Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufmed42b0184t&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #ED42B-0184
Physics
Plasma Physics
1650 Solar Variability, 2700 Magnetospheric Physics, 6605 Education, 7500 Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy, 7800 Space Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
The year 2001 marked the first observance of Sun-Earth Day as an event to celebrate the strong interconnection of the life we have on Earth and the dependence of it on the dynamic influence of the Sun. The science of the Sun-Earth Connection has grown dramatically with new satellite and ground-based studies of the Sun and the Sun's extended "atmosphere" in which we live. Space weather is becoming a more common concept that people know can affect their lives. An understanding of the importance of the Sun's dynamic behavior and how this shapes the solar system and especially the Earth is the aim of Sun-Earth Day. The first Sun-Earth event actually took place over two days, April 27 and 28, 2001, in order to accommodate all the events which were planned both in the classroom on Friday the 27th and in more informal settings on Saturday the 28th. The Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF) organized the creation of ten thousand packets of educational materials about Sun-Earth Day and distributed them mostly to teachers who were trained to use them in the classroom. Many packets, however, went to science centers, museums, and planetariums as resource materials for programs associated with Sun-Earth Day. Over a hundred scientists used the event as an opportunity to communicate their love of science to audiences in these informal settings. Sun-Earth Day was also greatly assisted by the Amateur Astronomical Society which used the event as a theme for their annual promotion of astronomy in programs given around the country. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a satellite mission jointly sponsored by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), used Sun-Earth Day in conjunction with the fifth anniversary celebration of SOHO as a basis for many programs and events, especially a large number of happenings in Europe. These included observing parties, art exhibits, demonstrations, etc. Examples of some of the innovative ways that Sun-Earth Day was brought into people's lives will be shown. Next year, 2002, Sun-Earth Day is planned for March 20, the solar equinox. Many arrangements have already been made and a variety of new approaches will be used to make the events of the day even more widespread and visible. The number of packets of materials will be increased. There will be TV programs and webcasts created specifically for Sun-Earth Day. Native American relationships and interactions with the Sun will be an underlying theme. As always, the involvement of AGU scientists is the highlight of many of the planned programs. Come listen to the variety of ways that you can get involved, many requiring very little in time commitment or preparation, yet providing a major boost to keeping the value of science in the minds of the general public.
Cline Thomas
Lewis Edwin E.
Thieman James R.
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