AGF-216 The Stormy Sun and the Northern Lights (5 ECTS)

ID:

AGF-216

CREDITS:

5 ECTS

START DATE:

February 10, 2025

END DATE:

February 24, 2025

COURSE PERIOD:

Spring semester, evening course

Students at the EISCAT radar, Svalbard, during the UNIS course AGF-216. Photo: Pål Brekke/UNIS

Grade:	Letter grade (A through F)
Course Cost:	None
Course Capacity Min/Max:	5/- students
Language of instruction:	English
Examination support material:	Bilingual dictionary between English and mother tongue

How to apply

Contact person

Course requirements

This course is open to all enrolled students at UNIS following full smester bachelor courses in the spring semester, in addition to master and PhD students attending courses in block 1, and to the Longyearbyen public. Only UNIS students are allowed to sit for the exam and to join the field excursions.

Academic content

The course will give an historic summary of the sun and the northern lights from ancient myths to early science. Brief introductions to the sun, solar activity, solar storms, and modern observations of the sun are also included. How do scientists study the aurora and Earth’s atmosphere today? The course gives a brief overview of the extensive Norwegian scientific infrastructure used to study the Earth’s atmosphere and the effects from the sun. This includes how EISCAT and the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO) is used to study the atmosphere.

Furthermore, the course will explain how solar induced disturbances, called space weather, affect our society. Space weather is a growing research field and the effects are a concern internationally since it can disrupt critical infrastructure that our society depends on. Various aspects of how solar variability can change the Earth’s climate is also included.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, the students will:

Knowledge

achive knowledge about the myths and historical early science of the aurora
have a basic understanding of the sun, how events on the sun trigger space weather, including the northern lights and the processes in the Earth’s atmosphere
know how instruments at KHO and the EISCAT radar is used to study the Earth’s atmosphere
understand how solar variability may cause climate change and how space weather affects our technology-based society.

Skills

describe features of the sun and the sun-earth connection, features of the northern lights from myths to modern science and of observing techniques to improve our knowledge
understand the basics of the EISCAT radar and instruments at KHO
capture pictures of the aurora.

General competences

understand and reflect around this part of geophysics and to participate in the discussions related to how the sun affects our society in many ways
describe modern observing techniques
use the competence achieved as a building block for other courses within Arctic geophyics.

Learning activities

The course extends over two weeks and is centered on the following learning activities:

Classroom lectures providing the students with a solid background about the sun and the northern lights as well as observing techniques.
Field trip to the Kjell Henriksen Observatory and EISCAT to learn about observing techniques and how the observatories are operated.
Field trip to SvalSat to better understand how solar and earth observing satellites operate and how data is distributed to users and space weather centers around the world.

Summary

Total lecture hours: 16 hours.
Total fieldwork/excursion: One evening excursion to Kjell Henriksen Observatory and EISCAT, one evening excursion to SvalSat.