The sun, the Earth, and near-Earth space : a guide to the sun-Earth system / John A. Eddy.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Eddy, John A., author.

Contributor:

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, issuing body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Solar-terrestrial physics.

Solar activity.

Climatic changes--Effect of solar activity on.

Climatic changes.

Weather--Effect of solar activity on.

Weather.

Sun.

Outer space.

Earth (Planet).

Heliosphere (Astrophysics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 pages) : illustrations (chiefly color)

Other Title:

Guide to the sun-Earth system

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] : National Aeronautics and Space Administration, [2009]

Summary:

" ... 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

Contents:

Overview

Stars around us

Our dependence on the sun

Sun's inconstancy

Intruders from afar

What gets by

Voyages of discovery in an age of exploration

New appreciation

Consequences

Interconnected system

Sun

Sun as a star

Voyage to the sun

Perpetual combustion

Hidden source of solar energy

Delayed delivery

Radiant energy from the sun

How constant is and was the sun?

Metered sunshine

First who saw the face of the sun

Long watch

Sun that we can see

Photosphere

Sunspots

Bright faculae

Beneath the shining surface: the bubble machine

Lifting the veil: the unseen sun

Sun's chromosphere's and corona

How we see the corona and chromosphere

Solar Wind & Solar Variability

Solar wind

Sources and characteristics of the solar wind

Solar variability

Why the sun varies

Short- and long-term changes in solar activity

Solar explosions and eruptions

Explosive solar flares

Solar prominences and filaments

Coronal mass ejections

Near-Earth Environment

Protected planet

Air above us

Changes on the way to the top

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Mesosphere and thermosphere

Ionized upper atmosphere

End of the atmosphere

Into the magnetosphere

Form and function of the magnetosphere

Paths that particles follow

Captive particles in the magnetosphere

Earth's radiation belts

Plasmasphere

Heliosphere

Cruising the heliosphere

Fluctuations In Solar Radiation At The Earth

Changes in total solar irradiance

Variability in different parts of the spectrum

Effects of the sun's rotation

Effects of the Earth's orbit

Lost in transit: the fate of solar radiation in the Earth's atmosphere.

Variation In The Flow Of Particles At The 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 the sun's extended magnetic field

Pushing and shoving on the way to the Earth

When solar particles strike the Earth

Through the guarded gates

Magnetic reconnection

Effects of changes in the Earth's magnetic field

Cosmic rays

Fate of cosmic rays

Impacts Of Solar Variability

Solar causes, terrestrial impacts, and social effects

Impacts on near-Earth space

Magnetic storms

Aurora

Impacts on the upper atmosphere

Perturbing the Earth's electric field

Restructuring the ionosphere

Disturbing the biosphere: the lower atmosphere, oceans, and land surface

Effects On Human Life And Endeavor

What is affected

Some specific societal effects

Exposure of aircraft passengers and crews

Risks to manned space flight

Ocean of air

Enhanced ultraviolet and X-ray radiation

Solar X-rays

Sun intensely bright

Solar energetic particles and cosmic rays

Physiological effects of ionizing radiation

Importance of dosage

Disaster that almost happened

Impacts on spacecraft, space equipment and on observations of the Earth from space

Times of particular hazard

Flight paths of greatest risk

Spacecraft at the Lagrangian Points of the sun-earth system

Polar orbits and the South Atlantic anomaly

Geosynchronous and geostationary orbits

Destructive particles from the sun and the Earth's radiation belts

Atmospheric drag

Impacts on micro-circuits and computer systems

Damage to other space equipment

Protecting against damage from high-energy particles

Impacts on telecommunications, GPS, and navigation

Direct and indirect reception of radio waves

Role of the sun and solar variations

Impacts on GPS and other navigation systems

Effects on electric power transmission

Power blackout of 1989

How magnetic storms disrupt power systems

Where solar-driven power outages most often occur

Effects of geomagnetically-induced currents on the cost of electricity

Early signs of solar interference in communications

Effects of GICS on telecommunciations cables

Damage to pipelines

Impacts of geomagnetic storms on geological surveys and explorations

Effects Of The Sun On Weather And Climate

Brief history

Missing pieces

Metering the energy the Earth receives

Recovering the past history of the Sun

Effects of solar spectral radiation

Sensitivity of climate to solar fluctuations

11-year solar forcing

Solar forcing of the oceans

Hidden diaries of the ancient sun

Fate of carbon-14

Beryllium-10 in ice cores

Marks of the sun on North Atlantic climate during the last 11,000 years

Forecasting Space Weather At The Earth And Beyond

Space weather

Predictions

Sources of needed data

Available warning times

Especial needs for manned space exploration

Current capabilities

Operational facilities

Heliophysics System Observatory

Reflections

Solar misbehavior

What has changed?

Sun and global warming

Acknowledgment

Appendices

Glossary of technical terms

Sources for additional information

Tables

Images and Illustrations

Index.

Notes:

"July 4, 2009"--Page v.

"NP-2009-1-066-GSFC"--Page iv.

In scope of the US. Government Publishing Office Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-293) and index.

Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2019.

Description based on online resource, PDF version; title from cover (NASA, viewed December 31, 2024).

Other Format:

Print version: Eddy, John A. Sun, the earth, and near-earth space.

OCLC:

1111395959

Access Restriction:

Use copy Restrictions unspecified