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face=Verdana size=6>Space Weather Turns Into An International
Problem<BR></FONT></STRONG></SPAN>
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<TD><STRONG><FONT face=Verdana size=6><IMG height=250 hspace=0
src="http://www.spacedaily.com/images-lg/art-earth-magnetic-field-connecting-to-sun-lg.jpg"
width=300 align=right vspace=2><BR clear=all></FONT></STRONG><SPAN
class=BL><FONT face=Arial size=2>An artist's concept of Earth's magnetic
field connecting to the sun's.</FONT></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV><SPAN class=BBL><FONT face=Verdana size=2>by Dr. Tony
Phillips<BR>Science@NASA<BR></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=BDL><FONT face=Verdana
size=2>Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 19, 2010</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=BDL><FONT face=Verdana size=2><BR></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=BTX
isRoot="true"><FONT face=Tahoma>Sometimes a problem is so big, one country
cannot handle it alone. That's the message scientists are delivering at the
International Living with a Star (ILWS) meeting in Bremen, Germany, and
representatives from more than 25 of the world's most technologically-advanced
nations have gathered to hear what they have to say. </FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"The problem is solar storms-figuring out how to predict
them and stay safe from their effects," says ILWS Chairperson Lika Guhathakurta
of NASA headquarters. "We need to make progress on this before the next solar
maximum arrives around 2013." </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The sun and Earth are separated by 93 million miles of
space-a seemingly safe distance. But since the Space Age began, and especially
in recent years, there has been a growing realization that 93 million miles
really isn't so far apart. </FONT>
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face=Tahoma> and ground-based observatories have shown that Earth is located in
the sun's outer atmosphere, buffeted by solar winds and pelted by hail storms of
energetic particles. Moreover, the two bodies are actually connected by
invisible threads of magnetism. During "reconnection events," which typically
happen several times a day, you can trace invisible lines of force all the way
from Earth's poles to the surface of the sun. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"The Earth and sun are interconnected. We cannot study them
separately anymore," says Guhathakurta. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>A few years ago, scientists coined the term "heliophysics"
to describe the emerging science of the sun-Earth system. As a nod to the
importance of the topic, NASA has set up a dedicated Heliophysics Division at HQ
in Washington DC, and the United Nations declared 2007 the "International
Heliophysical Year" (IHY) in hopes of spurring global involvement in this new
field. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Predicting solar activity is a complicated problem, akin in
some ways to terrestrial weather forecasting but multiplied in difficulty by the
thorny physics of solar plasma and magnetism. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Predicting the sun is only half the problem, though; the
other half is Earth. How our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere respond to
any given solar storm is a magnetohydrodynamical riddle that top scientists
struggle to understand even with the aid of Earth's most powerful
supercomputers. For these reasons, it is often said that space weather
forecasting lags 50 years behind its terrestrial counterpart. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"We need more data--and more ideas," says Guhathakurta.
</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>That's why, this week, she is handing over her chairmanship
of ILWS to Dr. Ji Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition to leading
the ILWS, Wu will spend the next two years harnessing the special talents of the
world's most populous country for heliophysics. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"We have many scientists and lots of fresh ideas," says Wu.
"China will be able to make important contributions in this area." </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Another complication is volume. Heliophysics plays out on a
stage which is hundreds of millions of miles wide. Simply keeping track of
what's going on is a significant challenge. NASA and other space agencies have
dozens of spacecraft out there, but they are spread over an enormous volume.
</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"Imagine trying to monitor Earth's oceans with a small
number of buoys. You'd miss a lot. That's the situation we're in now with the
'ocean of space,'" says Guhathakurta. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>China is about to contribute a space-buoy known as "KuaFu,"
named after a giant in Chinese mythology who wished to capture the sun. Kuafu
will be located at the L1 Lagrange point where it will sample the solar wind
upstream from Earth. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>"We're putting KuaFu at a strategic point in space," says
Wu. "The solar wind at L1 is an important input to many science models of the
sun-Earth interaction." </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>When KuaFu launches it will join a growing international
fleet of </FONT><A class=kLink oncontextmenu="return false;" id=KonaLink1
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face=Tahoma> dedicated to heliophysics. NASA, the European Space Agency, the
Russian Federal Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, JAXA and China are all
making significant contributions. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>And just in time... </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>If forecasters are correct, the solar cycle will peak
during the years around 2013. And while it probably won't be the biggest peak on
record, human society has never been more vulnerable. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The basics of daily life-from communications to weather
forecasting to financial services-depend on satellites and high-tech
electronics. A 2008 report by the National Academy of Sciences warned that a
century-class solar storm could cause billions in economic damage. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Preparing for a "solar Katrina," launching a new science,
harnessing the talents of scientists around the globe: "These are just a few of
our goals for this week's meeting," says Guhathakurta. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Ambitious? Yes, but in heliophysics thinking big comes with
the territory.</FONT></P>
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