Dartmouth Events

ABSTRACT: The variable conditions in geospace driven by the Sun’s magnetic
activity, known as space weather, pose an increasing threat to
society. Poorly known and infrequent extreme space storms are
anticipated to have large effects, but statistical evidence shows that
even quite common space storms cause significant problems for electric
power grids, navigation systems, and satellite-based communications.
All space weather is ultimately powered by the Sun's magnetic dynamo,
leading to both the quiescent background solar irradiance and wind,
and the impulsive phenomena associated with coronal mass ejections and
energetic particle storms.  How do we know about the societal costs of
space weather? How can we quantify frequencies of extreme events? How
can we know the distant past and future of the climate of geospace?
The answers lie in insurance claim records, in radionuclides hidden in
ancient rocks and in slow-moving glaciers, in the behavior of
thousands of Sun-like stars, and in the combination of nuclear physics
and observations of star clusters. In this seminar, I will take you on
a tour around the theme of space weather, from causes to impacts, to
give you a flavor of the lives of magnetically active stars, including
our Sun.