Dear colleagues,

Please note this joint meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Meteorological Society, which will address the issue of sustaining observations of space weather.

I enclose a copy of the current programme below. For further details, please see the RMS meeting page:
http://www.rmets.org/events/space-weather-importance-observations
or the RAS meeting calendar at
http://www.ras.org.uk/events-and-meetings
(which also enables you to download details to Google calendar).

If you are interested in this important topic, please come along if you can.

Best wishes,
Mike

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Space weather: the importance of observations

Wednesday 13th November 2013
Imperial College London
Joint meeting between the Royal Meteorological Society & the Royal Astronomical Society

Most space weather occurs due to the Sun’s emissions which can affect the Earth’s space environment. Modern society is ever more dependent upon ground-based & spaceborne technology which can be vulnerable to space weather. Satellites, GPS, aviation & the electric power industry are all at risk from this & hence space weather is now included on the UK’s National Risk Register. It is important to have long-running, continuous observations for forecasting, nowcasting & for research in space weather. This public meeting, held during the peak of the 11 year solar cycle, addresses the deficiency in continuous, long-term observations & how this might be overcome.

Speakers:

(1) The importance of solar wind magnetic field observations & the upcoming Sunjammer solar sail mission, Jonathan Eastwood, Imperial College London.

(2) The vital role of ground-based sensors in the monitoring of space weather, Mike Hapgood, RAL Space.

(3) Space weather & GPS, Cathryn Mitchell, University of Bath.

(4) In-situ radiation & plasma monitoring on operational spacecraft, Dave Pitchford, SES Engineering.

(5) Demonstrating the power of heliospheric imaging for space weather applications: Tracking CMEs from Sun to Earth, Richard Harrison, RAL Space.

(6) International opportunities & challenges for the long-term continuity of data, Terry Onsager, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center [to be confirmed].

This meeting is sponsored by the Grantham Institue for Climate Change, an institute of Imperial College London and the Royal Astronomical Society and is part of the Royal Meteorological Society National Meetings programme, open to all, from expert to enthusiast, for topical discussions on the latest advances in weather and climate.

Non members are welcome to attend these meetings. Where seating capacity is limited, priority will be given to members.

http://www.rmets.org/events/space-weather-importance-observations