Success for the IRSOL open day

Despite the adverse weather conditions, the Open day at Istituto Ricerche Solari Aldo e Cele Daccò (IRSOL) and Specola Solare Ticinese was a great success. The rain spared the hundred or so visitors, including many teenagers and children, who were warmly welcomed at the two institutes in Locarno-Monti connected by a specially organized shuttle bus transfer. Although it was impossible to observe the Sun in real time on Saturday, the visitors at IRSOL could view the sophisticated instrumentation and observations gathered during the previous days.

Indeed, the Sun has been particularly active in recent weeks, displaying us a remarkable show of large and complex magnetic spots which produced multiple bright flares and solar plasma explosions causing space weather events on and near the Earth, such as geomagnetic storms and spectacular auroras. IRSOL's scientists had shown and explained the visitors their valuable observations of these sunspots and flares obtained with the worldwide most precise solar spectropolarimeter ZIMPOL at IRSOL in collaboration with the X-ray telescope STIX on the ESA space mission Solar Orbiter.

At another research demonstration, visitors learned about solar radio-bursts caused by the solar magnetic activity accompanying flares and explosions. These are also recorded at IRSOL with one of the 200 radio antennas of the eCALLISTO global network to monitor the space weather triggers and radio-communication conditions on and near the Earth. This network of radio antennas is coordinated by IRSOL.

Visual observations of the sunlight with special extremely dark filters were eventually possible through thinning clouds. In a laboratory setup, visitors experienced the spectral and polarization properties of light. A presentation about the Sun, its magnetism and relevant physics concepts was offered in a conference room.

Some fifteen IRSOL employees contributed to the success of the event by providing explanations on the research activities carried out at IRSOL and answering the many questions of the public, who were always interested and involved. For the IRSOL director Prof. Svetlana Berdyugina "this is a clear evidence that learning about our home star, the Sun, is important for all of us living and working on Earth, in space, and possibly in the future on the Moon and farther away".

TV and radio interviews with IRSOL scientists were broadcasted by TeleTicino (18'20''), Rete Uno and Rete Due.

There was also an excellent result at the Specola, where a comparable number of visitors were able to understand how the Sun is studied in Ticino, following a Swiss tradition that is today the official method of the international scientific community for understanding and reconstructing the course of the 11-year solar cycle. Unfortunately, the Sun only peeped through the clouds for a few minutes, but the director and staff of the Specola reminded the public that the Institute offers a rich educational programme, with many opportunities to observe the Sun.