International Heliophysical Year

Fifty years ago space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik 1 on 4th October 1957.  At that time scientists around the world were involved in IGY - the International Geophysical Year.  Today we have IHY - the International Heliophysical Year - with scientists again collaborating to investigate how the Sun affects the Earth and beyond.  For children and young people there has never been a better time to understand how the process of science in space works.

IHY comes 50 years after IGY which in 1957-58 linked with the beginning of space exploration.  IHY will use results from spacecraft like STEREO and Hinode to study the Sun in 3D.  It will link directly with our understanding of space weather.

Space Today UK are delivering arts-science workshops in 16 special schools across England and Wales in a project called: IHY: Frontier Science through Arts.  This will run from Feb 08 to July 09 and focus on the 11-16 age group.  The project is funded by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and our partners are The SHARE Initiative.