas and when viewed through NASA's telescopes it appears different shades of orange. Darker regions are cooler than lighter regions. Hot plasma rises from the core towards the surface, where it cools and sinks back towards the core. This process forms convection cells that we see as solar granules. The lighter color in the granules is the Sun's hot plasma that has risen to the surface.