Melissa Russell
How much do you know about space weather? Solar wind? Geomagnetic storms?
Anything you want to know, ask Yuto Yashiro.
The 13-year-old Belmont eighth grader is a two-time winner of the prestigious NASA International Space Apps Challenge, a global hackathon in which participants use NASA data to solve real-world problems both in space and here on Earth.
In 2022, more than 5,000 teams competed from around the world.
As a member of team Earth, Wind & FlareYuto helped create a data display with the Parker Solar Probe, a NASA space probe that launched in 2018 to gather data about the sun’s outer corona.
The four-member team was challenged to create a tool to improve public knowledge and understanding of space weather, which can impact satellites and radio communications. For their efforts, the team won the top prize in the Art and Technology category, as their solution was judged to most effectively combine technical and creative skills.
While doing research to select their project, the team learned about the Parker Solar Probe and its mission to study space weather. As they researched sunspots and sun flares, team members learned how “the sun works like a blower for charged particles,” and how the Earth’s geomagnetic field protects the planet from the effects of solar wind.
“One of us [was] relieved because she had read a book about solar wind hitting Earth and deep-frying it!,” the team website explained.
With their interest piqued, the team built an Internet of Things (a physical device connected to data sources) device that could show space weather, such as solar wind speed and geomagnetic disturbance, similar to the way the Earth’s weather is shown. Their ultimate goal, according to the team’s website, was to explain space weather and raise public awareness about how it affects life on Earth.
The team used their skills in programming and coding, as well as music theory and crafting, to build an LED panel and matrix board. The panel shows both Earth weather and space weather data, including geomagnetic disturbances and solar wind speed. It also features videos with GIF animation files and weather icons. And it maps planetary geomagnetic disturbance data known as Kp-index values to musical notation, allowing panel viewers to listen to the “music of solar wind.”
“We wanted to use what we learned to solve problems in actual life,” Yuto said. “I’m always interested in solving those problems.”
The team plans to raise public understanding about solar weather by placing the panels in schools, libraries, and other public buildings, asking teachers to discuss space weather in science classes and publicize Space Weather Day alongside Earth Day.
Last year, in his first competition, Yuto was part of team Jimmy in the Box, and was responsible for creating an origami model of the James Webb space telescope.
While he had done origami in the past, making a telescope was beyond his abilities, at least at the start.
“This was on another level,” he said. “I had to look up YouTube tutorials.”