SWOCC Lecture Series, Jan. 16

Our Active Sun: Flares, CMEs, and the Impacts of Space Weather – SWOCC release – Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern’s Associate Professor of Physics, Dr. Aaron Coyner will present “Our Active Sun: Flares, CMEs, and the Impacts of Space Weather”, a free lecture on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 7:00 pm in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts, on the Coos campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. Dr. Aaron Coyner is a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador. Our Sun provides all the energy that gives life to our favorite Pale Blue Dot. Without it the Earth as we know it would not exist. The Sun can also be rather explosive, showering the solar system with energetic particles from solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While the Sun is the most observed object in the cosmos, many questions still remain about these powerful events. Dr. Coyner will detail the mechanisms and impacts for flares both on the Sun and space weather on Earth like the Aurora Borealis. We will investigate the Sun in wavelengths across the spectrum, from gamma and X-rays to visible light. We will also touch on the amazing journey of NASA’s newest Solar mission, the Parker Solar Probe. The lecture will be live-streamed for those that cannot attend in person. Visit www.socc.edu and click on the Livestream button.  For further information please contact Dr. Aaron Coyner in the Southwestern physics department at (541) 888-7244 or by email at aaron.coyner@socc.edu.