Our Magnetic Sun:  It hovers in space, 93 million miles from Earth, gently shepherding its retinue of planets along, and bathing us in gentle sunshine, doing nothing more dramatic than giving the unwary a sunburn and occasionally putting on a pretty light show…

No!  The Sun is really a gigantic ball of seething, boiling gas, 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface and over 28 million degrees at its center.  The region above the surface, called the corona, is actually hotter than the surface – 1 million to 20 million degrees.  Streams of electrically charged particles race away from the Sun.  Violent magnetic storms hurl vast quantities of material into space, sometimes forming arches larger than Earth before falling back.

From 10:30 to about 11:30 we’ll discuss the sun’s structure and the magnetic turbulence that drives immense storms, touch on the effects they have on us, and speculate about what a major storm might do to civilization.  Then we’ll head outside and view the Sun through both white-light and hydrogen-alpha (red-light) telescopes, looking for sunspots and eruptions of material.

Event is free, but registration is required.  To register, call the Oliver Wolcott Library at 860-567-8030 or visit their website at www.owlibrary.org then select Events/Adult.  Light refreshments will be served, or feel free to bring a bag lunch.
NOTE!  If the weather is unsuitable, the event will be held on Friday, July 29 at the same time.