Name: Peter W. Schuck
Title: Research astrophysicist
Organization: Code 674, Space Weather Laboratory, Heliophysics
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
I study space weather from the surface of the Sun, to the surface of the Earth and even a little bit below. I do very practical work and I also do basic, theoretical physics. I work Sun to Earth and theory to engineering. I run the gamut.
Presently, I am focusing on the evolution of magnetic fields on the surface of the sun and how they develop to produce solar eruptions and their potential impact on the earth and our terrestrial infrastructure such as the power grid.
Why did you go into heliophysics?
When I was a kid, I was in love with science in general and fossils in particular. I wanted to be a paleontologist. As I got closer to college, I talked to paleontologists who told me that there were not many jobs. I also liked computers and knew there were jobs in that field. I decided I wanted to use computers, not figure out how to make them work. In college, I took a course in fusion and plasma and fell in love with plasma physics. I got a bachelor’s degree in applied engineering physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in one of their first graduating classes in this area.
I then went to Cornell for a master’s in engineering and then got another master’s in applied physics and a doctorate in applied physics. I met my wife, also a physicist, at Cornell.
How did a theorist like you get to do field work on NASA sounding rockets in Svalbard while still a student at Cornell?
I’m really a theorist. I do math and modeling and data analysis. But I did get to do field work.
Cornell sent me to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to integrate NASA-funded sounding rockets and told me to ask a lot of questions. That, I can do, even as a theorist.
They also sent me to Svalbard near Norway. We went to the science station to monitor data and make the call on when to launch the sounding rocket. Our science station was near the apex of the sounding rocket after launch. Our goal was to launch the sounding rocket into the aurora.
The beauty of sounding rockets is that you get 20 minutes of high-resolution data in the precise area you want, but the downside is that you had better launch accurately. You have to guess when and where the aurora will be active so you can launch into it.
How does it feel to look at an aurora?
When you look at an aurora, you see, blue, green and red. It is spooky. During the winter in Svalbard, it is dark all the time without a hint of sun. You look up and the sky doesn’t look right. The first time you see this it gives you an uncomfortable feeling.
How did you get to Goddard?
I got a post-doctoral fellowship at the Naval Research Lab and stayed for roughly a decade until I came to Goddard. I worked on basic plasma physics of the Earth’s auroral ionosphere. Later, I started working on the physics of the Sun. My work on sounding rockets and heliophysics made me a natural fit.
What are the coolest things you have done here?
In 2010, I took my family to see two launches. We first saw the Solar Dynamics Observatory launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It happened to be during the Washington, D.C., area’s so-called snowmageddon, so it turned out that my kids did not miss any school. It was a big rocket, a Delta V.
The launch was spectacular — I get a chill every time I participate at a rocket launch.
To me, the most exciting part is the final check and when the range safety officer says, “It’s a go!” It’s super emotional for me. The rocket launch was amazing. As the rocket hit Mach 1, it generated a shock wave that disturbed the clouds and destroyed a rainbow made of ice particles called a sundog which is extremely rare.
For a theoretical physicist, it doesn’t get any better than that. Physics in action and I was in the right place at the right time.
That same trip, we also saw a night launch of space shuttle Endeavor on the STS-130 mission, although we were farther away at our hotel. It was spectacular to see the rocket and then the entire sky light up at night. Knowing that people were actually going up into space was super exciting.
When did people first begin to be concerned about the possible impact of solar eruptions on the Earth’s infrastructure known as Carrington events?
In September of 1859, an amateur English astronomer named Richard C. Carrington was the first person to ever observe a solar flare using a telescope with the appropriate filters to protect his eyes. Before then, we did not know about solar flares or their connection with solar eruptions and geomagnetic storms. In the scientific analysis that followed, scientists observed the resulting geomagnetic disturbance some 18 hours later now called Carrington the event.
When a big, Earth-directed solar eruption occurs, a big magnetic cloud barrels towards the earth, compressing the magnetosphere, the Earth’s shield against radiation and solar wind, and generates currents in the magnetosphere and ionosphere. These currents can temporarily change the magnetic field at the Earth’s surface. The changing magnetic field creates an electric field and it is this electric field that can cause very widespread disruptions of long electrical systems such as the telegraph in 1859 and our present day power grid.
How are you involved in outreach regarding solar eruptions and Carrington events?
Since 1859, we obviously have become more dependent on technology. We are now looking at ways to mitigate any impact of solar eruptions. Our partners include federal government organizations responsible for response to impacts and proactive mitigation of the effects of solar storms. Most of our outreach is to other agencies who are concerned about how solar eruptions might impact the power grid, satellites and communications.
Tell us your role with the Space Weather Lab.
NOAA [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] provides the official civilian space weather forecast on a constant basis. Here at Goddard’s Space Weather Lab, we develop and test state of the art space weather modeling systems. Our space weather modeling is similar to that used to predict hurricanes and typhoons.
We are not yet very good at predicting solar flares, but they don’t have the biggest terrestrial impact. The coronal mass ejection that is associated with the flare has the biggest impact and arrives at the Earth about 18 hours to a few days after the flare itself. We are doing simulations of Carrington events to better understand them.
Is there something surprising about your hobbies outside of work that people do not generally know?
I have always loved fossils. I have collected fossils from all over the place, New Mexico, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Fossils connect with why we are here. The most important thing in the universe is life. The fact that we are here and evolved enough to study life and the universe is incredible. It’s crazy that we are the only animal on Earth that is able to study our vast universe we live in.
Our family has an awesome German Shepherd dog named Witten from Czechoslovakian working lines. She goes everywhere with us including looking for fossils.
I also coach soccer including my three daughters. When my oldest daughter was 6, she wanted to play soccer. I showed up at the field and offered to help the coach. He gave me a book about soccer and I became the referee for the Saturday games. When he left, I became assistant coach and then head coach. Now I am licensed to coach. Currently I coach the 3 and 4 year olds, known as mini kickers, for the Springfield Youth Club.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center