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A Sun to mud view of a Solar storm: The little mission that could

Putnam Science Center - 375
Monday, · -

Dr. Alexa Halford will be discussing high altitude balloon observations of particles and xrays.

We often find ourselves focusing on very specific topics as scientist. This can be a fantastic way to advance the field’s knowledge. However, every once in awhile an event comes along which forces us to zoom out and see the grandeur and interconnectedness of the universe, in this case the Sun - Earth system. I would have thought that this experience would come for me in the form of another Carrington event or something like the Feb. 10 - 11 1958 solar and geomagnetic storm (another large storm and a fantastic read). Instead it was a very small event, if you are interested in geomagnetic activity, or one of the largest of the current solar cycle, if solar energetic particle events are more your thing. But however you classify it, one of the largest sunspots of this solar cycle, produced an event that allowed us to take a closer look at how the entire solar system is intertwined.

This was not a Halloween, Bastille Day, or one of the now many St. Patricks Day storms. In fact it’s unlikely that it will ever get it’s own Holliday nickname (almost a tradition in the field of space physics). But unlike those larger geomagnetic events, this one was less complicated allowing us to, among other things, directly test the relative importance of multiple loss mechanisms, see how waves are generated, and by and large gain a more complete understanding of how the system interacts and how quiet times can affect radiation belt dynamics and space weather. It was this large and yet small heliospheric storm which gave me the opportunity to zoom out and see how our heliospheric system is intertwined.

Contact:
Sarah McGregor
Sarah.McGregor@keene.edu
603-358-2583
Event Dates:

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