The Basics

"The pale blue dot is my home." Earth, The only planet we know of that harbors life.

The Basics

The sun gives us life. The closest star to us. But the one who gives us life can take it away from us in an instant. How?

Coronal Mass Ejection

These are millions of tons of super-heated gas shooting off from the surface of the sun and hurtling 90 million miles toward Earth. When it hits Earth’s magnetic field, it triggers a geomagnetic storm which can cripple us! These storms are caused by 11-year Sun cycles that shift the polarity of the energy source's magnetic field.

You might think this has nothing to do with you. Well…

Do you use or have any of thefollowing?

Mobile

Laptop

Not only the living forces, even our technology is very much dependent on the sun’s whims. Hundreds of years ago, technology was too primitive to be disturbed by space weather. Today, we rely on countless devices that are vulnerable to a solar storm.

Think of all of the material you use that requires an electrical current: computers, televisions, cellphones, etc. Solar weather events have been occurring for millions of years, but they didn’t directly affect humans until recently.

Voltage fluctuations become quite common place during these times.

You’ve experienced everyday space weather if you have flown a commercial airline

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An Extreme Event: Carrington 1859

In Sept. 1859, Earth was hit by a solar storm so powerful that it set telegraph offices on fire and sparked Northern Lights in the South Pacific. Historians call it the “Carrington Event” after English astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare on a projecting screen with his unaided eyes.

Many consider it to be the birthday of space weather.

A Solar Superstorm Narrowly Missed Earth in July 2012

"If this storm had hit Earth, we would still be picking up the pieces." -Dan Baker, 2014 Space Weather Workshop

"Had it hit Earth, it probably would have been like the big one in 1859. The effect today [on] our modern technologies would have been tremendous." - Janet Luhmann, 2014 UC Berkeley press release.

The Main Focus Of Modern Space Weather Forecasting Has Been Earth

The Basics

The auroras are perhaps the most beautiful manifestations of space weather on Earth

Hence, a brand new branch of physics appears!

I understood the importance of Space-Weather and collaborated with fellow physicists to form an entirely new branch of physics : Heliophysics.

What is Heliophysics?

“Helio”-physics is the study of the physical domain defined by the Sun – the heliosphere, just like “astro”-physics is the study of the physical domain defined by stars.

This physical domain includes the Sun itself, the solar system, and stretches out to the start of interstellar matter. In principle, Heliophysics studies everything inside the Sun’s domain of influence.

So, now you know why I call myself...

Sheliophysicist.

Through life, from joining NASA Headquarters in 1998, one magnetic solar cycle ago, my entire journey has been fueled by my core love for the sun, taking me in pursuit of understanding space-weather and space climate and making everyone aware of the importance of Heliophysics. Today studying Heliophysics isn’t just a choice anymore, it’s a necessity.

Sheliophysicist

Hello, it’s me

Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta

I welcome you to explore
Sheliophysicist