Solar Storms

Magnificent green and pink auroras

are lighting up increasingly southern skies. These awe-inspiring spectacles not only captivate us but also remind us that our small blue planet resides near an active star. As the Sun’s magnetic poles are about to flip, the super-hot, churning plasma on its surface reaches peak activity, creating sunspots and triggering violent phenomena like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective shield against the streams of energetic solar particles. However, it does not protect us from all dangers. Radiation bursts penetrate the magnetosphere, and CMEs can trigger serious geomagnetic storms that disrupt our technology, as seen in 2022 with the Starlink satellites. How likely is a Miyake event—a massive solar storm—to occur? And how vulnerable are we and our technology today?
 
Extensive research around the globe and out in space is advancing our understanding of the Sun, space weather, and their impacts. On November 13, two prominent scientists in the field will visit the Science Café Nijmegen to bring us up to speed on these exciting subjects, discuss the latest insights, and address all questions thrown at them. Daniel Müller, project scientist for the joint ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter and SOHO space missions, will awe us with stunning visuals and data, explaining how the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere. Viviane Pierrard, who leads the solar wind division at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and is an invited Professor of Physics at the Université Catholique de Louvain, will discuss the effects of space weather on Earth. Throughout the evening, Lukas Proske on accordion and Michael Gustorff on bass guitar will warm us with their own compositions and jazz standards. Join us for an enlightening evening!