Touching the Sun: Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe and the origin of the s

https://www.youtube.com/live/HRnKIcjVENY

We give a quick survey of solar activity generally and look at the big questions it poses: why is the corona so hot? What drives the solar wind? Questions like these motivate the Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe missions, now studying the Sun from closer than ever before. After looking at the operation of these missions we describe some of the discoveries they have made.

Native of Kintyre. My career has been in University of Glasgow. PhD 1984 on solar flares; Research Assistant/Fellow until 1991 when I joined the Dept. of Adult and Continuing Education as Lecturer, later Senior Lecturer, working on science courses for the public and mature access to University; also continuing research on solar physics. Research Visitor NASA Goddard, 1984 and Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, 2007; Visiting Professor, Mackenzie University, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2013. Retired now, still hoping to do nice things.