Meetings
Map of UOP
University of the Pacific, Olson Hall Room 120
7:30 PM Thursday April 11th
Stockton Astronomical Society
Presents
Meng Jin
Heliophysics: Science for Living with a Star
Heliophysics is a relatively new field that involves a systems
approach to study the processes occurring within, and interfacing,
different astronomical domains from the Sun to the edge of the
solar system. One important objective of heliophysics science is to
improve our understanding and therefore our forecasting capability
of space weather, which can affect the technology we depend on
nowadays like GPS and radio communications. In this
presentation, I will first talk about how scientists explore our home
solar system through ground- and space-based observations in
NASA’s past, current, and future flagship missions such as SOHO,
SDO, and PSP. I will introduce advanced numerical models
developed over years that not only help us understand fundamental
physical processes but also provide us with the ability to forecast
space weather. In the second part of the talk, I will discuss how
heliophysics interacts with other scientific fields. For example,
newly emerged techniques like AI and deep learning can benefit
heliophysics research. Moreover, heliophysics and the knowledge
of our home solar system can help the exploration of new exo-solar
systems and habitable worlds in the universe, which will ultimately
answer the question human beings have been asking for centuries:
are we alone?
