Solar flares and northern lights: the beauty and danger of the Sun July 9, 2011

Part of the Cafe Scientifique programme at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

Without the Sun, life on Earth would never have evolved. The Sun provides the key ingredient, light, to fuel photo-synthesis and gives us beautiful natural phenomenon such as the Northern Lights. Yet in recent years warnings about Solar flares affecting GPS and other electronic devices have increased. Should we be worried?

Captain Bryn Jones, CEO of SolarMetrics and a Captain at Virgin Atlantic Airways and Dr Jim Wild from the Space Plasma Environment and Radio Science Group at Lancaster University will provide some insight into the beauty and danger of the Sun with Dr Lucie Green, a solar researcher from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory as the chair.

This event is part of the Cafe Scientifique programme at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Cafes will take place in the Terrace Cafe. They are free and open for all to attend, just grab a drink and get talking! Audience participation is strongly encouraged. The Terrace cafe is down 9 steps and is not wheelchair accessible.

Official Website: http://royalsociety.org/events/sun/