Our focus will be on the solar-terrestrial environment, starting from the Sun and proceeding to a few hundred km above Earth. Physical processes include MHD, single-particle dynamics, and magnetic reconnection (among others). The emphasis will be on constructing simple physics models for gaining understanding.

The text will be Kivelson and Russell, Introduction to Space Physics, supplemented by chapters from Kelley, The Earth's Ionosphere, and my own materials.

Notes for first class meeting follow. Mostly these are the "quickie questions" that I was tossing out while we were viewing the slides.

Begin with slide 4 in the PowerPoint slides available from a collection of NASA presentations; also available in pdf format.

How do we know so much about the interior of the Sun? How can we see in there? (theory of stellar structure and evolution, simulation, helioseismology)

What are the latest solar observational missions, launched within the last year? (U.S. - STEREO, Japanese - Hinode)

MDI = Michelson Doppler Imager, an instrument on SOHO = SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory, launched in 1995. A. A. Michelson (1852-1931) didn't find the ether, but he did come up with good designs for precise interferometers. The instrument makes Doppler measurements of local rising and falling motions on the Sun. The Sun is a giant resonating cavity - p (pressure) and g (internal gravity) modes of oscillation - seen in spherical-harmonic decomposition (essentially, Fourier transforms) of solar images.

Spectral lines + Doppler shifts -> surface velocity -> dispersion curves for normal modes of oscillation. The Sun's internal structure is inferred from inversion of dispersion curves for all modes. Fine structure or mode splitting gives differential rotation.

How far does the corona, the outer solar atmosphere extend? (heliopause) Where is the heliopause? (way beyond the orbits of the planets) Where is the coolest point between the Earth's upper atmosphere and the core of the Sun? (the solar photosphere!)

What is the source of the Sun's energy? (nuclear fusion) Which elements are involved? (H and He)

Is it true that a photon takes around a million years to make its way from the core to the photosphere? (yes and no - the photon doesn't bounce, there is a continual process of photons being quickly absorbed and re-radiated - local thermo equilib of a black body)

Show SOHO/LASCO animations of solar flare and CME from Dynamic Sun CD-ROM - for current animations of this type, follow Web links from NASA-GSFC.

What visible evidence do we have that a connection exists between the Sun and Earth, other than daylight? (auroras, comet tails)