The third edition of the SWICo Congress is about to be inaugurated, the event that brings together the national scientific community and industry to improve knowledge on space weather and the possible impacts that solar activity can have on society.
From 27 to 29 November, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) will host SWICo2024, the third edition of the Space Weather Italian Community (SWICo) Congress sponsored, among others, by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
The SWICo National Group, established in 2014, involves personnel from universities, research institutions and the private sector with scientific and technological expertise in the Group's areas of interest. The common objective is to understand and predict the state of the Sun, interplanetary and planetary environments and the solar and non-solar disturbances that influence them, in order to provide useful forecasts to mitigate their potential impacts on biological and technological systems.
The event scheduled at ASI will be an opportunity to compare and make available the skills of the various souls of the National Group on Space Weather, which involves in a transversal manner - in addition to ASI and the private sector - Universities and Research Institutes such as INGV, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and National Research Council (CNR).
In a world increasingly reliant on highly advanced technological systems, the most significant manifestations of solar activity (such as coronal mass ejections and flares) can have important implications for society. The study and observation of Space Weather therefore represent a key aspect for space and social activities.
For this reason, the focus of SWICo2024 will be on studies of high-intensity space storms that could pose a threat to space activities and air flights along polar routes, as well as disrupt radio communications, impair GNSS positioning, and cause blackouts in urban centers.
As in previous editions, the Third SWICo Congress also intends to be a moment of meeting and discussion for the entire Italian community involved in space disciplines and, this year, the ASI event will see the awarding of the “Franco Mariani” Prize, established to honor the memory of a scientific personality of international stature, promoting the involvement of young researchers in disciplines related to Space Weather.
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