SunDay: Observing the Sun with the World’s Largest Solar Telescope

When:  Apr 25, 2021 from 17:00 to 19:00 (UTC)
In celebration of Global Astronomy Month's annual SunDay join our guest speakers Claire Raftery and John Williams from the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado as they delve into the details from the worlds highest resolution image of the Sun. The Inouye Solar Telescope is the worlds largest, and is set to start operations later this year.  They  will discuss the challenges of focusing a 4-meter solar telescope, and review different solar features and how best to observe them from home. 

Check out more information on the National Solar Observatory


Watch the archived livestream here:







Credit: NSO/AURA/NSF



Speakers Bio:

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Dr. Claire Raftery is the Head of Education, Outreach and Communications at the National Solar Observatory. Based in Boulder, Colorado, she is also responsible for outreach on behalf of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Maui Hawai'i. Claire has a background in solar physics research, obtaining her PhD from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, where she focused on the origin and evolution of solar flares. She continued her research at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, where she was a member of the science team for the RHESSI high energy satellite mission. While at Berkeley, she discovered the field of science education, and stepped into her leadership role at NSO in 2016. Since then, she and her team have led the public engagement efforts around the Inouye Solar Telescope, including the successful release of the observatory’s first images in 2020 which made it to the front page of the New York Times! 


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John Williams shares the excitement of science and space as a content specialist and web developer with Education and Public Outreach at the National Solar Observatory. An award-winning science writer and web designer, John loves learning new things and creating engaging experiences. When he’s not trying to drum up a new way to explain sun science, he is a taekwondo instructor, avid backpacker, writer and nightscape photographer. He’s also a space speaker as a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador.

 

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