We would like to inform us of your attendance, the title of your talk by sending us email at qlfan@spaceweather.ac.cn no later than July 10, 2006.

Dr. QuanLin Fan
State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O.Box 8701, Beijing, 100080, China
Phone: +86-10-62559674
Fax: +86-10-82610170
E-mail: qlfan@spaceweather.ac.cn

What: The second UN/NASA workshop will assess the progress made after the first workshop in 2005 and consider new instrumentation and data base projects to be implemented in 2006/2007. In addition, key scientific topics of interest to the heliophysical community will be discussed.

When: November 27 - December 1, 2006

Where: Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India

The 2006 UN/NASA Workshop on the International Heliophysical Year and Basic Space Sciences will continue the work initiated during the first workshop in Abu Dhabi in 2005 in taking space science instrumentation, observation and education to the developing nations of the world. This will be accomplished through the partnership between the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) program and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

Implementation of current projects on small instrument arrays and discussion on new concepts for 2007-2009 will be considered during the workshop. The existing instrument concepts can be found in http://ihy2007.org/observatory/observatory.shtml.

A number of space missions have accumulated a wealth of data over the years. Similarly, long-term data bases are available from ground based observations. These data can be utilized in ways different from originally intended for understanding the heliophysical processes. One of the goals of the second workshop is to identify such data bases and make them available to the world community with necessary software tools so that scientists from developing countries can benefit from them without having to deploy instruments.

If you have an instrument to donate to this program, or a data base to share, please contact Nat Gopalswamy (gopals at ssedmail gsfc nasa gov).

Preference will be given to current and potential hosts of instruments and data bases. Selected participants will receive financial support to cover their expenses to travel to the workshop. For details about the 2nd UN/NASA workshop, please visit http://www.iiap.res.in/ihy/index.htm.

N. Gopalswamy
H. Haublod
S. S. Hasan
(SOC co-chairs)

Next year space scientists around the globe will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IGY through a wide range of international activities under the auspices of the International Heliophysical Year. The IHY's focus on developing new and exciting EPO programs provides unique opportunities for the global community to increase the visibility and accessibility of heliophysics outreach programs.

To address these goals, the IHY has formed the IHY Schools Committee (ISC) to develop a series of schools in 2007 with the purpose of educating students about universal processes and the objectives of the five IHY science themes. By enhancing the scope, impact, and outreach of existing space physics programs at various host locations, the IHY schools will enable student cultural exchange with the goal of establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in heliophysics. Moreover, the schools will provide fertile grounds for collaborative research in this field, and will facilitate the development of a diverse, globally-engaged scientific community that recognises the increasing relevance of heliophysics. The ISC will initially invite and support students that are or will be associated with the two key elements of the IHY science program, the Coordinated Investigation Programs (CIPs) and the United Nations Basic Space Science IHY program. The CIPs are the primary means of coordinating IHY science by organising campaigns, coordinating access to and use of the necessary resources and as a forum for presenting and discussing the results.

The UNBSSI IHY program is deploying arrays of small, inexpensive instruments around the world, especially in developing nations, to provide global measurements of geospace and heliospheric phenomena. It also hosts annual workshops dedicated to the IHY program through 2009.

Four IHY schools are being planned in 2007. One will be in North America at a yet to be determined location and is led by David Webb. The second will be held at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy in Fall, 2007 and is led by Nat Gopalswamy. Two others are being planned for locations in Latin America and in the Asian Pacific region. The IHY Schools Committee currently has the following members: David Webb (ISC Coordinator), Ilia Roussev, Nat Gopalswamy (IHY International Coordinator), Cristina Rabello-Soares (IHY EPO coordinator), and Barbara Thompson (IHY Dir. of Operations). If you are interested in joining or helping out with the ISC, contact David Webb at david.webb@hanscom.af.mil or call 781-377-3086. We are developing a curriculum that will be used as a model for all four IHY schools. These will include seminars and hands-on sessions with data bases acquired particularly through the CIP and UNBSS programs, and collaborative efforts with other affiliated groups such as CAWSES, the European COST 724, NASA, NSF, and the IAU. Each school will be encouraged to select local lecturers and students from their regions so as to reduce costs. The help of the appropriate National and Regional IHY coordinators will be sought. Finally, if the 2007 IHY schools are successful they may be repeated in 2008, when the processing and analysis of the data collected during the IHY will be well along.

David Webb
Coordinator, IHY Schools Committee
July 2007

Annual Meeting of the Balkans, Black Sea and Caspian Sea Regional Network on Space Weather was held in Sural Garden Hotel in Manavgat, Antalya, Turkey between March 30 - April 1, 2006.

This meeting was organized by Bogazici University, Kandilli Observatory and E. R. I. Istanbul, Turkey.

The official meeting web page is http://www.ihy2007.boun.edu.tr

Scientific Organization Committee (SOC):

Ashot CHILINGARIAN - Cosmic Ray Div., Alikhanyan Physics Inst., Armenia,
Elchin BABAYEV - Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory, Azerbaijan,
Katya GEORGEVA - Solar-Terrestrial Influences Laboratory, Bulgaria (Co-chair)
Vladimir RUZDJAK - Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, Croatia
Marina GIGOLASHVILI - Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory, Georgia
Vladimir KUZNETSOV - IZMIRAN, Academy of Sciences, Russia
Lev ZELENYI - Institute for Space Research, Russia
Atila OZGUC - Bogazii University, Kandilli Observatory and E.R.I., Turkey (Co-chair)
Zeki ASLAN - Tubitak National Observatory, Turkey
Oleg LYTVYNENKO - Institute of Radio Astronomy, Ukraine
Natchimuthuk GOPALSWAMY - GSFC, U.S.A. (IHY Secreteriat)

I. Scientific conference covering the following topics relevant to the IHY:
- Solar physics and solar drivers of geoeffective events;
- Solar wind and heliosphere;
- Magnetosphere and ionosphere;
- Experimental methods and seismic activity;
- Space weather impact on technologies and humans.


II. Organizational meeting:
- To coordinate the observational, scientific and educational activities related to the IHY.

Seventy-one participants from seventeen countries attended the meeting. The science sessions were comprised of five invited talks, thirty one oral and twenty three poster presentations.

Conference proceedings:

The proceedings will be published as a special issue of "Sun and Geosphere" - the new international journal of our regional network in autumn 2006.

Atila Ozguc
National coordinator of Turkey

National Coordinator: Prof. Marius S. Potgieter, North-West
University, 2520 Potchefstroom, South Africa; email: fskmsp@puk.ac.za;
fax: 2718 299 2421.

The activities for the International Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY) and the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) in South Africa are linked and they generally are planned together. South African IPY activities will also promote the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) of the South African National Research Foundation (NRF; www.nrf.ac.za).

1. The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO; www.hmo.ac.za) in South Africa is now formally established as a national facility of the SA NRF, dedicated to Space Physics. Stakeholders' workshop involving space physicists in South Africa was held at the HMO on 24-25 April 2006. A session was devoted to IHY activities in South Africa.
2. The SA National IPY & IHY Committee was established and had two meetings, one in August 2005 and a second one at the end of January 2006. Prof. Dave Walker, a space physicists, (email: WALKER@ukzn.ac.za) was appointed as the chairperson of this NRF committee.
3. IHY sessions were held during the annual South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) Conference (www.saip.org.za) in July 2006. IHY sessions will be proposed for the SAIP conferences in 2007 and 2008.
4. A special IPY & IHY workshop in Cape Town is planned for November 2006 by the NRF and the ICSU Africa Regional Office. Stakeholders from Africa will be invited. Editor's Note: The workshop has been scheduled for 25-27 October 2006.
5. A special edition of 'African Skies' (www.saao.ac.za/~wgssa/archive.php) on IHY projects in Africa is presently being edited for publication.
6. A list of all IHY and IPY related research projects in South Africa is being compiled. These projects will be submitted to the SA National IPY & IHY Committee for recognition as formal IHY&IPY 2007 projects.
7. The Working Group on Space Sciences in Africa (WGSSA) has been active since 1996. It is an international, non-governmental organization founded by African delegates at the 6th United Nations/European Space Agency Workshop held in Bonn on 9-13 September 1996. The scientific scope of the Working Group's activities is defined to encompass: astronomy and astrophysics, solar-terrestrial interaction and its influence on terrestrial climate, planetary and atmospheric studies, the origin of life and exobiology. The Working Group seeks to promote the development of the space sciences in Africa by initiating and coordinating various capacity-building programmes throughout the region. These programmes fall into a broad spectrum ranging from the promotion of basic scientific literacy in the space sciences to the support of international research projects. The Working Group also promotes international cooperation among African space scientists and acts as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information through its publications, outreach programmes, workshops, and scientific meetings. For WGSSA Officers for the period 2004-2006, see www.saao.ac.za/~wgssa/.
8. Dr. Lee-Anne McKinnell from the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory has been nominated as the South African IHY Education and Outreach Coordinator.

As a major event of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) 2007 this conference brings together the expertises of scientists, who are working in different fields of Heliophysics. This new term expresses the fact that the science of the Sun, the Heliosphere and related fields has evolved to such level that further progress, particularly regarding the solar-/interstellar-terrestrial relations, requires multidisciplinary efforts. Therefore, this conference covers all physical aspects from the solar core, via the heliosphere to the local interstellar medium. A discussion of the basic structure of the system "Sun-Heliosphere" will be followed by studies of the magnetic field as the most important link between nearly all regions of this system. The dynamics of the system due to internal and external triggers, i.e. the solar activity and the variable galactic environment, will be investigated, as well as its significance for the related fields like stellar activity and life in the heliosphere. Especially, the influence of the integrated system "Sun-Heliosphere" on the Earth's environment will be analyzed.

The members of the Organizing Committee are:

Bernd Heber (heber@physik.uni-kiel.de)
Horst Fichtner (hf@tp4.rub.de)
Klaus Scherer (kls@tp4.rub.de)
Wieslaw Macek (macek@cbk.waw.pl)

http://www.ihy2007.de/sun-heliosphere-earth.php

In 2008, a related conference is planned to be held in Warsaw, Poland:

http://ihy.cbk.waw.pl/meeting.html

Nat Gopalswamy
Solar System Exploration, Code 695
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA

The Latin American IHY web page is already on line. The web page is hosted by the Latin American Space Geophysics Association. The address of the page is http://www.alage.org/ihyla.html. Information about institutions and/or groups interested in participating in IHY2007 can be found in this web page.

An educational and outreach activities workshop on Sun-Earth Connection was held in Lima, Peru. The workshop was organized by the Comision Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo Aeroespacial de Peru (CONIDA) and the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. The lecturer was Dr. Jean-Pierre Raulin from Centro de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica MacKenzie from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

During the last week of September 2006 a school and workshop on Heliospheric Sciences will be held at Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This school and workshop is being sponsored by the national Secretaria de Ciencia, Tecnica e Innovacion Productiva (SEcyT) and the Comision Nacional de Asuntos Espaciales (CONAE).

Both activities lie within the frame of IHY2007, information and related links can be found in the IHY Latin American web page.

Cristina H. Mandrini and Jean-Pierre Raulin
mandrini@iafe.uba.ar

ALSO See entire ROSES Soliciation at

https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={307FF8D5-59A9-E2E0-0637-6ED8AB166C4F}&path=open

NASA Proposal Opportunity for IHY Research

NASA has amended the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2006 announcement for a new IHY research program. "This new program element solicits proposals that support the goals of IHY but do not clearly fit into another NASA program element. These goals include, but are not limited to communicating unique IHY results to the scientific community and the general public, fostering international scientific cooperation in the study of heliophysical phenomena now and in the future, organizing research campaigns that enhance existing research and directly pertain to the IHY, developing the basic science of heliophysics through cross-disciplinary studies of universal processes, and preserving the history and legacy of the IGY on its 50th Anniversary. Notices of Intent to propose are due July 15, 2006, and proposals are due September 15, 2006."

The full research announcement and proposal NASA research are available at http://nspires.nasaprs.com (select "Solicitations" then "Open Solicitations" then "NNH06ZDA001N" and "Appendix B").

(28 June 2006)

How Co-ordinated Investigation Progammes work

CIPs are intended to work to a three-step procedure. The aim is that the programme remains under the control of the proposer(s) with the IHY CIP process providing a means of publicising the proposed work, co-ordinating access to and use of the necessary resources, and a forum for discussing the results.

see: http://ihy2007.org.uk/HowCIPsWork.shtm

We currently have about 42 CIPs registered, and we are anticipating many more.

http://ihy2007.org.uk/CIP_list.shtm

CIPs may be modified and updated using a simple interface on the CIP website. You can register your CIP concept at

http://ihy2007.org.uk/CIP_form.shtm

To post to the IHY Newsletter, please send an email to the IHY Newsletter Editor K.S. Balasubramaniam at bala{at}nso.edu with "IHY News Item" in the subject line.

Previous IHY Newsletters and News Notes can be found in the "Newsroom" portion of our website.

To subscribe to the IHY Newsletter, send an email with "subscribe ihy-newsletter" IN THE BODY OF THE MESSAGE (NOT IN THE SUBJECT LINE).

To unsubscribe to the IHY Newsletter,send an email with "unsubscribe ihy-newsletter" IN THE BODY OF THE MESSAGE (NOT IN THE SUBJECT LINE)