In the second week of February (9-10-11) 2022 the second SWICo congress on Space Weather took place, drawing the entire Italian Space Weather community to itself.
The congress was hosted by the Roman headquarters of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and saw as local organizers the collaboration of the Physics Department of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, INFN-Roma2, INAF-IAPS, ASI, INGV and the Scienzimpresa association, which are only a part of the large SWICo community that also embraces other realities such as the CNR research center, the Italian industries and services in the space sector.
The objective of the SWICo community is to study, monitor and predict the so-called "space weather" which is mainly focused on the activities of our star, the Sun. Protecting the earth, for example, from solar "hurricanes" (like hurricanes that occur on earth, but with the solar wind and part of the solar plasma as protagonists) is one of the missions of space weather. Studying these phenomena (and many others), creating mathematical prediction models on the data collected annually but above all providing very important details for the implementation of any strategies for the protection and prevention of life on planet Earth, is the daily goal of all researchers. teachers, technical staff and students who offer to this specific area of astrophysics.
Among the local organizers Francesco Berrilli, Full Professor of Astrophysics at the Physics Department of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, an active member of the SWICo community as well as of the Solar Physics-Tor Vergata group, who explained to the journalists of the ANSA that
"Solar activity can produce 'storms' or super do, violent eruptions with the expulsion of particles, which can hit the earth [...]. We know that (such storms) have occurred in the past, so they can happen again in the future and it is important in this regard to learn how to prevent them in time ”.
The holding of the second SWICo congress aroused much interest in the media, given the importance of the topics covered, in fact many newspapers in print and television have made the news bounce about it. These include ANSA, AGI, La Stampa, Il Mattino, Il newspaper, Dire, Adnkronos, ASI, the regional news and many others.
Here are some links that can be consulted:
