Between 18-23 March 2003, scientists across Europe and
the world will be meeting the public to explain the
newest theories about the way in which the Sun connects
to and affects life on Earth. Do not miss this
opportunity to make a connection of your own, find out
how to participate in the Sun-Earth days of 2003 …
The Sun is not simply a ‘lightbulb’ steadily releasing
heat, light and other radiations. Instead, it is a
restless animal that is often wracked by magnetic
storms. These fling electrified gas into space,
creating ‘space weather’. Some of this material
collides with the Earth causing the colourful aurorae
and other effects that, for most of human history,
could only be guessed at.
In fact, variations in the Sun have been blamed for
everything from freakish weather to Atlantic salmon
catches and fluctuations in the stock market.
Distilling the fact from the fiction is now a focus
for scientists.”We have to learn to live with the
Sun because it is changing all the time and those
changes affect us,” says Paal Brekke, Deputy SOHO
Project Scientist.
It is certain that the Sun’s ferocity can destroy
satellites in orbit and cause power transformers on
Earth to burn out. It may even pose a danger for
high-flying airline passengers, especially as new
aircraft are developed that fly higher and faster
than before.
The ‘International Living with a Star’ project, of
which ESA is a principal member, aims to understand
the way in which the various solar phenomena affect
the Earth. ESA’s solar missions, SOHO and Cluster,
respectively monitor the Sun and its effects on the
Earth environment.
The public Sun-Earth days, now in their third year,
aim to communicate the excitement of this fast-moving
field. “The Sun-Earth days make people aware of the
effects that the Sun has on them. The more we depend
upon space systems for our everyday lives, such as
when we use mobile phones and GPS navigation, the
more susceptible we become to space weather,” explains
Brekke.
Events details can be found at:
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunearth2003/
USEFUL LINKS FOR THIS STORY
* More about Sun-Earth days 2003
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunearth2003/
* More about SOHO
http://sci.esa.int/soho/
* More about Cluster
http://sci.esa.int/cluster/
* More about ILWS
http://spdext.estec.esa.nl/content/news/index.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=31461
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=31966&oo
id=31969]
Sun-Earth day events are spread across Europe and the world.
[Image 2:
http://sci.esa.int/content/searchimage/searchresult.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=31966&oo
id=31968]
Space weather includes the understanding of the Sun-Earth
connection. This composite image presents the three most
visible elements of space weather: a storm from the Sun
(EIT 304A/LASCO composite), auroras seen from space (POLAR),
and aurora as seen from the Earth (Jan Curtis).
Copyright © SOHO/LASCO and SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA), POLAR/VIS
(NASA) and Jan Curtis
