Solar Science

I thought I’d give a little heads up to a conference to be held at Montana State University from June 1-6:

Approximately 100 scientists from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and North America will participate in the workshop titled “Solar Variability, Earth’s Climate and the Space Environment,” said MSU physicist Dibyendu Nandi, head of the local organizing committee.

Participants will include directors of major international institutions, leaders of space missions and contributors to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. One of the participants, the managing director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, will give a public address on June 3.

“This is the first workshop in this international series of meetings that will be held in the United States,” said William Hiscock, physics professor and head of the MSU physics department. “The selection of MSU as host for this event reflects the strong international reputation of our solar physics research group.”

Nandi added, “The Sun is the main source of energy in the solar system. Understanding how variations in its magnetic and radiative output influence our climate and space environment is the primary focus of this workshop. Achieving this understanding is important for protecting our technologies in space and on Earth and is essential towards distinguishing the natural and man-made causes of global climate change.”

Of course, some climate modellers think that this conference would be a waste of time.