2024 Mar 29

On Wednesday, March 27th, Mr. Jacques van Delft, Director of the ASSA Solar section, was graciously invited by Ms. Helene Szegedi from the University of the Free State’s Department of Physics to deliver a presentation to first-year students on the complex connection between the Solar Activities and the Earth’s Climate.

Jacques van Delft and Helene Szegedi

Although originally planned, the scheduled sunspot observation through a telescope had to be cancelled due to cloudy weather. However, Mr. van Delft compensated by showcasing an image captured the day before, depicting the sun with visible sunspots, allowing students to grasp the intended observation.
The presentation navigated students through an exploration from the Sun’s core to its surface, explaining phenomena such as Sunspots, Solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, Solar wind, Auroras, and their profound impact on Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere.
Attended by over 40 students and several faculty members from the department, the presentation served as an engaging educational experience for all involved.

Images taken during the presentation