The Sun, Solar Analogs and the Climate: Saas-Fee Advanced Course 34, 2004. Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy
The 34th SaasFee advanced course of the Swiss Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics SSAA took place from March 15 to 20 2004 in Davos on the subject of The Sun Solar Analogs and the Climate PresentlytheSwissmountainresortofDavosisprobablymostwellknown for hosting an event on globalization However it is because Davos also happens to be the seat of the PhysikalischMeteorologisches Observatorium Davos and World Radiation Center that this course on a global subject was hosted here Exceptionally the topic of this course was not purely astrophysical but themembersoftheSSAAdecidedtosupportitallthesameduetothetimely topic of global warming and its possible link to solar variations In these times of concern about global warming it is important to und stand solar variability and its interaction with the atmosphere Only in this way can we distinguish between the solar and anthropogenic contributions to the rising temperatures Therefore this course addressed the observed va ability of the Sun and the present understanding of the variabilitys origin and its impact on the Earths climate Comparing the solar variability with that of solar analog stars leads to a better understanding of the solar activity cycle and magnetic activity in general and helps us to estimate how large the solar variations could be on longer time scales Inspiteofthefantasticweatherandsnowconditionswhichreignedduring this week the participants assiduously took part in the lectures This is proof ofthehighqualityofthelecturesthatthethreespeakersJoannaHaighMike Lockwood and David Soderblom delivered We deeply thank them for their contributions and eorts and hope that the readers will enjoy the book as much as we enjoyed their lectures