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SPACE WEATHER WEEK IN BOULDER, COLORADO
April 19, 1999 — There's another Y2K problem, but it's not about computer glitches. We are now in the midst of Solar Cycle 23 and scientists expect increased solar storms and geomagnetic activity as the sun approaches solar maximum, which will peak around March 2000. Solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections and other solar happenings, cause the stormy weather that occurs in space.
This increase in solar and geomagnetic activity is likely to have a significant impact on various industries including communication, navigation, and power companies and can affect each of us as we use our pagers, cell phones, and GPS satellites. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Environment Center is the federal agency responsible for issuing warnings, watches and forecasts of the space environment and potential impacts on Earth. It is hosting a joint conference of space weather users, researchers, and vendors during the week of April 19-23, 1999 at the Department of Commerce facility at 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colo. - Find out more about space weather forecasting by clicking here.
- What is space weather? Click here to find the answer.
Media Information
Media are invited to attend any or all of the conference, particularly Monday morning's session, which is a tutorial on the space weather environment. Come and get your answers to any space weather questions answered and obtain the background necessary for future stories on space weather. On Wednesday, April 21, media are invited to attend a brown bag lunch with users, scientists, and vendors at 11:30 a.m. Representatives from NOAA, NASA, the European Space Agency, power companies, satellite operators, researchers and scientists, will be there to give you their perspective. Meet in the lobby of 325 Broadway and walk over to Room 2C406 in NOAA's new research center. Talk to the satellite and power operators who use information on space weather and find out the latest on what to expect as we approach the year 2000 and solar maximum.
For an agenda or additional information, consult SEC's home page at http://www.sec.noaa.gov or call Barbara McGehan, NOAA Public Affairs at
(303) 497- 6288.
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