Webinar with Marco Velli (Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA, USA)
Thursday, 25th June 2026 (17h CEST | 11h EDT)
Please click on THIS LINK FOR THE ZOOM SESSION
Meeting ID: 852 6990 9362
Password: 459004
The launch of Parker Solar Probe (Parker) in 2018, accompanied shortly after by the launch of Solar Orbiter (Orbiter), has opened a new frontier in the exploration of the Heliosphere. One of the first observations by Parker Solar Probe was that much of the solar wind, independently of speed, is dominated by Alfvénic fluctuations, suggesting that these fluctuations play a vital role in Heliospheric dynamics. Parker also observed that the Heliospheric current sheet is extremely dynamic in its formation region, with reconnection being a persistently observed process.
Webinar with Alejandro Luque (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain)
About 44 times per second a lighting stroke hits out planet. As one of the most awe-inspiring phenomena in nature, we are all deeply familiar with the immediate consequences of lightning: thunder, the flash of light and possibly the destruction that it leaves in its wake. However, lightning is also associated with other consequences that you may miss in the blink of an eye: far above lightning, close to the boundary between our atmosphere and space, lightning produces strange luminous events with playful names such as sprites and elves. Discovered almost 40 years ago but predicted long before, these Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) teach us about the fundamental physics of electric discharges and about Earth’s upper atmosphere. In this webinar we will review how our understanding of TLEs has evolved since they were observed and what challenges they still offer for future research.
Webinar with Stephan Rosswog (Hamburg Observatory, Germany)
Webinar with Vassilis Angelopoulos
(UCLA, Los Angeles, USA)
Near-Earth space is filled with energetic ions and electrons of multi-MeV energy, which can damage sensitive satellite components and harm humans in space. The energy comes from the Sun’s outbursts of plasmas, the dynamic solar wind, but it is focused and amplified in Earth’s magnetized space environment, the magnetosphere. The tug of war between the solar wind and our magnetized planet drives the dynamic auroras, Earth’s radiation belts, and affects our atmosphere. Space weather is a major field of study for space agencies around the world. Modeling and predicting radiation particle fluxes is still in its infancy.
Webinar with Juri Poutanen (University of Turku, Finland)
recorded on September 26, 2024
Electromagnetic radiation observed from various cosmic sources is intrinsically polarized, with its polarization depending on the geometry and, specifically, the asymmetry of the source. Polarimetry offers an independent method for exploring the physics and astrophysics of cosmic objects, complementing traditional techniques such as imaging, spectroscopy, and timing. It enables us to determine the geometry of otherwise unresolved sources—for instance, identifying the orientation of the symmetry axis of a source or the magnetic field in the sky—providing insights that no other technique can offer.
Online Seminar with Tilman Spohn (DLR, Berlin, Germany)
ISSI’s Game Changers online seminar series was launched during the first Covid-19-related lockdown in summer 2020 to help keep the community together. Up until this 100th webinar, the series has covered a wide range of topics, from climate change on Earth to life in the universe and the Big Bang.
Online Seminar with Roberto Maiolino (Cambridge University, UK)
The James Webb Space Telescope is revolutionising most areas of astrophysics. One of the most exciting and puzzling findings has been the discovery of a large population of massive black holes within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
