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ESA Science News
http://sci.esa.int

14 Mar 2003

Europe's scientists help explain the Sun's connections to Earth
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Between 18-23 March 2003, scientists across Europe and the world will 
be meeting the public to explain the newest theories about the way in 
which the Sun connects to and affects life on Earth. Do not miss this
opportunity to make a connection of your own, find out how to 
participate in the Sun-Earth days of 2003 ...

The Sun is not simply a 'lightbulb' steadily releasing heat, light and 
other radiations. Instead, it is a restless animal that is often 
wracked by magnetic storms. These fling electrified gas into space,
creating 'space weather'. Some of this material collides with the 
Earth causing the colourful aurorae and other effects that, for most 
of human history, could only be guessed at.

In fact, variations in the Sun have been blamed for everything from 
freakish weather to Atlantic salmon catches and fluctuations in the 
stock market.  Distilling the fact from the fiction is now a focus for 
scientists."We have to learn to live with the Sun because it is 
changing all the time and those changes affect us," says Paal Brekke, 
Deputy SOHO Project Scientist.

It is certain that the Sun's ferocity can destroy satellites in orbit 
and cause power transformers on Earth to burn out. It may even pose a 
danger for high-flying airline passengers, especially as new aircraft 
are developed that fly higher and faster than before.

The 'International Living with a Star' project, of which ESA is a 
principal member, aims to understand the way in which the various 
solar phenomena affect the Earth. ESA's solar missions, SOHO and 
Cluster, respectively monitor the Sun and its effects on the Earth 
environment.

The public Sun-Earth days, now in their third year, aim to communicate 
the excitement of this fast-moving field. "The Sun-Earth days make 
people aware of the effects that the Sun has on them. The more we 
depend upon space systems for our everyday lives, such as when we use 
mobile phones and GPS navigation, the more susceptible we become to 
space weather," explains Brekke.

Events details can be found at:
     http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunearth2003/

USEFUL LINKS FOR THIS STORY

* More about Sun-Earth days 2003
  http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunearth2003/
* More about SOHO
  http://sci.esa.int/soho/
* More about Cluster
  http://sci.esa.int/cluster/
* More about ILWS
  http://spdext.estec.esa.nl/content/news/index.cfm
          ?aid=1&cid=1&oid=31461

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