Webinar with Hisashi Hayakawa (Nagoya University, Japan)
Thursday, 29th October 2026 (17h CET | 12h EDT)
Please click on this Link for the Zoom Session
Meeting ID: 852 6990 9362
Password: 459004
Analyses of extreme solar storms are of particular importance for solar physics and the mitigation of space-weather hazards. In the observational history, the Carrington event of 1859 is regarded as a benchmark, not only in terms of its magnitude but also in terms of its significance within their history. Despite the qualitative significance, it has been proven challenging to quantify this extreme solar storm, as it occurred almost a century before the onset of the space age and thus has challenged quantitative magnitude assessments for a long time. However, recent archival (and proxy) investigations have allowed us to access contemporary analogue measurements thereby enabling a reassessment and revision of the magnitudes of the solar flare, transit time of the perturbations in the solar wind, solar particle storm, geomagnetic storm, and equatorward extension of the auroral oval. This presentation will provide a comprehensive review of their recent magnitude reassessments and contextualise the Carrington storm within the broader framework of extreme solar-terrestrial storms throughout history.
An international collaboration hosted at ISSI examined the inner workings of multiphase plasma to answer fundamental questions in physics from the Sun to the medium inside galaxy clusters. Their observations of the solar corona, the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere, expand our knowledge of the physics of multiphase plasma, and might help us understand the role this phenomenon plays across the universe.
In a novel cross-disciplinary effort, the ISSI Team around Erika Palmerio and David Barnes is revolutionizing our understanding of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), powerful solar eruptions with significant space weather impacts on Earth. Focusing on the often-overlooked tomography technique, the team utilizes state-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamic simulations and synthetic white-light data to overcome observational limitations. By placing virtual spacecraft strategically, they generate synthetic images, reconstructing CME structures through discrete tomography.
The findings based on their modelling reveal a complex, irregular front in contrast to traditional assumptions. The team aims to evaluate the impact of 3D reconstructions on space weather predictions, comparing them with conventional forward-modelling techniques. With plans to extend analyses to heliospheric imagery, their work promises groundbreaking insights into CME behavior and improved forecasting methods. Stay tuned for further revelations from this innovative endeavor tackled at ISSI Bern!
See the full team report here: “Tomographic Inversion of Synthetic White-Light Images: Advancing Our Understanding of CMEs in 3D“
