SolarNews The Electronic Newsletter of the Solar Physics Division American Astronomical Society Volume 2003 Number 20 Neal Hurlburt, editor 4 Nov 2003 ---------------------- Contents --------------------------- AGU's Online Space Weather Journal Available Mt. Wilson Solar Photographic Archive Digitization Project SPD Membership Renewal Graduate Fellowship in Solar Instrumentation Who's News Employment Opportunities Science Educator Position at NASA/GSFC in Greenbelt, MD Post Doctoral Research Assistant in Solar Terrestrial Physics at the University of Sheffield Meeting Announcements French PNST: Space Weather, Solar and Stellar Magnetism, Corona and Solar Wind, 22nd NSO Workshop on "Large Scale Structures and their Role in Solar Activity" Call for Special Sessions at the 2004 Solar Physics Division Annual Meeting CENTER FOR TURBULENCE RESEARCH: SUMMER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY Editor's Notes ----------------------------------------------------------- Who's News ----------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the week John Leibacher, jleibacher@spd.aas.org 30 Oct 2003 "There are several lessons to absorb from this unusual event even as we collectively wipe the coronal plasma from our face. The first, and most obvious, is that it's no longer safe to assume, as most educated people have for hundreds of years, that the sun is a boring, inert yellow object in the sky, trapped in a hamster-wheel existence, unable to think of anything to do with itself other than shine. No: The sun is more like a god. It has moods. It can be an angry god, tempestuous, hot under the collar. It usually keeps its temper in check, but sometimes it starts flinging things, and if you're orbiting in the wrong place you'll get a CME right in the kisser. The point being that, when the sun hurls, the spew is considerable." Hot Star of the Week: The Sun's Dramatic Flare By Joel Achenbach Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 30, 2003 See here for full copy: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38531-2003Oct29.html AGU's Online Space Weather Journal Available Jill Johnson, JJohnson@agu.org 28 Oct 2003 The first publication devoted to the emerging field of space weather launched on 28 October. The new online journal, Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications, is live at www.agu.org/journals/spaceweather. Here is a glimpse of what you'll find inside the debut issue: * Cosmic Ray Hazards to Aircraft * Profile of the U.S. Community Coordinated Modeling Center * New International Living with a Star Initiative Unites the World's Space Agencies For complete coverage of the latest space weather research, news, and information, log on today. Online access to Space Weather is FREE through 31 March 2004. Paid subscriptions begin 1 April 2004. If you are interested in contributing to Space Weather, manuscripts can be submitted online at http://spaceweather-submit.agu.org/. Space Weather is published by AGU and co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the International Space Environment Service (ISES). Mt. Wilson Solar Photographic Archive Digitization Project Roger Ulrich, ulrich@astro.ucla.edu 26 Oct 2003 With funding from NSF and NASA a 5-year project to digitize the solar photographic archive of the Mt. Wilson Observatory has begun at UCLA under the supervision of Roger Ulrich. The initial steps in this project have begun and we anticipate making further announcements when data becomes available for distribution. The scope of the archive is currently only partly understood but our initial objectives are concentrated on the Ca K spectroheliograms and the "White Light" direct images (which use a green, wideband filter). The number of images available exceeds 100,000 and extends back to 1894. A report giving further details of the photographic archive is under preparation and will be posted when available. This report will give an initial evaluation of the potential digitized image quality. If you wish to receive e-mail reports of progress on this project or if you wish to contribute to our strategic planning, please e-mail to ulrich@astro.ucla.edu and we will include you in our planning process. An urgent side issue has arisen out of this project. A series of 35-mm flare patrol movies was carried out between approximately 1936 to 1950. Some used Halpha and others used CaK. The images are small and somewhat lacking in detail. The safety acetate film on which the images are recorded has deteriorated for several of the reels to the point where the data is lost. The gases released in this process can cause the loss of adjacent reels so the problem could spread and result in the total loss of this collection. We did not plan to deal with this collection and do not have funding for that purpose. We are also not yet fully familiar with what is contained in the collection. However, given the potential loss of this unique data, I wish to solicit advice from the solar physics community as to what steps are appropriate. SPD Membership Renewal Joan Schmelz, jschmelz@memphis.edu 21 Oct 2003 The American Astronomical Society is handling Membership Renewal for all Solar Physics Division members, including Affiliate Members. All current members should have received Membership Renewal information from the American Astronomical Society. Please renew promptly! Members who have not yet received an invoice should contact Dennis Renner, the Membership Coordinator of the American Astronomical Society, at membership@aas.org to request a copy. Graduate Fellowship in Solar Instrumentation K. S. Balasubramaniam, bala@nso.edu 15 Oct 2003 The National Solar Observatory (NSO) has a position available for a PhD student interested in pursuing research on optical Fabry-Perot systems. This research is aimed at developing a tunable Fabry-Perot based imaging spectroscopy filter system for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST). A background in optical physics, astronomical optics and spectroscopy is essential. This opportunity will be ideal for a candidate who is already registered (or one who is ready to register) for a PhD program at a US university. NSO is not a degree granting institution, but collaborates with a number of universities. Potential students who are not US citizens or permanent residents would be subject to Department of Commerce and/or Department of Defence clearances or licensure for technology transfer. NSO provides equal opportunities for women and members of minority groups. The research must be performed at the NSO at Sacramento Peak in Sunspot, New Mexico. For details or if interested in the research project, please contact Dr. K. S. Balasubramaniam, National Solar Observatory, Sunspot, NM 88349 Phone: 505-434-7134, email: bala@nso.edu. Employment Opportunities ----------------------------------------------------------- Science Educator Position at NASA/GSFC in Greenbelt, MD Dominic Zarro, dzarro@solar.stanford.edu 31 Oct 2003 L-3 Communications/Government Services Inc. (GSI, formerly EER Systems, Inc.) is seeking a Science Educator for a full-time position at the SOHO Experimenter's Analysis Facility (EAF) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Duties and responsibilities will include: - Support SOHO education and public outreach (E/PO) activities by developing programs to bring scientific knowledge to the classroom in a meaningful way. - Evaluate impact of E/PO products on student knowledge. - Organize and participate in E/PO presentations at schools, teacher conferences and workshops, and science meetings. - Develop effective educational materials. Successful candidates will have a Bachelors Degree (preferably in an education-related discipline), with classroom teaching experience in science. Experience with curriculum material development and working knowledge of national science education criteria/goals will be considered. Familiarity with HTML and Web-based graphics is a plus. US citizenship or permanent residence is required for this position. L-3 Communications offers a competitive salary and benefits package including medical/dental/life insurance and 401(k) plan. L-3 Communications is an equal opportunity employer. Send resume to: dominic.zarro@l-3com.com Post Doctoral Research Assistant in Solar Terrestrial Physics at the University of Sheffield Robert von Fay-Siebenburgen, Robertus@sheffield.ac.uk 23 Oct 2003 A Postdoctoral Research Associate is required by the Solar Physics and upper-Atmosphere Research Group (SPARG) to undertake research into the distribution of plasma in the Earth's plasmasphere and inner magnetosphere using the CTIP (Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere) and SUPIM (Sheffield University Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model) models, and observations from satellite-borne and ground-based instruments. Development of the models will be required. The post is funded by a PPARC Rolling Grant until 30 September 2006. Applicants should hold a PhD, preferably in Solar Terrestrial Physics or a related field. An excellent working knowledge of mathematical modelling combined with analyses of observational data, and of FORTRAN, IDL, UNIX, LINUX, Windows, and Web-based systems, is essential. Salary is within the R1A scale: ?18,265 - ?21,125 pa Closing date for applications is 18 November 2003. For more details go to our website at http://www.shef.ac.uk/~am For full post details/application pack visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/jobs/ Meeting Announcements ----------------------------------------------------------- French PNST: Space Weather, Solar and Stellar Magnetism, Corona and Solar Wind, Stephane Regnier (SPD-France Liason), regnier@mithra.physics.montana.edu 3 Nov 2003 The French PNST (Programme National Soleil-Terre) will organize a workshop in Autrans (near Grenoble, France) from January 26 to January 28, 2004. The aim of this workshop is to summarize the main research supported by the PNST: Space Weather, Solar and Stellar Magnetism, Corona and Solar Wind, Chocs-Reconnection-Turbulence (from the Sun to the Earth atmosphere). Details can be found (in french) at the following address: http://www.cetp.ipsl.fr/~belmont/atelier_web.html 22nd NSO Workshop on "Large Scale Structures and their Role in Solar Activity" K. Sankarasubramanian, sankara@nso.edu 31 Oct 2003 First Announcement: The 22nd NSO Sacramento Peak Workshop on "Large Scale Structures and their Role in Solar Activity" will be held on October 18-22, 2004 at the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak, Sunspot, New Mexico, USA. This workshop intends to review the current state of theory and observations of large-scale structures on the Sun, and develop an understanding of the large-scale organization of solar activity. Structures larger than a typical active region are present throughout the solar atmosphere. In the convection zone, they are indicative of the large-scale circulation (giant cells and jet streams). At the photosphere and chromosphere they appear as complexes of activity, large-scale magnetic fields, and patterns of filament channels. In the corona, large-scale organization can be seen as coronal holes, polar caps and extended connectivity between regions. A comprehensive understanding of the physics of large-scale organization on the Sun is necessary. Issues this workshop intends to address include: What is the role of large-scale structures in solar activity? What is the physical relationship between patterns observed in different layers of solar atmosphere? How are photospheric and coronal structures related to the underlying dynamo or circulation in the convective zone? Recent theoretical developments and observations with space-borne instruments (e.g., SoHO, TRACE, YOHKOH) and groundbased telescopes (e.g., GONG, ISOON, SOLIS) may provide some answers to these questions. The Workshop will concentrate on the following major topics: (1) Large-scale organization in the solar dynamo and its observational signatures. (2) Large-scale circulation in the convection zone and photosphere. The influence of this circulation on the activity cycle, formation of active regions, and the large-scale bipolar and unipolar fields. (3) The formation and evolution of complexes of activity and activity nests. (4) Role of large-scale magnetic fields and material flows in formation of filaments and filament channels. (5) Large-scale organization related to eruptive phenomenon on the solar surface. (6) Magnetic field and flows in coronal holes and polar caps; large-scale connectivity in the corona. (7) Influence of small-scale processes in the formation and evolution of large-scale structures. Further details about the workshop will be found at the NSO webpage at http://www.nso.edu/general/workshops/2003/ws22.html or by contacting the organizers. K. Sankarasubramanian (sankara@nso.edu) Matt Penn (mpenn@noao.edu) Alexei Pevtsov (apevtsov@nso.edu) Call for Special Sessions at the 2004 Solar Physics Division Annual Meeting John Leibacher, leib@noao.edu 31 Oct 2003 Deadline 15 November, 2003 The '04 Meeting will be held 30 May to 3 June, 2004 in Denver, Colorado in conjunction with the AAS's Summer Meeting, and we need to get our ideas about special sessions to them by the end of November. Recall that the AAS Summer Meeting runs from Monday through Thursday and it is organized so that the middle two days are completely given over to "Topical Sessions" - one for the SPD and three for the rest of the universe - and there are no other competing activities those two days. There will be "Special Sessions" on Monday and Thursday which we can pre-organize in response to proposals, or structure as regular contributed paper sessions in response to abstract pressure. If you have ideas for topical or special sessions, would you please send me a short proposal describing the individual(s), their potential topic for presentation, some explanation of why they should be invited to speak at the meeting, and whether you would like a topical or special session by 15 November? In addition, we will be suggesting speakers for plenary talks before the whole Society, and we solicit your suggestions, before 1 December. A description of the various sorts of sessions at the AAS meetings is available at John Leibacher CENTER FOR TURBULENCE RESEARCH: SUMMER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY Nagi Nicolas Mansour, Nagi.N.Mansour@nasa.gov 17 Oct 2003 Dates: Jun 21-July 16, 2004 The Center for Turbulence Research invites applications for participation in its tenth biennial summer research program. The objective of the program is to promote the development and evaluation of new ideas in turbulence research. It is expected that novel ideas and preliminary results generated during the summer program will be of sufficiently high caliber to lead to publications and to provide the grounds for new research in the participants' home institutions. Even though the request for proposals is left open to research on turbulence, every year a theme is chosen. This year CTR would like to encourage participation in solar dynamics simulations. Several multiprocessor Origin 2000 and 3000 series single system image supercomputers, a PC cluster and a score of workstations for 3-D data analysis will be available to the participants. Application Procedure: Applicants should submit a brief proposal stating the fundamental questions to be addressed and the data to be employed, along with financial requirements; include a current vitae. Applications must be received by January 16, 2004. Awards will be announced on February 27, 2004. Housing arrangements will be made thereafter. Write to: Center for Turbulence Research Bldg. 500 Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-3030 Ph: (650) 723-2959 Fax: (650) 725-3525 ctr@ctr.stanford.edu Editor's Notes ----------------------------------------------------------- Revised submission instructions Neal Hurlburt, editor@spd.aas.org 1 Oct 2003 /Updated October 1, 2003./ SolarNews is normally distributed on the first and fifteenth of each month. The SPD Web site can be found at http://spd.aas.org. The HTML version of SolarNews is at http://gong.nso.edu/SolarNews. It contains in-line hyperlinks to all the Web sites and e-mail addresses mentioned in this issue. Plain text back issues can be retrieved via anonymous FTP to ftp://spd.aas.org/SolarNews. SolarNews submissions can be in plain text, L^A TEX or HTML markup; other proprietary binary formats will be returned with a request for a plain text copy. I encourage HTML if your announcement contains lists, tables, or hyperlinks. Submissions should be made via the submission webform at http://www.lmsal.com/solarnews-service?cmd=request-news-entry, or failing that e-mailed to mailto:editor@spd.aas.org. Please try to keep meeting and workshop announcements to no more than one page (50 to 60 lines of typed text with 72 characters per line), with a Web address for further information. Should you use email, a descriptive "Subject:" in the e-mail line will help in my markup procedure; that is, "Postdoctoral Position, Lumbago University" is to be preferred to simply "Job Announcement." SolarMail address changes should be made via the Web site at http://spd.aas.org/SolarMail. You can make the change yourself provided your old e-mail address is still active. Enter your SolarMail alias and password at that location. If you do not have a password, a new one can be e-mailed automatically to your old address; then follow the instructions at the Web site. Otherwise, e-mail your new address to both editor@spd.aas.org and postman@spd.aas.org. Indicate if you wish your new address published in SolarNews. Keep those cards and letters coming.