1)What is the mass of a radiation-belt electron moving at 0.9 c ?
2)Discuss at least 3 different space weather phenomenon that influence solar cell performance on your satellite (and, no, I didn’t tell you where it’s orbiting).
3)Would a typical particle in the solar wind cause damage to the coronavirus that causes Covid-19? How about particles in the Van Allen belts? What frequency photon would? Hmmmm…
4)From 35 000 feet (typical altitude of a commercial airliner), how far can you see (or how far can line-of-sight radio communication travel)? Compare this to the size of an ocean or of the polar regions.(additionally, what is the ratio of the mass of the column of air above you at this altitude compared to the mass of the column above you at sea-level?)
5)Explain how tropospheric season where you are affects the impact that solar EUV bursts (say, from some big nasty flare) has on GPS reception. Don’t forget to confuse yourself by considering that there may, in fact, be no impact whatsoever.
6)Find an article about space weather impact on terrestrial biology. Submit a cool figure from it.
7)What role does the ozone layer play in protecting life on Earth’s surface? What role does Earth’s magnetosphere play? also, how is the O3 layer impacted by the solar cycle, and how does that impact us here on the surface, if at all?
8)Let’s talk radiation shielding! Using Spenvis ( http://www.spenvis.oma.be/), design a mission with duration of 365 days, on an orbit with perigee 400 km, apogee 450 km, and inclination 54º (list any other assumptions you make) How thick should the (aluminum) walls of your spaceship be to reduce the dose absorbed by human tissues to 1 rad?
9)What about going to Mars?
10) Thinking on the time and spatial scales of climate change. What (if anything) are Solar or other aspects of Space Weather’s impacts? There are potentially several answers; use numbers to support any arguments you make!
11)Some recent studies suggest that the strength of the solar magnetic field is increasing. What would be the potential climate impact of a prolonged period of strong solar magnetic field?
12) Should society be concerned about low-probability events such as asteroid impacts or nearby supernova explosions? We know that there are many natural drivers of climate change. Should society be concerned about global climate change that can take decades to centuries to manifest itself?also, consider a “low” probability (?) event like the Carrington flare.
13) Find me two references which discuss the ecological impact of space weather.
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