Basics of the solar wind /
Nicole Meyer-Vernet.
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- 1 online resource (xiv, 463 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
- Cambridge atmospheric and space science series .
- Cambridge atmospheric and space science series. .
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
The wind from the sun : introduction -- Tool kit for space plasma physics -- Anatomy of the sun -- The outer solar atmosphere -- How does the solar wind blow? -- Structure and perturbations -- Bodies in the wind : dust, asteroids, planets and comets -- The solar wind in the universe.
The Sun continually ejects matter into space, blowing a huge bubble of supersonic plasma. This solar wind bathes the whole solar system and shapes all planetary environments. The growth of space technology has considerably increased our knowledge of this medium. This 2007 book presents an introduction to the subject, starting with basic principles and including all the latest advances from space exploration and theory. It contains a short introduction to plasma physics and discusses the structure of the solar interior and atmosphere, the production of solar wind and its perturbations. It explains the objects of the Solar System, from dust to comets and planets, and their interaction with the solar wind. The final sections explore the astrophysical point of view. The topics are treated at various levels of difficulty both qualitatively and quantitatively. This book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in earth and atmospheric sciences, and astrophysics.