November 27, 2024
‘Journey to the Sun’ talk at SIU to focus on space weather
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Space weather, and its connections to the Earth and sun, is the topic of the next talk in a series at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, focused on the sun and the major role it plays in the lives of humans.
The “Journey to the Sun” series continues on Friday, Dec. 6, with “Space Weather: The Sun-Earth Connection,” a talk by Peggy Hill, Solar System Ambassador for NASA and a professor emerita of physics at Southeast Missouri State University.
The free talk is set for 3 p.m. at Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library. The monthly series will continue through April and will be streamed online.
Outer space has “weather” the same way Earth does within its atmosphere. Just like the effects of rain, snow and wind, space weather caused by the sun and consisting of geomagnetic and radiation storms can also lead to disruptions in the lives of humans. Those can include electrical failures and communications blackouts, and impacts to satellite and airline operations, space flights, navigation and surveying systems.
“Unlike terrestrial weather events, space weather has the potential to impact not only the United States but wider geographic regions,” Hill said. “These complex events can have significant economic consequences and have the potential to negatively affect numerous sectors.”
Hill’s talks will address space weather drivers, its effects and efforts to predict it.
The “Journey to the Sun” series is modeled on the previous talk series, “Journey to the Eclipse,” which ran in the months leading up to the April 8 total solar eclipse in Southern Illinois. It is part of SIU’s SolarSTEAM effort, a multifaceted, national heliophysics public engagement program.
Additional talks are scheduled for Jan. 31, Feb. 28, March 28 and April 25.