Distributing space weather monitoring instruments and educational materials worldwide for IHY 2007: The AWESOME and SID project

The International Heliophysical Year (IHY) aims to advance our understanding of the fundamental processes that govern the Sun, Earth, and heliosphere. The IHY Education and Outreach Program is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of space and Earth scientists as well as spreading the knowledge, beauty, and relevance of our solar system to the people of the world. In our Space Weather Monitor project we deploy a global network of sensors to high schools and universities to provide quantitative diagnostics of solar-induced ionospheric disturbances, thunderstorm intensity, and magnetospheric activity. We bring real scientific instruments and data in a cost-effective way to students throughout the world. Instruments meet the objectives of being sensitive enough to produce research-quality data, yet inexpensive enough for placement in high schools and universities. The instruments and data have been shown to be appropriate to, and usable by, high school age and early university students. Data contributed to the Stanford data center is openly shared and partnerships between groups in different nations develop naturally. Students and teachers have direct access to scientific expertise.     

Education and public outreach program for IHY – A global approach

Education and public outreach (EPO) is one of the four components of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY). It is fundamental in achieving one of IHY’s primary objectives which is to “demonstrate the beauty, relevance and significance of Space and Earth science to the world.”     

Space Weather Outreach: An informal education perspective

Informal science education institutions, such as science centers, play an important role in science education. They serve millions of people, including students and teachers. Within the last decade, many have tried to improve the public’s understanding of science and scientific research through informal education projects. The recent success of several space weather-related missions and research programs and the launch of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) research and education programs make this an ideal time to inform the public about the importance and relevance of space weather to our understanding of heliophysical science. Communication efforts associated with space weather both benefit and are compromised by analogies to terrestrial weather. This paper summarizes the benefits and challenges of the terrestrial weather analogy using two exhibit evaluation studies. The paper also describes three components of the Space Science Institute’s Space Weather Outreach Program – Space Weather Center Website, Educator Workshops, and Small Exhibits – and how they can help to achieve the education goals of IHY.     

太阳同步(准)回归轨道卫星的轨道保持方法研究

文中使用解析方法对太阳同步 (准 )回归轨道卫星动力学特性进行了研究 ,分析了非球摄动、大气阻力摄动和太阳引力谐振等主要摄动因素对太阳同步 (准 )回归轨道卫星的影响 ,并以此为依据对太阳同步 (准 )回归轨道卫星的轨道保持方法进行了探讨。定量分析结果表明 ,该方法切实可行 ,可以为轨道设计和轨道控制研究工作提供参考。     

Recent advances in observations and modeling of the solar ultraviolet and X-ray spectral irradiance

There have been significant, recent advances in understanding the solar ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray spectral irradiance from several different satellite missions and from new efforts in modeling the variations of the solar spectral irradiance. The recent satellite missions with solar UV and X-ray spectral irradiance observations include the X-ray Sensor (XRS) aboard the series of NOAA GOES spacecraft, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the SOHO Solar EUV Monitor (SEM), the Solar XUV Photometers (SXP) on the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE), the Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) aboard the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Dynamics, and Energetics (TIMED) satellite, and the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite. The combination of these measurements is providing new results on the variability of the solar ultraviolet irradiance throughout the ultraviolet range shortward of 200 nm and over a wide range of time scales ranging from years to seconds. The solar UV variations of flares are especially important for space weather applications and upper atmosphere research, and the period of intense solar storms in October–November 2003 has provided a wealth of new information about solar flares. The new efforts in modeling these solar UV spectral irradiance variations range from simple empirical models that use solar proxies to more complicated physics-based models that use emission measure techniques. These new models provide better understanding and insight into why the solar UV irradiance varies, and they can be used at times when solar observations are not available for atmospheric studies.     

The Physical Foundation of Forecasting Disturbances in the Geospace From Solar Disk Characteristics

The five main types of antisunward propagating energetic fluxes (particles and emission) may be thought of as well established to date, the effects of which lead to a particilar character of disturbance in the near-terrestrial environment (the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere and atmosphere). The strongest global restructuring of the magnetosphere and ionosphere is caused by fluxes of relatively dense n of 1-70 cm-3 at the Earth's orbit) Solar Wind (SW) quasi-neutral, low-energy (E ＜ 10 keV) plasma which cause magnetospheric and ionospheric storms lasting 24 hours or longer. For that reason, main attention is given to their study at the initial stage of research. The physical essence of the method of predicting disturbances in the near-terrestrial space environment, the amplitude of which can be expressed in, for example, the Kp index units, involves:(1) identifying all the most geo-effective SW streams of type, (2) determing their sources on the solar disk,and (3) quantifying the correlations between the characteristics of their solar sources with a maximum value of the Kp-index that is caused by the concerned type of SW stream. Semi-phenomenological relations have been obtained, which relate parameters of type SW stream sources to characteristics of geomagnetic storms:storm commencement, the time at which the storm intensity reaches its maximum values, the storm duration,as well as to the storm amplitude expressed in terms of geomagnetic indeces.      

Solar sail near the Sun: Point-like and extended models of radiation source

Some modifications of solar sail radiation pressure forces on a plate and on a sphere for use in the numerical simulation of ‘local-optimal’ (or ‘instantaneously optimal’) trajectories of a spacecraft with a solar sail are suggested. The force model development is chronologically reviewed, including its connection with solar sail surface reflective and thermal properties. The sail surface is considered as partly absorbing, partly reflective (specular and diffuse), partly transparent. Thermal balance is specified because the spacecraft moves from circular Earth orbit to near-Sun regions and thermal limitations on the sail film are taken into account. A spherical sail-balloon can be used in near-Sun regions for scientific research beginning with the solar-synchronous orbit and moving outward from the Sun. The Sun is considered not only as a point-like source of radiation but also as an extended source of radiation which is assumed to be consequently as a point-like source of radiation, a uniformly bright flat solar disc and uniformly bright solar sphere.     

Results of solar observations by the CORONAS-F payload

The CORONAS-F mission experiments and results have been reviewed. The observations with the DIFOS multi-channel photometer in a broad spectral range from 350 to 1500 nm have revealed the dependence of the relative amplitudes of p-modes of the global solar oscillations on the wavelength that agrees perfectly well with the earlier data obtained in a narrower spectral ranges. The SPIRIT EUV observations have enabled the study of various manifestations of solar activity and high-temperature events on the Sun. The data from the X-ray spectrometer RESIK, gamma spectrometer HELICON, flare spectrometer IRIS, amplitude–temporal spectrometer AVS-F, and X-ray spectrometer RPS-1 have been used to analyze the X- and gamma-ray emission from solar flares and for diagnostics of the flaring plasma. The absolute and relative content of various elements (such as potassium, argon, and sulfur) of solar plasma in flares has been determined for the first time with the X-ray spectrometer RESIK. The Solar Cosmic Ray Complex monitored the solar flare effects in the Earth’s environment. The UV emission variations recorded during solar flares in the vicinity of the 120-nm wavelength have been analyzed and the amplitude of relative variations has been determined.     

The characteristics of flare- and CME-productive solar active regions

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) cause immediate and adverse effects on the interplanetary space and geospace. In an era of space-based technical civilization, the deeper understanding of the mechanisms that produce them and the construction of efficient prediction schemes are of paramount importance. The source regions of flares and CMEs exhibit some common morphological characteristics, such as $\delta$-spots, filaments and sigmoids, which are associated with strongly sheared magnetic polarity inversion lines, indicative of the complex magnetic configurations that store huge amounts of free magnetic energy and helicity. The challenge is to transform this empirical knowledge into parameters/predictors that can help us distinguish efficiently between quiet, flare-, and CME-productive (eruptive) active regions. This paper reviews these efforts to parameterize the characteristics of eruptive active regions as well as the importance of transforming new knowledge into more efficient predictors and including new types of data. Magnetic properties of active regions were first introduced when systematic ground-based observations of the photospheric magnetic field became possible and the relevant research was boosted by the provision of near real time, uninterrupted, high-quality observations from space, which allowed the study of large, statistically significant samples. Nonetheless, flare and CME prediction still faces a number of challenges. The magnetic field information is still constrained at the photospheric level and accessed only from one vantage point of observation, thus there is always need for better predictors; the dynamic behavior of active regions is still not fully incorporated into predictions; the inherent stochasticity of flares and CMEs renders their prediction probabilistic, thus benchmark sets are necessary to optimize and validate predictions. To meet these challenges, researchers have put forward new magnetic properties, which describe different aspects of magnetic energy storage mechanisms in active regions and offer the opportunity of parametric studies for over an entire solar cycle. This inventory of features/predictors is now expanded to include information from flow fields, transition region and coronal spectroscopy, data-driven modeling of the coronal magnetic field, as well as parameterizations of dynamic effects from time series. Further work towards these directions may help alleviate the current limitations in observing the magnetic field of higher atmospheric layers. In this task, fundamental and operational research converge, with promising results which could stimulate the development of new missions and lay the ground for future exploratory studies, also profiting from and utilizing the long anticipated observations of the new generation of instruments.     

0.5—1.5GHz快速射电频谱仪研究中的几个科学问题

本文介绍了０．５－１．５ＧＨｚ频段上的研究课题和技术方案，主要科学目标是：粒子加速过程及加速区位置的研究；小惊讶磁流力管的振荡；射电爆发精细结构和ＨＸＲ事件的相关性研究等。     

基于太阳模拟器法的钙钛矿太阳电池测量方法研究

阐述了基于太阳模拟器法的钙钛矿太阳电池测量方法,包括对太阳模拟器性能、光源辐照度、光谱失配、电池温度、有效面积、I-V扫描时间设定等影响因素的规范,解决了钙钛矿太阳电池测量样品面积小、电容效应高、热稳定性差以及缺少光谱响应匹配度较好的标准电池和有效温控手段缺失等测量问题;并对测量结果的不确定度进行了评定,为国产钙钛矿太阳电池的精确测量奠定基础。     

Temporal evolution of statistical features of the sunspot cycles

Analysis of the general statistical features of the sunspot cycles in the period 1700–1996 AD, including the Gnevyshev–Ohl rule, Waldmeier rule and an amplitude–period effect, was performed for both Wolf numbers and group sunspot numbers. It was shown that for both solar indices all the statistical effects are weaker over the time interval 1700–1855 AD than over the time interval 1856–1996 AD. Possible causes of this difference are discussed.     

Effect of solar activity on the repetitiveness of some meteorological phenomena

In this paper we research the relationship between solar activity and the weather on Earth. This research is based on the assumption that every ejection of magnetic field energy and particles from the Sun (also known as Solar wind) has direct effects on the Earth’s weather. The impact of coronal holes and active regions on cold air advection (cold fronts, precipitation, and temperature decrease on the surface and higher layers) in the Belgrade region (Serbia) was analyzed. Some active regions and coronal holes appear to be in a geo-effective position nearly every 27 days, which is the duration of a solar rotation. A similar period of repetitiveness (27–29 days) of the passage of the cold front, and maximum and minimum temperatures measured at surface and at levels of 850 and 500 hPa were detected. We found that 10–12 days after Solar wind velocity starts significantly increasing, we could expect the passage of a cold front. After eight days, the maximum temperatures in the Belgrade region are measured, and it was found that their minimum values appear after 12–16 days. The maximum amount of precipitation occurs 14 days after Solar wind is observed. A recurring period of nearly 27 days of different phases of development for hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma was found. This analysis confirmed that the intervals of time between two occurrences of some particular meteorological parameter correlate well with Solar wind and A index.     

How far are we from a ‘Standard Model’ of the solar dynamo?

Over the last few years, dynamo theorists seem to be converging on a basic scenario as to how the solar dynamo operates. The strong toroidal component of the magnetic field is produced in the tachocline, from where it rises due to magnetic buoyancy to produce active regions at the solar surface. The decay of tilted bipolar active regions at the surface gives rise to the poloidal component, which is first advected poleward by the meridional circulation and then taken below the surface to the tachocline where it can be stretched to produce the toroidal component. The mathematical formulation of this basic model, however, involves the specification of some parameters which are still uncertain. We review these remaining uncertainties which have resulted in disagreements amongst various research groups and have made it impossible to still arrive at something that can be called a standard model of the solar dynamo.     

A polytropic model for the solar wind

The solar wind fills the heliosphere and is the background medium in which coronal mass ejections propagate. A realistic modelling of the solar wind is therefore essential for space weather research and for reliable predictions. Although the solar wind is highly anisotropic, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models are able to reproduce the global, average solar wind characteristics rather well. The modern computer power makes it possible to perform full three dimensional (3D) simulations in domains extending beyond the Earth’s orbit, to include observationally driven boundary conditions, and to implement even more realistic physics in the equations. In general, MHD models for the solar wind often make use of additional source and sink terms in order to mimic the observed solar wind parameters and/or they hide the not-explicitly modelled physical processes in a reduced or variable adiabatic index. Even the models that try to take as much as possible physics into account, still need additional source terms and fine tuning of the parameters in order to produce realistic results. In this paper we present a new and simple polytropic model for the solar wind, incorporating data from the ACE spacecraft to set the model parameters. This approach allows to reproduce the different types of solar wind, where the simulated plasma variables are in good correspondence with the observed solar wind plasma near 1 AU.     

Two-velocity structure observed in the inner solar wind

Measurements of the motion of plasma density inhomogeneities in the inner solar wind are presented. The speeds were estimated using a cross-correlation analysis of radio frequency fluctuations of the Galileo spacecraft measured simultaneously at widely spaced ground stations. The radial projections of the correlation baselines on the pattern plane were of the order of several thousand kilometers. For cross-correlation functions calculated with comparatively short averaging times, we find that a pronounced two-velocity configuration is occasionally observed over the range of heliocentric distances 20 R < R < 40 R. The typical mean speed for such observations is about 300–400 km/s and the difference between the two predominant speeds is about 150–200 km/s. These results may indicate that the density fluctuations are associated with slow magnetosonic waves propagating in opposite directions at the local speed of sound in the reference frame moving with the mean solar wind speed. Quite reasonable estimates of the solar wind speed and speed of sound are obtained from this model. Another possible explanation of the two-velocity structures is that two independent solar wind streams are present simultaneously along different segments of the radio ray path.     

Coronal spectroscopy: Probing sources of slow solar wind in active regions,and the early phases of solar flares

Coronal spectroscopy has pushed forward the understanding of physical processes in all phenomena on the Sun. In this review we concentrate specifically on plasma parameters measured in sources of the slow solar wind in active regions and the early phases of solar flares. These topics are a key part of the science goals of the Solar Orbiter mission (Müller et al., 2020) which has been designed to probe what drives the solar wind and solar transients that fill the heliosphere.Active regions, outside of flaring, have general characteristics that include closed loops showing red-shifted (down-flowing plasma), and the edges of the active regions showing blue-shifted (upflowing plasma). Constraining and understanding the evolution, behaviour and cause of the flows has been developed in the past years and are summarised. Of particular importance is the upflowing plasma which, in some cases, can contribute to the slow solar wind, and this review concentrates on recent results on this topic.The early phases of solar flares and their energy sources are not yet fully understood. For decades, there has been a huge interest in pin-pointing the trigger of a solar flare. Coronal spectroscopy has revealed small-scale dynamics that occurs tens of minutes before the flare begins. The understanding of the trigger is key to improving flare predictions in the future, as well as understanding the physical processes.Finally we look to the future of coronal spectroscopy, with new instruments and methodologies being developed that build on the current knowledge, and will improve significantly our physical understanding of processes at all scales on the Sun.     

New flare model using recent measurements of the solar ultraviolet irradiance

The solar photon output from the Sun, which was once thought to be constant, varies considerably over time scales from seconds during solar flares to years due to the solar cycle. This is especially true in the wavelengths shorter than 190 nm. These variations cause significant deviations in the Earth and space environment on similar time scales, which then affects many things including satellite drag, radio communications, atmospheric densities and composition of particular atoms, molecules, and ions of Earth and other planets, as well as the accuracy in the Global Positioning System (GPS). The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) is an empirical model that estimates the solar irradiance at wavelengths from 0.1 to 190 nm at 1 nm resolution with a time cadence of 60 s. This is a high enough temporal resolution to model variations due to solar flares, for which few accurate measurements at these wavelengths exist. This model also captures variations on the longer time scales of solar rotation (days) and solar cycle (years). Daily average proxies used are the 0–4 nm irradiance, the Mg II c/w, F10.7, as well as the 1 nm bins centered at 30.5 nm, 121.5 (Lyman Alpha), and 36.5 nm. The GOES 0.1–0.8 nm irradiance is used as the flare proxy. The FISM algorithms are given, and results and comparisons are shown that demonstrate the FISM estimations agree within the stated uncertainties to the various measurements of the solar Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) irradiance.     

极月轨道上太阳电池阵外热流规律分析

准确的月球表面温度分布模型对于开展月球探测具有重要意义. 目前有关月球表面温 度模型还缺乏对完整月球表面温度分布的计算方法研究. 本文建立了一套计算完整月球表面温度的方法, 其中月球阳面温度采用Racca模型直接计算得到; 对于月球阴面, 将其沿纬度方向划分为若干区域, 每个区域的地表土壤采用一维非稳态热传导模型, 根据嫦娥三号着陆器太阳电池阵在轨环月阶段的温度数据, 修正得到月球表面土壤导热系数、密度及比热容, 通过数值计算求解一维非稳态热传导方程, 得出任意时刻月球阴面表面温度随时间的变化. 嫦娥三号着陆器太阳电池阵环月阶段热分析结果与在轨温度符合较好, 初步说明本文建立的完整月球表面温度计算方法正确可行. 基于本文方法计算得到整个月球表面温度分布, 进一步研究了极月轨道太阳电池阵外热流变化规律.