[Physstaff] FW: Glasgow Colloquium 27/4 "Electricity in extrasolar planetary atmospheres ", Christiane Helling

[Daniel Oi]

FYI University of Glasgow Physics Colloquium
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From: Sonja Franke-Arnold [Sonja.Franke-Arnold at glasgow.ac.uk]
Sent: 26 April 2016 10:07
Subject: final colloquium this Wd 27/4 on "Electricity in extrasolar planetary atmospheres ", Christiane Helling

Please note in your calendar this year's final official colloquium!

speaker:  Dr Christiane Helling (St Andrews)
title:  "Electricity in extrasolar planetary atmospheres ”  (abstract below)

on Wednesday 27/4 at 3pm
in room 257

As usual coffee and doughnuts in the common room afterwards.

Best wishes,
Sonja


Abstract:
Charge processes in planetary atmospheres have always sparked fear and fascination. Lightning is a natural phenomenon with which we – here on Earth – grow up, but do we understand what it is? If nature is universal, lightning and charge processes should also occur outside our solar system. Where? Only in planets? Maybe not. The desire to understand the physics of lightning and it’s impact on its environment drives the LEAP project. Exciting question touch upon fundamental physics, numerically challenging models, planetary atmospheres and volcano outbreaks.

I will present an overview of the LEAP group’s work on how ionisation processes (thermal, dust collision, cosmic rays, flow-induced) structure  cloud forming atmospheres, 3D cloud formation modelling in dynamic planetary atmospheres, and the emergence  of lighting in such chemically and dynamically active atmospheres.

Bio:
PhD & Habilitation at TU Berlin, worked at Sterrewacht Leiden and ESTEC/ESA, came as SUPA fellow to St Andrews, got ERC starting grant, became Lecturer @ StA, then Reader