Science & Technology Facilities Council, UK | RAL | HELCATS | 2014 Oct 01
UK scientists have unveiled a new £2.5 million (€3.2 million) project that will improve forecasts of solar storms, including their arrival time and impact on the Earth. The three year project will provide the most comprehensive set of information to date about the Sun’s influence on interplanetary space and the effects space weather can have on the Earth. The project will enable governments to improve their strategies to lessen the potential negative impacts from the Sun.
Led by scientists at the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), the international HELCATS (Heliospheric Cataloguing, Analysis and Techniques Service) team is exploiting advanced visible-light imaging from NASA satellites combined with sophisticated computer modelling techniques.
The UK government already recognises the potential threat of disruption that could be caused by a severe space weather event, listing it high on the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies.
To better monitor any potential threat the HELCATS team is tracking huge clouds of solar material as they are blown off the Sun and speed their way out into the heliosphere – the immense magnetic bubble containing our solar system, and which is influenced by the Sun. ...
