In this lecture, Saku Tsuneta, Director General of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), presents striking images of the Sun’s magnetic field and solar eruptions captured by the Hinode mission, and discusses the influence of solar activity on Earth’s climate and space communications. He explains how the Sun’s magnetic fields and solar storms can affect satellites and ground-based networks, and highlights the role of Earth’s magnetic field as a protective shield. Tsuneta also explores the astrobiological implications of these processes, examining the conditions that could make life viable on other planets under the “light” of the Sun and emphasizing the need to understand solar dynamics in order to assess habitability beyond Earth.
This lecture, delivered in September 2016, is part of the astrophysics series ‘The
In this lecture, Saku Tsuneta, Director General of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), presents striking images of the Sun’s magnetic field and solar eruptions captured by the Hinode mission, and discusses the influence of solar activity on Earth’s climate and space communications. He explains how the Sun’s magnetic fields and solar storms can affect satellites and ground-based networks, and highlights the role of Earth’s magnetic field as a protective shield. Tsuneta also explores the astrobiological implications of these processes, examining the conditions that could make life viable on other planets under the “light” of the Sun and emphasizing the need to understand solar dynamics in order to assess habitability beyond Earth.
This lecture, delivered in September 2016, is part of the astrophysics series ‘The Science of the Cosmos, the Science in the Cosmos’. This lecture series tackles the fundamental questions in contemporary astrophysics. The fifth edition explores issues such as cosmic rays and anti-matter, the evolution of galaxies and the role played by black holes, the exploration of the Solar System, and the detection of gravitational waves.
