09/04/2024
By Lynne Schaufenbil
Abstract: There have been remote observations of the solar atmosphere for centuries, and in situ measurements of the heliosphere for almost 60 years. Computer simulation capabilities have vastly improved, and simulation techniques of the coupling between the layers of the sun, through the solar atmosphere, and out into the heliosphere continue to advance. Yet there are longstanding, major unsolved questions of how the solar atmosphere is energized on small and large scales, as well as how the solar wind and heliosphere are formed. The answers involve universal physical processes of energy storage and release, manifested through magnetic reconnection, turbulence, and waves. These questions remain unanswered because observations and simulations are limited to narrow aspects of the physics and/or system, and thus cannot capture cross-scale and cross-region coupling. We compare different forms of energy storage and release in the solar atmosphere and describe progress that could be made with new observations and simulation capabilities that link the kinetic scales, through the mesoscales, to the global processes.
Short Bio: Nicholeen Viall is a Heliophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and is the Mission Scientist for NASA’s Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. She earned her B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Washington and earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy from Boston University. She is the 2018 winner of the Karen Harvey prize from the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society (SPD/AAS) for a significant contribution to the study of the Sun early in a person’s professional career, and currently serves as the Chair of the SPD. She was awarded NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal for “fundamental contributions to understanding coronal heating and the slow solar wind and for valuable service to NASA, the science community and the public.” She has been a highly visible member of NASA’s outreach and media team, including the total solar eclipses in 2017 and 2024, the annular eclipse in 2023, and Parker Solar Probe launch and first results, with over 100 live shot television interviews.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Lynne_Schaufenbil@uml.edu for the Zoom link.