SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING COURSE

Learn How to Forecast Space Weather

You will be given all of the tools and knowledge necessary to analyze and predict space weather.
The next class is scheduled to begin on 12 December 2003. Enroll Now!

LATE ENROLLMENTS will be accepted until 09 January inclusive. Enrollments sent via postal mail must be post-marked no later than 09 January to be accepted.

About the Solar Terrestrial Dispatch

42 comprehensive lessons (see below) covering the details of space weather and predicting effects of space weather.
Over 630 pages of curriculum in printable Adobe Acrobat Reader format.
No Prerequisites in Math or other fields required.
This course is suitable for professors with doctorate degrees to high-school students.
Six complete software packages to be used with the course, including:
Optional Assignments at end of each lesson.
Final Exam provided to you when you are ready for it.
If it takes you 42 weeks or 4.2 years to finish the course, we will be here to help you.
Take your time and enjoy it, or complete it as rapidly as you like.

Click Here to Enroll

Two screen-captured pages of our course can be viewed here.

Course Outline

The current course outline follows below. The order of the material listed below may not necessarily be the order in which they appear in the course curriculum.

The following topics and subtopics are scheduled to be included as part of the course curriculum.

The Sun
- Basics of the Sun
- Sunspots
  - Types of Sunspots
  - Sunspot Magnetic Fields
- Solar Radiation and Radio Emissions
- Solar Cycles
- Techniques for Modelling Solar Cycles
- Sources of Information and Imagery

Interplanetary Space
- The Solar Wind
- Magnetic Fields
- Heliospheric Current Sheet
- Solar Sector Structures

The Earth
- Magnetosphere
  - The quiet magnetosphere
  - The disturbed magnetosphere
  - Understanding Magnetic Indices
  - Magnetic Storms
    - Sudden Storm Commencements (SSCs)
    - Gradual Storm Commencements
  - Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs)
    - Effects on Electrical Hydro Systems
    - Effects on Other Long Conductors
- Ionosphere
  - Formation of Ionospheric Layers
  - Factors Affecting Ionospheric Layers

Solar Disturbances
- Transient Solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)
  - Types and Structures of Coronal Mass Ejections
  - Understanding the Importance of CME Structures
  - Inferring CME Structures from Available Solar Data
  - Coronal Mass Ejection Detection Methods
  - Using IMPACT (software) to Aid in CME Disturbance Predictions
  - Solar Cycle Dependencies
- Solar Flares
  - Basic Nature of Flares
  - Types of Flares
  - Flare Rating Systems
  - Significance of Proton Flares
  - Ground Level Events (GLEs)
  - Fast Transit Events
  - Interpreting Magnetograms
  - Determining Magnetic Shear and Flare Susceptability
  - Solar Flare (and Proton Flare) Prediction Techniques
  - Solar Flare Related Coronal Mass Ejection Prediction Techniques
  - Sources of Solar Flare Information
- Solar Coronal Holes
  - Coronal Hole Basics
  - Recurrence
  - Solar Cycle Correlations
  - Associations with Near-Relativistic Electrons
  - Coronal Hole Related Disturbance Prediction Techniques
- Filament Eruptions
  - Filaments and Prominences
  - Eruptive and Non-Eruptive Activity
  - Filament-Associated Coronal Mass Ejections
  - Filament-Related Disturbance Prediction Techniques

Auroral Activity
- Basic Theory of the Northern/Southern Lights
- Behavioral Characteristics of the Auroral Ovals
- Sensitivity to Solar Disturbances
- Affects on Satellite Health and Radio Communications
- Mathematical Models of the Auroral Zones
- Auroral Activity Prediction Techniques
- Information Sources

Conditions Affecting Satellite Health
- Atmospheric Drag
- Surface Charging Anomalies
- Deep Dialectric Charging Anomalies
- Interplanetary Shocks
- Magnetopause Crossings

Postulated Sun/Earth Climate Connections
- Possible Long-Term Climatic Trends
  - Rainfall
  - Temperatures
  - Atmospheric Pressure
  - Storm Tracks
  - Ozone Correlations
- Possible Short-Term Meteorological Trends
  - Pressure and Winds
  - Lightning
  - Storm Systems
  - Ozone Responses

Radio Propagation
- Basic Theory (Non-Technical)
  - Characteristics and Components of Radio Signals
  - Understanding Plasmas
  - Importance of Electron Collisions
  - Appleton/Hartree Contributions
  - Signal Polarization and Coupling
  - Ionospheric Absorption
    - Deviative Absorption
    - Non-Deviative Absorption
  - Fading
  - Multipathing
  - Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances
  - Solar Related Disturbances
  - Structure of the Ionosphere
    - Ionospheric Layers
    - Importance of Sporadic-E
    - Effects of Spread-F
    - Solar-Cycle Dependencies
    - Models of the Ionosphere
      - Simple Mathematical Models
      - Numerical Maps
      - CCIR
      - URSI
      - The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI)
      - Others
Probing the Ionosphere
- Probing Techniques
- Probing Instruments
- Sources of Ionosonde Information
Basic Ray-Tracing Concepts
- Ordinary vs Extraordinary Signals
- Becoming Familiar with Ray-Tracing Software
Ray-Tracing in Three-Dimensions
- Ray-Tracing Software Considerations
- Preparing for 3D Ray-Tracings
- Performing 3D Ray-Tracings
- Studying 3D Ray-Tracing Results
Vertical Radio Signal Propagation
- Signal Reflection Behavior
- Critical Frequencies
- Ray-Tracing Vertically-Incident Signals
Oblique Radio Signal Propagation
- Signal Refraction/Reflection Characteristics
- Effects of Geomagnetic Activity
- Effects of Solar Activity
- Ray-Tracing Obliquely Incident Radio Signals
- Determination of Maximum Usable Frequencies
  - Simple Empirical Methods
  - Ray-Tracing Techniques
- Effects of Sporadic-E
- Non-Great-Circle (NGC) Propagation
  - Responsible Conditions
  - Compensation Methods
  - Ray-Tracing Techniques to Analyze NGC Propagation
- Chordal-Hop and Inter-Layer Ducting Propagation
  - Advantages and Disadvantages
  - Analysis using Ray-Tracing Techniques
- Searching for and Exploiting Exotic Propagation Paths
  - Properties of Exotic Paths
  - Searching for Exotic Paths using 3D Ray-Tracing Techniques
  - Determining the Most Reliable Exotic Radio Paths
Ionospheric Disturbances
- Solar Related Disturbances
  - Solar Flares and Related Coronal Mass Ejections
  - Coronal Holes and High Speed Solar Wind Streams
  - Filament Related Coronal Mass Ejections
  - Impact of Flare Related Radio Noise Bursts
- Short Wave Fadeouts
- Sudden Phase Anomalies
- Sudden Frequency Deviations
- Devastating Effects of Polar Cap Absorption
- Disturbances and their Effects on Satellite Communications
Radio Propagation Prediction Methods
- Short-Term Forecasting Techniques
- Medium-Term Forecasting Techniques
- Long-Term Forecasting Techniques
- Sources of Forecasting Information

Applied Forecasting Techniques
- Climatology
- Pattern Recognition
- Compiling Necessary Information
- Exploiting Databases
- Computer Related Aids
- Studying Real-Life Examples
- Developing Experience and "Intuition"

Field Experience
- We present you with some specific historic real-life scenarios. Using the information and techniques studied in this course, you are asked to develop your own space-weather and radio-propagation predictions. The actual real-life impacts are then studied and compared with your forecasts.
- We present you with several hypothetical (possible future) examples and ask you to develop your own forecasts.
Course Completed

Course Duration

There is no duration established for this course. Since most of the people who are taking this course are holding down full-time jobs and are time-limited, we are emphasizing that everyone should take their time with this course. We have set it up so there are no deadlines. Take the course at your own leisurly pace. We will continue to help you if you need it, regardless of the time it takes you to complete the course. On average, if one lesson is completed each week, the course should require roughly 6 months when up to several hours each week are devoted to the course. If you must leave on holidays for a few months or simply don't have time to continue working on the course, simply resume when you are able to.

Course Start-Date

The next course is scheduled to begin 12 December 2003. Persons interested in taking this course should complete and postal mail or FAX a copy of the enrollment form to us as soon as possible to meet this deadline.

Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to take this course. If you are interested, sign and send the enrollment form. This course will not be a difficult one for most people to handle. It will be visually-oriented with minimal math involved and will gradually increase in detail and complexity, building on the framework previously taught and established.

Course Curriculum Reading Software

The Adobe Acrobat Reader software (free to download at: http://www.adobe.com) is required to read the curriculum for this course. Over 630 pages of printable curriculum are included in this course.

Method of Course Delivery

Lessons will be available for download via FTP or WWW by all individuals taking the course.

Course Assignments

There will be course assignments that can be completed and returned to us if desired. However, we are not going to enforce this and completion of the course assignments will not have a bearing on whether you pass or fail the course. If you are too busy to complete the course assignments, that's fine. Whether you decide to work on the assignments or "hand them in" will be entirely up to you. The assignments are only intended to help hone your skills and test your knowledge.

Final Exam

The final exam must be completed and passed in order to receive the certificate of achievement. After you have completed the course curriculum and are ready to take the final exam, we will give it to you. You will then have 24 hours to complete the exam and e-mail or FAX your results back to us. We will then mark the exam and return the results to you with your final grade. If you pass, a certificate will be postal mailed to you. This course is not acreditted.

We Will Help

If parts of the course are particularly difficult to grasp, send us e-mail and we will try to clarify and explain the concepts using e-mail correspondence.

If you are interested in taking this course, print out and fill out an enrollment form. If you can't print out the given form, send an e-mail message requesting the enrollment form to Cary Oler at COler@Solar.Stanford.Edu or inform us through our comments section.

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