Space is not as empty as we think it is, especially in our own solar system. The display of northern lights just illustrates what is buffeting Earth from our Sun. Apart from these beautiful effects space weather influences our lives in many other ways.

From communications to GPS, we have become more reliant on satellites than ever before. In order to ensure these systems remain safe and stable we need to be aware of space weather and be able to predict it. It is also becoming an important factor in manned space flight, for the ISS and human space travel to Mars. J. Cottrill from the Met Office will be introducing us to what space weather actually is and how we can start to predict it in his talk Predicting Space Weather. This talk will be followed by a brief introduction on what is visible in this month's sky.

Booking is required for this event, which can be done here: http://bit.ly/1XLwFqT