The briefing this week will review new observations from several NASA spacecraft, including the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo), that currently keep a close eye on the sun, agency officials said in the statement released today (Aug. 16). [Stunning Photos of Solar Flares & Sun Storms]
Thursday's briefing will be held at NASA's headquarters in Washington and will include presentations from several space weather experts.
They include:
- Madhulika Guhathakurta, Stereo program scientist, NASA Headquarters
- Craig DeForest, staff scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colo.
- David Webb, research physicist, Institute for Scientific Research, Boston College
- Alysha Reinard, research scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado, Boulder
The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle (the current season is called Solar Cycle 24) and has erupted with several major flares in recent weeks. The solar cycle will peak in 2013, NASA scientists have said.
Comment: Something wicked this way comes...