Aim of the School

This international school offers an intensive two weeks course in topics related  to  physics of the Sun. The course is aimed at Ph.D. students or  final year M.Sc (Physics) students with an interest in Solar Physics and who want to pursue it further.  The purpose is to provide an introduction to solar physics for students who do not have an opportunity to take such a course at their home institution. There will be approximately 40 lectures, with activities related to the lecture material. There will also be computer lab exercises and opportunities to observe the Sun with the existing facilities.

Topics

Helioseismology, dynamo theory, chromospheric and photospheric processes, magnetic flux tubes, line formation, Coronal dynamics, energetic phenomenon,  activity, solar wind and observational techniques (radio and  optical).

Speakers

H. M. Antia, Sarbani Basu, Arnab Rai Choudhuri, Oskar Steiner, Peter Ulmschneider, Robert Erdelyi, Valery Nakariakov, N. Gopalswamy, Øystein Lie-Svendsen, A. Ambastha, K. R. Sivaraman and P. K. Manoharan.

Organisation

Kodaikanal Solar observatory is a part of  Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institution  funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA with a rich history,  going back over two centuries is a institute devoted to research in  astronomy, sun and solar system, stellar physics, extra-galactic astronomy, theoretical astrophysics, atomic and molecular physics and instrumentation related to astronomical observations. Other observational facilities include Vainu Bappu Observatory at Kavalur, Gauribidanur Radio telescope, Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle, Himalayas, and Center for Research and Education in Science and Technology at  Hoskote.

Background

Kodaikanal is one of the most popular hill resorts in India. With its rocks, woods, lakes and bracing air,  it offers  an ideal location for intellectual activity.  The Kodaikanal Observatory  was established in 1899 as a Solar Observatory. It has several  experimental facilities, notably, the solar tunnel telescope, spectrographs, a broadband seismograph, GPS receiver and  magnetic variometers to study the sun and and Sun-Earth connections.  Several national and international workshops have been conducted  in the Observatory in the past.