The Sun The Earth And Near Earth Space

" ... Concise explanations and descriptions - easily read and readily understood - of what we know of the chain of events and processes that connect the Sun to the Earth, with special emphasis on space weather and Sun-Climate."--Dear Reader.

This colorful book provides concise explanations and descriptions-easily read and readily understood-of what is now known of the chain of events and processes that connect the Sun to the Earth, with special emphasis on space weather and sun-climate. NP-2009-066-GSFC. In a world of warmth and light and living things, we soon forget that we are surrounded by a vast universe that is cold and dark and deadly dangerous, just beyond our door. On a starry night, when we look out into the darkness that lies around us, the view can be misleading in yet another way: for the brightness and sheer number of stars, and their chance groupings into familiar constellations, make them seem much nearer to each other, and to us, that in truth they are. And every one of them--each twinkling, like a diamond in the sky--is a white-hot sun, much like our own. The nearest stars in our own galaxy--the Milky Way-- are more than a million times further away from us than our star, the Sun. We could make a telephone call to the Moon and expect to wait but a few seconds between pieces of a conversation, or but a few hours in calling any planet in our solar system.

This brilliant book by John A. Eddy gives brief clarifications and portrayals effectively read and promptly comprehended of what is currently known about the chain of occasions and cycles that interface the Sun to the Earth, with extraordinary accentuation on space climate and sun-environment.

This beautifully written work by one of America's top solar experts provides an easy-to-read yet thorough guide to our Sun and its impact on planet Earth. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in the Sun and space weather. An excerpt: "In a world of warmth and light and living things we soon forget that we are surrounded by a vast universe that is cold and dark and deadly dangerous, just beyond our door. On a starry night, when we look out into the darkness that lies around us, the view can be misleading in yet another way: for the brightness and sheer number of stars, and their chance groupings into familiar constellations, make them seem much nearer to each other, and to us, that in truth they are. And every one of them--each twinkling, like a diamond in the sky--is a white-hot sun, much like our own. The nearest stars in our own galaxy--the Milky Way-- are more than a million times further away from us than our star, the Sun."Contents: Our Dependence on Sun * Sun's Inconstancy * Voyages of Discovery in an Age of Exploration * Sun as a Star * Perpetual Combustion * How Constant Is and Was Sun? * Metered Sunshine * First Who Saw Face of Sun * Photosphere * Sunspots * Sun's Chromosphere and Corona * SOLAR WIND & SOLAR VARIABILITY * Explosive Solar Flares * Solar Prominences and Filaments * Coronal Mass Ejections * NEAR-EARTH ENVIRONMENT * A Protected Planet * Air Above Us * Changes on Way to Top * Troposphere * Stratosphere * Mesosphere and Thermosphere * Ionized Upper Atmosphere * End of Atmosphere * Into Magnetosphere * Form and Function of Magnetosphere * Paths that Particles Follow * Captive Particles in Magnetosphere * Earth's Radiation Belts * Plasmasphere * Heliosphere * Cruising Heliosphere * FLUCTUATIONS IN SOLAR RADIATION AT EARTH * Changes in Total Solar Irradiance * Variability in Different Parts of Spectrum * Effects of Sun's Rotation * Effects of Earth's Orbit * VARIATION IN FLOW OF PARTICLES AT EARTH * Nature of Arriving Particles * Solar Sources * Particles Borne Outward in CMEs * Particles from Solar Flare * Solar Wind Plasma * Characteristics of Slow Solar Wind Streams * High-Speed Solar Wind Streams * Sectors in Sun's Extended Magnetic Field * Pushing and Shoving on Way to Earth * When Solar Particles Strike Earth * Through Guarded Gates Magnetic Reconnection * Effects of Changes in Earth's Magnetic Field * Cosmic Rays * Fate of Cosmic Rays * IMPACTS OF SOLAR VARIABILITY * Solar Causes, Terrestrial Impacts, and Societal Effects * Impacts on Near-Earth Space * Magnetic Storms * Aurora * Impacts on Upper Atmosphere * Perturbing Earth's Electric Field * Restructuring Ionosphere * Disturbing Biosphere: Lower Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface * EFFECTS ON HUMAN LIFE AND ENDEAVOR * Exposure of Aircraft Passengers and Crews * Risks to Manned Space Flight * Ocean of Air * Enhanced Ultraviolet And X-Ray Radiation * Solar X-rays * A Sun Intensely Bright * Solar Energetic Particles and Cosmic Rays * Physiological Effects of Ionizing Radiation * Impacts on Spacecraft, Space Equipment and on Observations of Earth From Space * Cosmic Rays * Atmospheric Drag * Protecting Against Damage From High-Energy Particles * Impacts on Telecommunications, GPS, and Navigation * How Magnetic Storms Disrupt Power Systems * Where Solar-Driven Power Outages Most Often Occur * EFFECTS OF SUN ON WEATHER AND CLIMATE * Recovering Past History of Sun * Effects of Solar Spectral Radiation * Sensitivity of Climate to Solar Fluctuations * 11-year Solar Forcing * Solar Forcing of Oceans * Hidden Diaries of Ancient Sun * Fate of Carbon-14 * Beryllium-10 in Ice Cores * Space Wear Predictions * Sources of Needed Data * Available Warning Times * Especial Needs for Manned Space Exploration * Current Capabilities * Operational Facilities * Heliophysics System Observatory * Solar Misbehavior * What Has Changed? * Sun and Global Warming

Near-earth space, which extends to geosynchronous orbits where satellites remain faithfully over a fixed spot on the ground, does not lend itself to romantic fantasies of science fiction. It is a working place from which services can be delivered with ease and efficiency. Meteorology, seismic and crop-yield predictions, environmental monitoring, communications of all sorts, guidance and navigation, medical and educational services, treaty verification and photographic reconnaissance, news-gathering, scientific observation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, prospecting, remote sensing, and monitoring of human activities are all in a day's work for near-earth space. Global cellular telephony, only a few years ago the exclusive privilege of comic-book heroes, is becoming a space-based commonplace. Planes that land in fog and cars that find their way in the labyrinthine streets of Tokyo guided from space are beyond a near horizon. Space is delivering its promise. This volume describes many of these activities and their prospects for changing the way we live, communicate, and travel on this Earth.

Planets near Earth offers a look at the peculiarities and similarities of the planets nearest to Earth with wondrous illustrations and facts about what the planets are made of. Learn about the wonders of space in this series, designed for readers aged 7 and up, but accessible to a wide range of reading abilities. If you've ever wondered what can be found on the dark side of the moon, or what other galaxies lurk beyond the Milky Way, these are the books for you. From the Sun, asteroids and comets to planets far and near Earth, you will discover here the most recent developments in space exploration and research.

A comprehensive account of solar astrophysics and how our perception and knowledge of this star have gradually changed as mankind has elucidated ever more of its mysteries. The emphasis here is on the last decade, which has seen three successful solar spacecraft missions: SOHO, Ulysses and Yohkoh. Together, these have confirmed many aspects of the solar standard model and provided new clues to the numerous open questions that remain. The author, a leading researcher in the field, writes in a clear and concise style. Known also for his famous books "Astrophysical Formulae", "Sun, Earth and Sky" and the prize-winning "Wanderers in Space", he has succeeded once again in addressing a complex scientific topic in a very approachable way.

This book presents comprehensive coverage of the Sun and space weather, two rapidly evolving topics. In this new edition, the information has been updated to include the latest results. In addition, new sections are included, like one on space weather data sources, as well as examples and information on new satellite missions.