Lucie gives public and school talks as regularly as she can. Examples of talks can be found below.
The Sun’s twisted mysteries
This talk takes an in-depth look at Lucie’s research. She focusses on understanding why the Sun produces the most energetic eruptions in the Solar System; events known as coronal mass ejections. Since their discovery in the early 1970s it has been realised that these eruptions occur due to changes in the Sun’s magnetic field. Lucie’s work investigates a certain magnetic field configuration known as a flux rope. Understanding how and where flux ropes form has unravelled some of the mysteries around coronal mass ejections and understanding their magnetic structure has not only helped explain why these eruptions occur, but also what their space weather impact might be if they are ejected toward the Earth.
The Sun and Solar Orbiter
110 times wider than Earth; 15 million degrees at its core; an atmosphere so huge that Earth is actually within it: come and meet the star of our solar system, the Sun! This talk guides you through the Sun and its complex character and describes how the European Space Agency mission Solar Orbiter is helping scientists answer some outstanding questions. For example, how does the Sun create the constant and gusty outflow of plasma known as the solar wind? How do emissions from the Sun change during their journey into the Solar System? And why does the Sun produce spectacular eruptions and explosions in its atmosphere?
UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory and space heritage
UCL has been involved with space research since the 1950s, with the first rocket launch taking place in 1957. Early instruments were launched on sounding rockets, such as the UK Skylark rockets. Since then, UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics (known as the Mullard Space Science Laboratory) has gone on to develop major research and engineering programmes that have provided hardware for over 300 space missions since 1957 and been placed instruments in orbit around various planets as well as visiting comets passing through the inner solar system. This talk will look at the history of UK space science from a UCL perspective, addressing the breadth of the space programme, its international reach and the work being done around space heritage. Ending with asking the question, how do we ensure that our space heritage is valued and available to us all?