At the beginning of the 17th century, Galileo Galilei dared to direct his telescope at the Sun and discovered sunspots there! In the 19th century, it became clear that sunspots appear and disappear with a certain periodicity, on average, every 11 years. Currently, we have entered the rising phase of a new solar cycle and see more and more sunspots appear on the Sun. The more sunspots, the stronger are the Sun storms and space weather effects on astronauts and modern technological systems in space and on Earth. For example, in February 2022, eruptive solar events killed 40 SpaceX satellites launched as part of Elon Musk’s Starlink project.
At the lecture, we will talk about how the Sun creates space weather, where the solar wind goes and what causes sunspots, solar flares, magnetic storms, and the Aurora Borealis. You will also learn about the innovative space missions of the 21st century that will help unravel the Sun’s intriguing mysteries so that we could live in harmony with the Sun’s stormy mood.
Tatiana Podladchikova, PhD in Engineering, is an astrophysicist and mathematician, and an associate professor at the Skoltech Center for Digital Engineering, where she does research in solar-terrestrial physics and develops new space weather services. Tatiana is a winner of the International Alexander Chizhevsky Medal for Space Weather and Space Climate.
