This year marks the 50th anniversary of International Geophysical Year which back then tried via a series of worldwide educational events to explain the processes powering the nuclear fusion factory of the best-studied star, our Sun Since then and the dawn of the space age in October 1957 scientists have been able to image and monitor the Sun’s activity on a 24-hr basis.
Next Monday night a meeting by the Galway Astronomy Club will play host to the Irish dimension of a brand new international programme of scientific collaboration in relation to the Sun in the field of astronomy, climatology, geophysics and meteorology with a talk by leading Irish scientist Dr Peter Gallagher. Up to 2004 he was a senior NASA scientist for the RHESSI and SOHO spacecraft while also responsible for co-coordinating NASA rocket flights to study the fundamental physics of the Sun’s million degree solar atmosphere or corona.
Today he is a Lecturer in Astrophysics and Space Science at the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin. His talk entitled “Living with a Star†will examine the stellar structure of the Sun, the photosphere and corona while also focusing on the cycle of dangerous solar flares. This meeting which is open to the Public kicks off at the Claddagh Hall on Monday the 26th of March at 7.30pm. For further information see the websites
www.galwayastronomyclub.ie
&
www.solarmonitor.org
This talk will be aired at the WSP in the Autumn but here is your chance to see it before then.
Ronan Newman
Secretary
Galway AC
