SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AEROSPACE REPORTS

A Biweekly Publication of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
VOLUME 43, ISSUE 26 - DECEMBER 30, 2005

92 SOLAR PHYSICS
Includes solar activity, solar flares, solar radiation and sunspots.

For related information see 93 Space Radiation.

20050243553 Space Environment Services Center, Boulder, CO, USA

Halloween Space Weather Storms of 2003

Weaver, M.; Murtagh, W.; Balch, C.; Biesecker, D.; Combs, L.; Jun. 2004; 56 pp.; In English Report No.(s): PB2006-100544; NOAA/TM-OAR-SEC-88; No Copyright; Avail.: CASI: A04, Hardcopy

In October and November of 2003, well into the declining phase of Solar Cycle 23, the Sun produced a significant display of solar activity, including one of the most intense solar flares ever recorded. The activity produced by the Sun during this period originated from large and complex sunspot groups. Major solar flare activity was often accompanied by fast Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and strong energetic particle events. The arrival of transient solar wind from Earth-directed CMEs produced extreme geomagnetic storming. Common effects of these space weather phenomena included prolonged high-frequency (HF) communication outages, fluctuations in power transmission systems, and minor to severe impacts on space satellite systems. This technical memorandum outlines the activity observed on the surface of the Sun, the resultant effects of the near-Earth space environment, and the impacts to human-made systems in orbit and on Earth. NTIS

Aerospace Environments; Space Weather; Storms; Solar Flares

20050243559 Department of Energy, Washington, DC USA

Report of the Solar and Atmospheric Neutrino Working Group

Oct. 22, 2004; 74 pp.; In English Report No.(s): DE2005-840412; No Copyright; Avail.: National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

The highest priority of the Solar and Atmospheric Neutrino ExperimentWorking Group is the development of a real-time, precision experiment that measures the pp solar neutrino flux. A measurement of the pp solar neutrino flux, in comparison with the existing precision measurements of the high energy (sup 8)B neutrino flux, will demonstrate the transition between vacuum and matter-dominated oscillations, thereby quantitatively testing a fundamental prediction of the standard scenario of neutrino flavor transformation.

The initial solar neutrino beam is pure (nu)(sub e), which also permits sensitive tests for sterile neutrinos. The pp experiment will also permit a significantly improved determination of (theta)(sub 12) and, together with other solar neutrino measurements, either a measurement of (theta)(sub 13) or a constraint a factor of two lower than existing bounds. In combination with the essential pre-requisite experiments that will measure the (sup 7)Be solar neutrino flux with a precision of 5%, a measurement of the pp solar neutrino flux will constitute a sensitive test for non-standard energy generation mechanisms within the Sun.

The Standard Solar Model predicts that the pp and (sup 7)Be neutrinos together constitute more than 98% of the solar neutrino flux. The comparison of the solar luminosity measured via neutrinos to that measured via photons will test for any unknown energy generation mechanisms within the nearest star. A precise measurement of the pp neutrino flux (predicted to be 92% of the total flux) will also test stringently the theory of stellar evolution since the Standard Solar Model predicts the pp flux with a theoretical uncertainty of 1%.

We also find that an atmospheric neutrino experiment capable of resolving the mass hierarchy is a high priority. Atmospheric neutrino experiments may be the only alternative to very long baseline accelerator experiments as a way of resolving this fundamental question. Such an experiment could be a very large scale water Cerenkov detector, or a magnetized detector with flavor and antiflavor sensitivity. Additional priorities are nuclear physics measurements which will reduce the uncertainties in the predictions of the Standard Solar Model, and similar supporting measurements for atmospheric neutrinos (cosmic ray fluxes, magnetic fields, etc.).

We note as well that the detectors for both solar and atmospheric neutrino measurements can serve as multipurpose detectors, with capabilities of discovering dark matter, relic supernova neutrinos, proton decay, or as targets for long baseline accelerator neutrino experiments. NTIS

Neutrinos; Solar Atmosphere; Solar Neutrinos; Solar Flux

Source: NASA.