Energia pulita: le diverse sfaccettature della comunicazione

Il contributo analizza il ruolo della comunicazione in problematiche connesse con le fonti di energia, evidenziandone le criticità riguardo alle tecniche ed al contenuto informativo. In particolare, sono considerati gli stilemi “pulito” e “verde”, il cui impiego da parte di comunicatori e stakeholder è spesso distorto in modo non compatibile con un’informazione scientificamente corretta. Ne deriva che per creare consapevolezza e capacità critica qualsiasi società deve perseguire una comunicazione obiettiva e completa secondo lo stato dell’arte delle conoscenze scientifiche e deve rendere comprensibile ciascuna problematica anche a chi fosse privo di basi culturali

A Terrella Device for Simulating Aurora-Like Phenomena in a Box

International audience; A Terrella device was developed and setup in Trieste in 2006 to be used as an experimental training device during practicum sessions of the Advanced International School on Space Weather at ICTP. The Terrella consisted of a vacuum chamber, where an aluminum sphere with an embedded permanent magnet bar mimics the Earth (Terrella) and its magnetic field, and a system of electrodes is set to a high potential difference to generate an electron flow (particle wind) that ionizes the residual air around the sphere. This results in aurora-like glowing patterns whose geometry is dependent on the orientation and distance of the bar magnet, so that various configurations can be experimented. This Terrella device proved to be an effective tool not only for academic but also for outreach purposes. We will briefly present both applications, focusing in particular on the latter, and on the planned use for IHY EPO activities

Halo Coronal Mass Ejections during Solar Cycle 24: reconstruction of the global scenario and geoeffectiveness

In this study we present a statistical analysis of 53 fast Earth-directed halo CMEs observed by the SOHO/LASCO instrument during the period Jan. 2009-Sep. 2015, and we use this CME sample to test the capabilities of a Sun-to-Earth prediction scheme for CME geoeffectiveness. First, we investigate the CME association with other solar activity features by means of multi-instrument observations of the solar magnetic and plasma properties. Second, using coronagraphic images to derive the CME kinematical properties at 0.1 AU, we propagate the events to 1 AU by means of the WSA-ENLIL+Cone model. Simulation results at Earth are compared with in-situ observations at L1. By applying the pressure balance condition at the magnetopause and a solar wind-Kp index coupling function, we estimate the expected magnetospheric compression and geomagnetic activity level, and compare them with global data records. The analysis indicates that 82% of the CMEs arrived at Earth in the next 4 days. Almost the totality of them compressed the magnetopause below geosynchronous orbits and triggered a geomagnetic storm. Complex sunspot-rich active regions associated with energetic flares result the most favourable configurations from which geoeffective CMEs originate. The analysis of related SEP events shows that 74% of the CMEs associated with major SEPs were geoeffective. Moreover, the SEP production is enhanced in the case of fast and interacting CMEs. In this work we present a first attempt at applying a Sun-to-Earth geoeffectiveness prediction scheme - based on 3D simulations and solar wind-geomagnetic activity coupling functions - to a statistical set of potentially geoeffective halo CMEs. The results of the prediction scheme are in good agreement with geomagnetic activity data records, although further studies performing a fine-tuning of such scheme are needed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (SWSC

Classification and Properties of Supershort Solar Radio Bursts

Characteristics of supershort structures (SSSs) occurring in the metric solar type IV radio bursts are described. The most important property of SSSs is their duration, which, at half-power, ranges from 4 to 60 ms and is thus much shorter than generally expected for the bursts in the metric range. The comparison of the distributions of SSS durations with those of the spikes confirms that these are completely different classes of bursts. Our analysis is focused on the frequency range 200-450 MHz, providing us with the one-to-one identification of individual SSSs in single-frequency records of the INAF-Trieste Astronomical Observatory (Italy) and in the high-resolution spectral data of Artemis IV (Greece). The analysis reveals a number of different bursts that are classified as simple broadband, simple narrowband, and complex SSSs. The diversity of SSSs has a resemblance to the variety of the well-known metric radio bursts characterized by a 1 s timescale

La sicurezza spaziale via sorveglianza dello spazio e tracciamento di oggetti naturali ed artificiali e monitoraggio e previsione dello stato fisico dello spazio e degli ambienti planetari (Space Weather): il contributo nazionale

Contributo dato nella primavera del 2019 al "Gruppo di Consulenza e Coordinamento, del Dipartimento per la Formazione Superiore e la Ricerca, per il Nuovo Piano Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR) per le Proposte e Strategie Nazionali e per Horizon Europee 2021-2027 (coordinato dai Prof. Giuseppe Valditara, Dott. Paolo Branchini e Prof. Andrea Lenzi)" Area 9: Space and Aeronautics coordinata dal Prof. Ezio Bussoletti.Il presente documento, di cui gli autori costituiscono il “Board editoriale”, presenta una sintesi delle attività del Paese nel campo della Sicurezza dello Spazio, effettuate dallo spazio e da Terra. I dati citati sono estratti principalmente dal Piano Triennale e dal Documento di Vision dell’Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), predisposti attraverso protocolli di consultazione con gli organismi e le articolazioni dell’Ente, e dai documenti nazionali ed internazionali di "roadmap" redatti con un ampio coinvolgimento di tutta la comunità di riferimento nel campo spaziale e terrestre (si stimano molte centinaia di ricercatori fra INAF, svariati altri Enti di Ricerca, Università e organizzazioni in ambito miltare)

Astrofisica, Cosmologia, Fisica Fondamentale e Fisica del Sistema Solare dallo Spazio: il contributo nazionale

Contributo dato nella primavera del 2019 al "Gruppo di Consulenza e Coordinamento, del Dipartimento per la Formazione Superiore e la Ricerca, per il Nuovo Piano Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR) per le Proposte e Strategie Nazionali e per Horizon Europee 2021-2027 (coordinato dai Prof. Giuseppe Valditara, Dott. Paolo Branchini e Prof. Andrea Lenzi)" Area 9: Space and Aeronautics coordinata dal Prof. Ezio Bussoletti.Il presente documento, di cui gli autori costituiscono il “Board editoriale”, presenta una sintesi delle attività del Paese nell'esplorazione del Sistema Solare e nell'osservazione dell’Universo effettuate dallo Spazio. I dati citati sono estratti principalmente dal Piano Triennale e dal Documento di Vision dell’Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), predisposti attraverso protocolli di consultazione con gli organismi e le articolazioni dell’Ente, e con un ampio coinvolgimento di tutta la comunità di riferimento in campo spaziale (si stima circa 1500 ricercatori fra INAF, che di norma è capofila delle iniziative, e svariati altri Enti di Ricerca e Università)

Exploitation, dissemination, education and outreach in the frame of the COST action ES0803 "developing space weather products and services in Europe"

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of the longest-running European frameworks supporting cooperation among scientists and researchers across Europe. Its action ES0803 "Developing Space Weather Products and Services in Europe" involves the task "Exploitation, Dissemination, Education and Outreach". To meet the objectives of this task, we describe how we developed and maintained the Space Weather Portal, initiated the electronic Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate, took care of the scientific organization of the annual European Space Weather Week conference and of two schools for scientists and students from the space weather community. We also describe several dissemination projects supported by the action, which target the non-specialist in the field of space weather

The First AGILE Solar Flare Catalog

We report the Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini LEggero (AGILE) observations of solar flares, detected by the on board anticoincidence system in the 80-200 keV energy range, from 2007 May 1st to 2022 August 31st. In more than 15 yr, AGILE detected 5003 X-ray, minute-lasting transients, compatible with a solar origin. A cross-correlation of these transients with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) official solar flare database allowed to associate an intensity class (i.e., B, C, M, or X) to 3572 of them, for which we investigated the main temporal and intensity parameters. The AGILE data clearly revealed the solar activity covering the last stages of the 23rd cycle, the whole 24th cycle, and the beginning of the current 25th cycle. In order to compare our results with other space missions operating in the high-energy range, we also analyzed the public lists of solar flares reported by RHESSI and Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. This catalog reports 1424 events not contained in the GOES official dataset, which, after statistical comparisons, are compatible with low-intensity, short-duration solar flares. Besides providing a further dataset of solar flares detected in the hard X-ray range, this study allowed to point out two main features: a longer persistence of the decay phase in the high-energy regime, with respect to the soft X-rays, and a tendency of the flare maximum to be reached earlier in the soft X-rays with respect to the hard X-rays. Both these aspects support a two-phase acceleration mechanism of electrons in the solar atmosphere.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure