National Plan of Space Weather in Italy

Presented by Bruno Zolesi

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica
Via di Vigna Murata 605
00143 Rome, Italy
Tel +39 06 51860320
Fax + 39 06 5041181
E-mail: zolesi@ingrm.it
 

After the conference on Space Weather activities promoted by the European Space Agency, held at Noordwijk last November 98, several meetings have been held in Italy among those scientists who are more involved in themes connected with this subject.

There was unanimous agreement on the importance and the necessity to start in Italy a National Plan of Space Weather that could coordinate the efforts of many scientists working in Upper Atmosphere, Ionosphere, Magnetosphere, Interplanetary Space, Solar wind and Solar Physics.

The objective of this initiative should be, among others, to increase the visibility of  italian activities in the European framework and, at the same time, to bring the importance of space weather activities to the attention of perspective national users.

A scientific committee, led by Dr. Maurizio Candidi, Director of the Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics of the National Research Council, and composed by Prof. Umberto Villante, as  a representative of the University of L’Aquila and of the Cosmo-Geofisica Association and by Dr. Bruno Zolesi, as a representative of the National Institute of Geophysics, and Dr. Ester Antonucci, of the Astronomical Observatory of Torino, took action to co-ordinate the preparation of a proposal for support to the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

This proposal join the contributions of two government institutions, the National Research Council and the National Institute of Geophysics, of many Astronomical Observatories as Rome, Trieste , Naples, Torino and Catania and of many Universities as L’Aquila, Catania and Napoli, including the participation of about 60 scientists and technicians.

The scientific commit was uncharged too to organise a first starting workshop to be held in Rome next November 99  where  the principal directions of the future common activity should be given.

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