CPAESS Discovery Seminar: Flares, Storms and Space Weather: Tracing solar eruptions and their journey to Earth

Author:

alexmeyer

Dec 9, 2024

Please join CPAESS for a virtual seminar talk with with Dr. Charlotte Waterfall, NASA Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellow, Goddard Space Flight Center NASA

Title: Flares, Storms and Space Weather: Tracing solar eruptions and their journey to Earth

When: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
11:00 AM MT (Virtual)

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About Charlotte Waterfall

Dr. Charlotte Waterfall received her Masters in Physics from Lancaster University (graduated 2016) and her PhD in Astrophysics from University of Manchester (graduated 2020). Currently, Charlotte is a Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellow based in Washington, DC, where she is researching energetic particle transport in widespread heliospheric events. Dr. Waterfall regularly participate in scientific outreach activities, from social media channels to in person events such as the total solar eclipse earlier this year

Description

The Sun is more than just a source of light; it’s a dynamic, ever-changing star that shapes the space environment around us. This talk begins with an introduction to the basics of heliophysics, explaining the Sun’s structure, the magnetic forces at work, and how these processes lead to solar eruptions like flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). From there, we’ll explore how these solar events travel through the solar system, creating space weather that affects Earth’s atmosphere, technology, and even our daily lives. Notable space weather events from history and the Sun’s current activity will be discussed, as well as an overview of the current fleet of spacecraft observing the Sun. We’ll end with a brief look at some of my current research on solar energetic particles (SEPs) and how they spread throughout the heliosphere.