Next Frontiers in Science lectures go inside the Sun

Lab physicist Guzik speaks April 27 in Los Alamos

Apr. 21, 2010—What goes on inside the Sun? Do scientists know what happens inside the Sun’s core merely by observing its surface? These and other questions will be explored by Laboratory physicist Joyce Guzik in the next series of Frontiers in Science talks beginning April 27 in the Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School.

“A Journey to the Center of the Sun” includes a discussion on the tools scientists use to look inside the Sun, which is constantly shaken by “sunquakes,” and high-energy X-rays coming from the Sun’s hot, dense core.

“We often take the Sun for granted, expecting it to rise and set every day and generate a constant amount of energy to provide light and heat well into the future,” said Guzik. “But how do we know anything about the Sun?” Guzik asked, noting that scientists can’t predict solar activity well enough to know whether changes in the Sun will occur in the near future.

Guzik of the Navy Systems Group in the Laboratory’s Theoretical Design (XTD) Division also plans to give the talk on the following dates:

• April 29 at the Taos Convention Center in Taos

• May 10 in the James A. Little Theater at the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe

• May 12 at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque.

All the talks begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

A Laboratory Fellow, Guzik joined LANL in 1988 and has a doctoral degree in astrophysics from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s degrees in physics, math, and Russian studies from Cornell College in Iowa. She is currently part of the NASA Kepler Guest Observer program and the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium. Launched in March 2009, the Kepler satellite searches for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. Guzik’s role as a guest observer is to analyze high-precision photometry on the variations of stars to help researchers better understand the interior structure of stars.

Sponsored by the Fellows of the Laboratory, the Frontiers in Science lecture series is intended to increase local public awareness of the diversity of science and engineering research at the Laboratory.

For more information, contact Linda Anderman of the Community Programs Office or at (505) 665-9196.