Describes the instruments and initial results of the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. This collection of papers describes the instrument and initial results obtained from the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS), one of the post-focus instruments of the 1.6 meter New Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The FISS primarily aims at investigating structures and dynamics of chromospheric features. This instrument is a dual-band Echelle spectrograph optimized for the simultaneous recording of the H I 656.3 nm band and the Ca II 854.2 nm band. The imaging is done with the fast raster scan realized by the linear motion of a two-mirror scanner, and its quality is determined by the performance of the adaptive optics of the telescope. These papers illustrate the capability of the early FISS observations in the study of chromospheric features. Since the imaging quality has been improved a lot with the advance of the adaptive optics, one can obtain much better data with the current FISS observations. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers working in the field of solar physics and space sciences. Originally published in Solar Physics, Vol. 288, Issue 1, 2013, and Vol. 289, Issue 11, 2014.

"An Introduction to Waves and Oscillations in the Sun" is intended for students and researchers who work in the area of solar and astrophysics. This book contains an introduction to the Sun, basics of electrodynamics, magneto-hydrodynamics for force-free and current-free fields. It deals with waves in uniform media with relevance to sound waves and Alfven waves, and with waves in non-uniform media like surface waves or waves in a slab and cylindrical geometry. It also touches on instabilities in fluids and observational signatures of oscillations. Finally, there is an introduction to the area of helio-seismology, which deals with the internal structure of the Sun.

This unique , authoritative book introduces and accurately depicts the current state-of-the art in the field of space storms. Professor Koskinen, renowned expert in the field, takes the basic understanding of the system, together with the pyhsics of space plasmas, and produces a treatment of space storms. He combines a solid base describing space physics phenomena with a rigourous theoretical basis. The topics range from the storms in the solar atmosphere through the solar wind, magnetosphere and ionosphere to the production of the storm-related geoelectric field on the ground. The most up-to-date information available ist presented in a clear, analytical and quantitative way. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is a phenomenological introduction to space weather from the Sun to the Earth. Part 2 comprehensively presents the fundamental concepts of space plasma physics. It consists of discussions of fundamental concepts of plasma physics, starting from underlying electrodynamics and statistical physics of charged particles and continuing to single particle motion in homogeneous electromagnetic fields, waves in cold plasma approximation, Vlasov theory, magnetohydrodynamics, instabilities in space plasmas, reconnection and dynamo. Part 3 bridges the gap between the fundamental plasma physics and research level physics of space storms. This part discusses radiation and scattering processes, transport and diffiusion, shocks and shock acceleration, storms on the Sun, in the magnetosphere, the coupling to the atmosphere and ground. The book is concluded wtih a brief review of what is known of space stroms on other planets. One tool for building this briege ist extensive cross-referencing between the various chapters. Exercise problems of varying difficulty are embedded within the main body of the text.

During the last decade, a rapid growth of knowledge in the field of re-entry and planetary entry has resulted in many significant advances useful to the student, engineer and scientist. The purpose of offering this course is to make available to them these recent significant advances in physics and technology. Accordingly, this course is organized into five parts: Part 1, Entry Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Physics and Radiation; Part 2, Entry Abla tion and Heat Transfer; Part 3, Entry Experimentation; Part 4, Entry Concepts and Technology; and Part 5, Advanced Entry Programs. It is written in such a way so that it may easily be adopted by other universities as a textbook for a two semesters senior or graduate course on the sub ject. In addition to the undersigned who served as the course instructor and wrote Chapters, 1, 2, 3 and 4, guest lecturers included: Prof. FRANKLIN K. MOORE who wrote Chapter 5 "Entry Radiative Transfer," Prof. SHIH-I PAI who wrote Chapter 6 "Entry Radiation-Magnetogasdy namics," Dr. CARL GAZLEY, J r. who wrote Chapter 7 "Entry Deaccelera [ion and Mass Change of an Ablating Body," Dr. SINCLAIRE M. SCALA who wrote Chapter 8 "Entry Heat Transfer and Material Response," Mr.

These are the proceedings of the Symposium 3 of JENAM 2011 on new scientific challenges posed by the Sun. The topics covered are 1. The unusual sunspot minimum, which poses challenges to the solar dynamo theory 2. The Sun's Terra-Hertz emission, which opens a new observational window 3. Corona wave activity 4. Space weather agents - initiation, propagation, and forecasting In 21 in-depth contributions, the reader will be presented with the latest findings.

The role of laboratory research and simulations in advancing our understanding of solar system ices (including satellites, KBOs, comets, and giant planets) is becoming increasingly important. Understanding ice surface radiation processing, particle and radiation penetration depths, surface and subsurface chemistry, morphology, phases, density, conductivity, etc., are only a few examples of the inventory of issues that are being addressed by Earth-based laboratory research. As a response to the growing need for cross-disciplinary dialog and communication in the Planetary Ices science community, this book aims to achieve direct dialog and foster focused collaborations among the observational, modeling, and laboratory research communities.

This thesis presents accurate analyses of the spin-orbit angle for many remarkable transiting exoplanetary systems, including the first measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for a multiple transiting system.

The author presents the observational methods needed to probe the spin-orbit angle, the relation between the stellar spin axis and planetary orbital axis. Measurements of the spin-orbit angle provide us a unique and valuable opportunity to understand the origin of close-in giant exoplanets, called "hot Jupiters."

The first method introduced involves observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (RM effect). The author points out the issues with the previous theoretical modeling of the RM effect and derives a new and improved theory. Applications of the new theory to observational data are also presented for a number of remarkable systems, and the author shows that the new theory minimizes the systematic errors by applying it to the observational data.

The author also describes another method for constraining the spin-orbit angle: by combining the measurements of stellar flux variations due to dark spots on the stellar surface, with the projected stellar rotational velocity measured via spectroscopy, the spin-orbit angles "along the line-of-sight" are constrained for the transiting exoplanetary systems reported by the Kepler space telescope."

This book is for anyone who wants to be able to connect the history of lunar exploration to the Moon visible above. It addresses what Apollo equipment and experiments were left behind and what the Apollo landings sites look like now. Each Apollo mission is examined in detail, with photos that progressively zoom-in to guide the reader in locating the Apollo landing sites. Guided by official NASA photographs from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the original Apollo missions, the reader can view the Moon with a new appreciation of the accomplishment of landing astronauts on its surface. Countless people have gazed at the Moon in the night sky knowing the successes of the Apollo Program in landing men on the Moon. After the information in this guide, casual and serious observers can actually point out where the Apollo landings occurred as well as knowing why those sites were chosen.

over to nominal operations and began making our groundbreaking science observations. Remarkably, the IBEX project was able to do all this work including developing an entirely new launch capability, building and ying a unique and highly specialized spacecraft and instrument suite, and maintaining full funding for our Education and Public Outreach and Phase E science activities, while still under-running our original cost cap (as modi ed by NASA-directed changes), by roughly three-quarters of a million dollars. This book comprises a set of papers that describe the IBEX science, instruments, and mission and put these in the context of the existing knowledge of the interstellar interaction at the time of the launch. The book sets the stage for research that will be based on data from the IBEX mission. We sincerely hope that future researchers, authors and students will use this information to help in their studies. Chapter 1 [McComas et al. ] provides an overview of the entire IBEX program including the IBEX science, hardware, and mission. Chapter 2 describes the IBEX spacecraft and ight system [Scherrer et al. ]. Chapters 3-4 provide the details of the IBEX-Hi instrument [Funsten et al. ] and background monitor that is built into it [Allegrini et al. ], while Chapters 5-7 describe the IBEX-Lo instrument [Fuselier et al. ], how IBEX-Lo can measure the interstellar neutrals directly entering the heliosphere [Moebius et al.

This textbook is intended as an introduction to the physics of solar and stellar coronae, emphasizing kinetic plasma processes. It is addressed to observational astronomers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates without a ba- ground in plasma physics. Coronal physics is today a vast field with many different aims and goals. So- ing out the really important aspects of an observed phenomenon and using the physics best suited for the case is a formidable problem. There are already several excellent books, oriented toward the interests of astrophysicists, that deal with the magnetohydrodynamics of stellar atmospheres, radiation transport, and radiation theory. In kinetic processes, the different particle velocities play an important role. This is the case when particle collisions can be neglected, for example in very brief phenomena - such as one period of a high-frequency wave - or in effects produced by energetic particles with very long collision times. Some of the most persistent problems of solar physics, like coronal heating, shock waves, flare energy release, and particle acceleration, are likely to be at least partially related to such p- cesses. Study of the Sun is not regarded here as an end in itself, but as the source of information for more general stellar applications. Our understanding of stellar processes relies heavily, in turn, on our understanding of solar processes. Thus an introduction to what is happening in hot, dilute coronae necessarily starts with the plasma physics of our nearest star.

Investigation of the interplanetary dust cloud is characterized by contributions from quite different methods and fields, such as research on zodiacal light, meteors, micrometeoroids, asteroids, and comets. Since the earth's environment and interplanetary space became accessible to space vehicles these interrelations are clearly evident and extremely useful. Space measurements by micrometeoroid detectors, for example, provide individual and eventually detailed information on impact events, which however are limited in number and therefore restricted in statistical significance. On the other hand, zodiacal light measurements involve scattered light from many particles and therefore provide global information about the average values of physical properties and spatial distribution of interplanetary grains. Additional knowledge stems from lunar samples and from dust collections in the atmosphere and in deep sea sediments. All these sources of complementary information must be put together into a synoptical synthesis. This also has to take into account dynamical aspects and the results of laboratory investigations concerning physical properties of small grains. Such considerable effort is not merely an academic exercise for a few specialists interested in the solar dust cloud. Since this same cloud exclusively allows direct in-situ acess to investigate extraterrestrial dust particles over a wide range of sizes and materials, it provides valuable information for realistic treatment of dust phenomena in other remote cosmic regions such as in dense molecular clouds, circumstellar dust shells, and even protostellar or protoplanetary systems.

A new and detailed picture of Mercury is emerging thanks to NASA's MESSENGER mission that spent four years in orbit about the Sun's innermost planet. Comprehensively illustrated by close-up images and other data, the author describes Mercury's landscapes from a geological perspective: from sublimation hollows, to volcanic vents, to lava plains, to giant thrust faults. He considers what its giant core, internal structure and weird composition have to tell us about the formation and evolution of a planet so close to the Sun. This is of special significance in view of the discovery of so many exoplanets in similarly close orbits about their stars. Mercury generates its own magnetic field, like the Earth (but unlike Venus, Mars and the Moon), and the interplay between Mercury's and the Sun's magnetic field affects many processes on its surface and in the rich and diverse exosphere of neutral and charged particles surrounding the planet. There is much about Mercury that we still don't understand. Accessible to the amateur, but also a handy state-of-the-art digest for students and researchers, the book shows how our knowledge of Mercury developed over the past century of ground-based, fly-by and orbital observations, and looks ahead at the mysteries remaining for future missions to explore.

The second edition of Solar System Astrophysics: Planetary Atmospheres and the Outer Solar System provides a timely update of our knowledge of planetary atmospheres and of the bodies of the outer solar system and their analogs in other planetary systems. This volume begins with an expanded treatment of the physics, chemistry, and meteorology of the atmospheres of the Earth, Venus, and Mars, moving on to their magnetospheres and then to a full discussion of the gas and ice giants and their properties. From here, attention switches to the small bodies of the solar system, beginning with the natural satellites. The comets, meteors, meteorites, and asteroids are discussed in order, and the volume concludes with the origin and evolution of our solar system. Finally, a fully revised section on extrasolar planetary systems puts the development of our system in a wider and increasingly well understood galactic context. All of the material is presented within a framework of historical importance. This book and its sister volume, Solar System Astrophysics: Background Science and the Inner Solar system, are pedagogically well written, providing clearly illustrated explanations, for example, of such topics as the numerical integration of the Adams-Williamson equation, the equations of state in planetary interiors and atmospheres, Maxwell's equations as applied to planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, and the physics and chemistry of the Habitable Zone in planetary systems. Together, the volumes form a comprehensive text for any university course that aims to deal with all aspects of solar and extra-solar planetary systems. They will appeal separately to the intellectually curious who would like to know how just how far our knowledge of the solar system has progressed in recent years.

This book is one of two volumes meant to capture, to the extent practical, the scienti?c legacy of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission, a landmark in the history of planetary exploration. As the most ambitious and interdisciplinary planetary exploration mission ?own to date, it has extended our knowledge of the Saturn system to levels of detail at least an order of magnitude beyond that gained from all previous missions to Saturn. Nestled in the brilliant light of the new and deep understanding of the Saturn planetary system is the shiny nugget that is the spectacularly successful collaboration of individuals, - ganizations and governments in the achievement of Cassini-Huygens. In some ways the pa- nershipsformedandlessonslearnedmaybethemost enduringlegacyofCassini-Huygens.The broad, international coalition that is Cassini-Huygens is now conducting the Cassini Equinox Mission and planning the Cassini Solstice Mission, and in a major expansion of those fruitful efforts, has extended the collaboration to the study of new ?agship missions to both Jupiter and Saturn. Such ventures have and will continue to enrich us all, and evoke a very optimistic vision of the future of international collaboration in planetary exploration. The two volumes in the series Saturn from Cassini-Huygens and Titan from Cassini- Huygens are the direct products of the efforts of over 200 authors and co-authors. Though each book has a different set of three editors, the group of six editors for the two volumes has worked together through every step of the process to ensure that these two volumes are a set.

The semi-classical description of black holes, as it was originally introduced by Hawking and Bekenstein in the early seventies, where classical solutions of the Einstein equations are coupled to quantum matter fields, opened a window with a glance on the quantum aspects of gravity. This book discusses this semi-classical approach to quantum black holes. It also discuses the philosophical issues about black holes; the Randall-Sundrum II model; the gravitational collapse in alternative theories of gravity; observational limits on modern extended gravity models; and generalized Brans-Dicke models from Kaluza-Klein reductions.

By September 2014, almost two thousand exoplanets -- planets orbiting other suns -- have been confirmed, among these are also Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of their sun. These breakthrough discoveries during the bygone two decades raise questions with regard to the existence of Life elsewhere in our Milky Way Galaxy. The present book addresses the formation of planetary systems in the wake of collapsing interstellar gas and dust clouds, and the generation as well as the survival and germination of simple molecules serving as modules for more complex molecular constructs that constitute life. In this context, the survival of extremophiles in niches on Earth, and the potentiality of primitive life forms on Mars and the subsurface oceans of selected moons in the Solar System are also addressed, as much as the through-space travel of germs, denoted as panspermia. Readers possessing basic knowledge in chemistry and astronomy will additionally profit from the text in terms of an advanced approach towards facts that introduce more complex background information, in particular information provided in sidebars. However, the book is conceptualized in such a way that the less scholarly reader will equally profit from the narrative style by which background information is provided. Along with panspermia, the Gaia hypothesis and other historical thematisations of life beyond Earth are briefly looked at.

The reality of sunlight-based sailing in space began in May 2010, and solar sail technology and science have continued to evolve rapidly through new space missions. Using the power of the Sun's light for regular travel propulsion will be the next major leap forward in our journey to other worlds. This book is the second edition of the fascinating explanation of solar sails, how they work and how they will be used in the exploration of space. Updated with 35% new material, this second edition includes three new chapters on missions operated by Japan and the US, as well as projects that are in progress. The remainder of the book describes the heritage of exploration in water-borne sailing ships and the evolution to space-vehicle propulsion; as well as nuclear, solar-electric, nuclear-electric and antimatter rocket devices. It also discusses various sail systems that may use either sunlight or solar wind, and the design, fabrication and steering challenges associated with solar sails. The first edition was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, and deemed "a title that needs to be on your shelf if you're seriously interested in the next step as we move beyond rocketry" (Centauri Dreams, September 2008). Written with a mixed approach, this book appeals to both the general public as well as those with a more scientifically technical background.

Much of what is known about the universe came from the study of celestial shadows. This book looks in detail at the way eclipses and other celestial shadows have given us amazing insights into the nature of the objects in our solar system and how they are even helping us discover and analyze planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. A variety of eclipses, transits, and occultations of the mooons of Jupiter and Saturn, Pluto and its satellite Charon, asteroids and stars have helped astronomers to work out their dimensions, structures, and shapes - even the existence of atmospheres and structures of exoplanets. Long before Columbus set out to reach the Far East by sailing West, the curved shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse revealed that we inhabit a round world, a globe. More recently, comparisons of the sunlit and Earthlit parts of the Moon have been used to determine changes in the Earth's brightness as a way of monitoring possible effects in cloud coverage which may be related to global warming. Shadows were used by the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes to work out the first estimate of the circumference of the Earth, by Galileo to measure the heights of the lunar mountains and by eighteenth century astronomers to determine the scale of the Solar System itself. Some of the rarest and most wonderful shadows of all are those cast onto Earth by the lovely "Evening Star" Venus as it goes between the Earth and the Sun. These majestic transits of Venus occur at most two in a century; after the 2012 transit, there is not a chance to observe this phenomenon until 2117, while the more common sweep of a total solar eclipse creates one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring events of nature. Though it may have once been a source of consternation or dread, solar eclipses now lead thousands of amateur astronomers and "eclipse-chasers" to travel the globe in order to experience the dramatic view under "totality." These phenomena are among the most spectacular available to observers and are given their full due in Westfall and Sheehan's comprehensive study.

Explore Earth's closest neighbor, the Moon, in this fascinating and timely book and discover what we should expect from this seemingly familiar but strange, new frontier. What startling discoveries are being uncovered on the Moon? What will these tell us about our place in the Universe? How can exploring the Moon benefit development on Earth? Discover the role of the Moon in Earth's past and present; read about the lunar environment and how it could be made more habitable for humans; consider whether continued exploration of the Moon is justified; and view rare Apollo-era photos and film stills. This is a complete story of the human lunar experience, presenting many interesting but little-known and significant events in lunar science for the first time. It will appeal to anyone wanting to know more about the stunning discoveries being uncovered on the Moon.

This edited volume describes many aspects of current research on solar flares, emphasizing recent progress in understanding their X-ray and gamma-ray emissions. Several of the chapters deal comprehensively with the problems of particle acceleration, conversion of particle energy into various forms of radiation, and the inference of physical processes from observations. Other chapters deal with the full breadth and richness of flare observations, including microflares and nanoflares. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers in solar physics and space science. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 159/1-4, 2011.

This volume covers different aspects of recent theoretical and observational work on magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma-physical process by which energy stored in magnetic field is converted, often explosively, into heat and kinetic energy. This collection of papers from the fields of solar and space physics, astrophysics, and laboratory plasma physics is especially timely in view of NASA's upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, which will use Earth's magetosphere as a laboratory to test, through in-situ measurement of the plasma, energetic particles, and electric and magnetic fields, the various and sometimes competing models and theories of magnetic reconnection. This volume is aimed at researchers in solar physics, magnetospheric physics and plasma physics. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 160/1-4, 2011.

Starburst regions in nearby and distant galaxies have a profound impact on our understanding of the early universe. This new, substantially updated and extended edition of Norbert Schulz's unique book "From Dust to Stars" describes complex physical processes involved in the creation and early evolution of stars. It illustrates how these processes reveal themselves from radio wavelengths to high energy X-rays and gamma-rays, with special reference towards high energy signatures. Several sections devoted to key analysis techniques demonstrate how modern research in this field is pursued and new chapters are introduced on massive star formation, proto-planetary disks and observations of young exoplanets. Recent advances and contemporary research on the theory of star formation are explained, as are new observations, specifically from the three great observatories of the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory which all now operate at the same time and make high resolution space based observing in its prime. As indicated by the new title two new chapters have been included on proto-planetary disks and young exoplanets. Many more colour images illustrate attractive old and new topics that have evolved in recent years. The author gives updates in theory, fragmentation, dust, and circumstellar disks and emphasizes and strengthens the targeting of graduate students and young researchers, focusing more on computational approaches in this edition.

The first Catalogue of Meteorites from South America includes new specimens never previously reported, while doubtful cases and pseudometeorites have been deliberately omitted.

The falling of these objects is a random event, but the sites where old meteorites are found tend to be focused in certain areas, e.g. in the deflation surfaces in Chile s Atacama Desert, due to favorable climate conditions and ablation processes.

Our Catalogue provides basic information on each specimen like its provenance and the place where it was discovered (in geographic co-ordinates and with illustrative maps), its official name, its classification type (class, and if applicable, weathering grade and shock stage), if it was seen falling or was found by chance, its total mass or weight, the institution where it is held, and the most important bibliographic references about it.

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It has been nearly 100 years since the Apollo moon landings, when Jack and Vladimir, two astronauts on a mission to Venus, discover a mysterious void related to indigenous life on the planet. Subsequently more voids are detected on Earth, Mars, Titan, and, quite ominously, inside a planetoid emerging from the Kuiper belt.

Jack is sent to investigate the voids in the Solar System and intercept the planetoid - which, as becomes increasingly clear, is inhabited by alien life forms. Jack and his crew will have little time to understand their alien biochemistry, abilities, behavior patterns, resilience, and technology, but also how these life forms relate to the voids.

Humankind's first encounter with these exotic life forms couldn't be more fateful, becoming a race against time to save life on Earth and to reveal the true nature of the voids, which seem to be intrinsically related to life and the universe itself. In this novel, the author combines many topics related to state-of-the-art research in the field of astrobiology with fictional elements to produce a thrilling page turner.

This new version significantly develops the astrobiological denouement of the plot and features an extensive non-technical appendix where the underlying science is presented and discussed.

From the reviews of the first edition ("Voids of Eternity: Alien Encounter")

Here's a thrilling yarn in the best "hard SF" tradition of Asimov, James Hogan, and Ben Bova, written by a scientist who knows all about the possibilities of life in the solar system and beyond. Dirk Schulze-Makuch weaves into his book all the astrobiological themes he's worked on in recent years -- speculation about creatures in the atmosphere of Venus and on and under the surface of Mars and Titan -- together with some well-informed Eastern philosophy and a cracking good space battle. A great first novel from a rising talent. Highly recommended. David Darling, on amazon.com, 2009The research interests of Dr. Schulze-Makuch, currently a professor at Washington State University, focus on evolutionary adaptation strategies of organisms in their natural environment, particularly extreme environments such as found on other planetary bodies. Dirk Schulze-Makuch is best known for his publications on extraterrestrial life, being coauthor of three books on the topic: "We Are Not Alone: Why We Have Already Found Extraterrestrial Life" (2010), "Cosmic Biology: How Life could Evolve on Other Worlds" (2010), and "Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints" (2004). In 2011 he published with Paul Davies "A One Way Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet" and in 2012 with David Darling "Megacatastrophes Nine Strange Ways the World Could End."

This volume presents a full mathematical exposition of the growing field of coronal seismology which will prove invaluable for graduate students and researchers alike. Roberts' detailed and original research draws upon the principles of fluid mechanics and electromagnetism, as well as observations from the TRACE and SDO spacecraft and key results in solar wave theory. The unique challenges posed by the extreme conditions of the Sun's atmosphere, which often frustrate attempts to develop a comprehensive theory, are tackled with rigour and precision; complex models of sunspots, coronal loops and prominences are presented, based on a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) view of the solar atmosphere, and making use of Faraday's concept of magnetic flux tubes to analyse oscillatory phenomena. The rapid rate of progress in coronal seismology makes this essential reading for those hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the field.