NASA To Discuss Space Weather

NASA will hold a press briefing on Thursday concerning new information about space weather.

The briefing is scheduled for 2:00 pm EDT at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The information is from the agency’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory — STEREO — and other NASA probes.

Space weather is a term used to describe the effects on Earth of events on the Sun like solar flares. NASA’s Heliophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate is in charge of studying these solar-terrestrial interactions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Weather Service issues space weather predictions and warnings as it does for terrestrial weather since storms on the Sun can have dramatic effects on everything from satellites orbiting the Earth (including GPS and communications satellites on which people are increasingly dependent) to terrestrial electric power grids.

Speakers from NASA, NOAA, the Southwest Research Institute and Boston College will participate in the press conference. It will be broadcast on NASA TV.