Dr. Steven Spangler, professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Iowa, will be the Ohio Northern University Distinguished Lecturer of Plasma Physics in room 107 in the Meyer Hall of Science on Monday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m.

The Distinguished Lecturer of Plasma Physics Series is intended to share with the larger scientific community the exciting recent advances in plasma physics. The event is free and open to the public.

Spangler’s lecture will focus on the Sun in the year of solar maximum. He will describe various solar phenomena, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, that cause problems on the Earth.

The Sun has an 11-year “heartbeat” that controls the indicators of solar activity and sunspots, prominences, and explosions on the sun wax and wane as this cycle progresses.

This cycle should reach its maximum this year, and 2013 is the optimum time for paying attention to this nearest star.

Spangler, whose research interests include solar wind, solar corona, the galactic interstellar medium and astrophysical plasma physics, is a fellow in the American Physical Society and member of the American Astronomical Society. He received the Excellence in Refereeing Award from the American Geophysical Union in 1999.