A new book on science published in the United States of America features a chapter on ‘Space Weather-Sun Earth Relations’ authored by a Tiruchi-based astro-scientist, K. Sundara Raman, formerly scientist at the Kodaikanal Observatory, Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
The sixth chapter in the book titled ‘New Insights into Physical Science,’ was a much-discussed topic worldwide among academics and scientists in 2011 when it was contributed as a research paper to the International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, as it sought to quell what Prof. Sundara Raman describes as a “misconception” that the Earth was due to get fried by a solar storm in 2012. There was huge speculation worldwide about the Earth getting destroyed by a solar storm in preceding years.
“Monitoring space weather -- the conditions existing between the sun and the Earth -- was important to ensure the safety of spacecrafts. The solar discharge from the sun has the potential to cause explosions of spacecrafts. But there was a misconception that the Earth will get fried by a solar storm. My paper threw light on the fact that the Earth was well protected by the atmosphere, and that the planet will be safe from destruction,” Prof. Sundara Raman said.
The new book, he said, will be useful to pre-Ph.D. students to select their field of interest.
Articles on space weather published by national and regional dailies had won for Prof. Sundara Raman national and State-level awards. In 2013, Prof. Sundara Raman was honoured with the National Award for ‘Best Professor’ in the field of astrophysics. Earlier in 2010, he had been given the J.C. Bose Award for ‘Outstanding Scientist’ presented by the government. In 2012, the Media Guild Award was presented to him for academic excellence.
The retired scientist takes a keen interest in engaging students inquisitive about space science at the Anna Science Centre -- Planetarium in Tiruchi.
The publishers of ‘New Insights into Physical Science’ had recently secured the consent of Prof. Sundara Raman to include the chapter in the book. The publishers were impressed by the scale in which the article on space weather was circulated widely among the scientific community, in terms of citations and downloads.