Solar radiation data is important for a wide range of applications, e.g. in engineering, agriculture, health sector, and in many fields of the natural sciences. A few examples showing the diversity of applications may include: architecture and building design, e.g. air conditioning and cooling systems; solar heating system design and use; solar power generation; evaporation and irrigation; calculation of water requirements for crops; monitoring plant growth and disease control; skin cancer research.

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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This book describes the relationship between the atmosphere and the external plasma of Earth in an unconventional manner. While the main mechanical energy is located in the dense atmosphere, the presence of Earth's plasma environment, which is immersed in the magnetosphere, causes a number of very interesting effects on the atmosphere. A list of such effects includes magnetic substorms, magnetic storms and aurora to the dynamics of the upper atmosphere, heating, thermal expansion, and vertical and horizontal winds. Particle precipitation produces excess ionization and electric currents, causes electric fields, affects recombination and modifies chemical reactions. These are processes which may become important in the climate. The collected articles provide an overview of these effects. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers active in the areas of atmospheric science and space science. Previously published in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 168/1-4, 2012.

Roger-Maurice Bonnet*Michel Blanc Originally published in the journal Space Science Reviews, Volume 137, Nos 1-4. DOI: 10. 1007/s11214-008-9418-0 (c) Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2008 "Planetary Atmospheric Electricity" is the rst publication of its kind in the Space Science Series of ISSI. It is the result of a new and successful joint venture between ISSI and Eu- planet. Europlanet is a network of over 110 European and U. S. laboratories deeply involved in the development of planetary sciences and support to the European planetary space exp- ration programme. In 2004, the Europlanet consortium obtained support from the European Commission to strengthen the planetary science community worldwide, and to amplify the scienti c output, impact and visibility of the European space programme, essentially the - ropean Space Agency's Horizon 2000, Cosmic Vision programmes and their successors. Its presentcontractwiththeCommissionextendsfrom2005to2008,andincludes7networking activities, including discipline-based working groups covering the main areas of planetary sciences. A new contract with the Commission, presently under negotiation, will extend - roplanet's activities into the period 2009-2012. With the broad community connection made through its Discipline Working Groups and other activities, Europlanet offers an ideal base from which to identify new elds of research for planetary sciences and to stimulate coll- orative work among its member laboratories.

Cosmogenic radionuclides are radioactive isotopes which are produced by natural processes and distributed within the Earth system. With a holistic view of the environment the authors show in this book how cosmogenic radionuclides can be used to trace and to reconstruct the history of a large variety of processes. They discuss the way in which cosmogenic radionuclides can assist in the quantification of complex processes in the present-day environment. The book aims to demonstrate to the reader the strength of analytic tools based on cosmogenic radionuclides, their contribution to almost any field of modern science, and how these tools may assist in the solution of many present and future problems that we face here on Earth. The book provides a comprehensive discussion of the basic principles behind the applications of cosmogenic (and other) radionuclides as environmental tracers and dating tools. The second section of the book discusses in some detail the production of radionuclides by cosmic radiation, their transport and distribution in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, their storage in natural archives, and how they are measured. The third section of the book presents a number of examples selected to illustrate typical tracer and dating applications in a number of different spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, solar physics and astronomy). At the same time the authors have outlined the limitations of the use of cosmogenic radionuclides. Written on a level understandable by graduate students without specialist skills in physics or mathematics, the book addresses a wide audience, ranging from archaeology, biophysics, and geophysics, to atmospheric physics, hydrology, astrophysics and space science.

This book reviews the principle and rationale for using artificial gravity during space missions, and describes the current options proposed, including a short-radius centrifuge contained within a spacecraft. Experts provide recommendations on the research needed to assess whether or not short-radius centrifuge workouts can help limit deconditioning of physiological systems. Many detailed illustrations are included.

The concept of summerschools and workshops at the Kanzelh. ohe .. Solar Observatory,Karn ...ten,Austria,devotedtoup-to-datetopicsinsolarphysics has been proven to be extremely successful, and thus in August/September 2003 the third combined summerschool and workshop was held there. This book contains the proceedings of the Summerschool and Wo- shop "Solar Magnetic Phenomena" held from 25 August to 5 September 2003 at the Solar Observatory Kanzelh. ohe, .. which belongs to the Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics and Meteorology of the University of Graz, Austria. The book contains the contributions from six invited lecturers. They give an overview on the following topics: observations of the pho- sphere and chromosphere, solar ?are observations and theory, coronal mass ejections and the relevance of magnetic helicity, high-energy radiation from the Sun, the physics of solar prominences and highlights from the SOHO mission. The lectures contain about 25 to 30 pages each and provide a valuableintroduction to the topics mentioned above. The comprehensive lists ofreferences at theendof each contribution enablethe interested reader to go into more detail. The second part of the book contains contributed papers. These - pers were presented anddiscussed in theworkshop sessions during the afternoons. The sessions stimulated intensive discussions between the p- ticipants and lecturers.

This book explores the character and contours of the Asian Space Powers. At present, Asian states like China, Japan and India are found investing in space technologies with analogous social and scientific and probably with divergent military intents. Other Asian states like Israel, South Korea and Malaysia are also making investments in the space arena. States like Iran and North Korea are faulted for using space launches as a demonstrative tool to achieve strategic objectives. This work examines this entire maze of activities to unearth where these states are making these investments to accomplish their state-specific goal or are they also trying to surpass each other by engaging in competition. Explaining why and how these states are making investments towards achieving their socio-economic and strategic mandate this book infers that the possibility of Asian Space Race exists but is presently fairly diminutive.

This book is an outgrowth of courses in plasma physics which I have taught at Kiel University for many years. During this time I have tried to convince my students that plasmas as different as gas dicharges, fusion plasmas and space plasmas can be described in a uni ed way by simple models. The challenge in teaching plasma physics is its apparent complexity. The wealth of plasma phenomena found in so diverse elds makes it quite different from atomic physics, where atomic structure, spectral lines and chemical binding can all be derived from a single equation-the Schroedinger equation. I positively accept the variety of plasmas and refrain from subdividing plasma physics into the traditional, but arti cially separated elds, of hot, cold and space plasmas. This is why I like to confront my students, and the readers of this book, with examples from so many elds. By this approach, I believe, they will be able to become discoverers who can see the commonality between a falling apple and planetary motion. As an experimentalist, I am convinced that plasma physics can be best understood from a bottom-up approach with many illustrating examples that give the students con dence in their understanding of plasma processes. The theoretical framework of plasma physics can then be introduced in several steps of re nement. In the end, the student (or reader) will see that there is something like the Schroedinger equation, namely the Vlasov-Maxwell model of plasmas, from which nearly all phenomena in collisionless plasmas can be derived.

Brings together for the first time details of the technology available and being developed to provide totally reusable launch vehicles for the future exploitation and exploration of space.

As our closest stellar companion and composed of two Sun-like stars and a third small dwarf star, Alpha Centauri is an ideal testing ground of astrophysical models and has played a central role in the history and development of modern astronomy-from the first guesses at stellar distances to understanding how our own star, the Sun, might have evolved. It is also the host of the nearest known exoplanet, an ultra-hot, Earth-like planet recently discovered. Just 4.4 light years away Alpha Centauri is also the most obvious target for humanity's first directed interstellar space probe. Such a mission could reveal the small-scale structure of a new planetary system and also represent the first step in what must surely be humanity's greatest future adventure-exploration of the Milky Way Galaxy itself. For all of its closeness, Centauri continues to tantalize astronomers with many unresolved mysteries, such as how did it form, how many planets does it contain and where are they, and how might we view its extensive panorama directly? In this book we move from the study of individual stars to the study of our Solar System and our nearby galactic neighborhood. On the way we will review the rapidly developing fields of exoplanet formation and detection.

Devised for a quantitative understanding of the physics of the universe from the solar system through the milky way to clusters of galaxies all the way to cosmology, this acclaimed text offers among the most concise and most critical ones of extant works. Special chapters are devoted to magnetic and radiation processes, disks, black-hole candidacy, bipolar flows, cosmic rays, gamma-ray bursts, image distortions, and special sources. At the same time, planet earth is viewed as the arena for life, with plants and animals having evolved to homo sapiens during cosmic time. This text is unique in covering the basic qualitative and quantitative tools, formulae as well as numbers, needed to for the precise interpretation of frontline phenomena.

The impact of anthropogenic activities on our atmospheric environment is of growing public concern and satellite-based techniques now provide an essential component of observational strategies on regional and global scales. The purpose of this book is to summarise the state of the art in the field in general, while describing both key techniques and findings in particular. It opens with an historical perspective of the field together with the basic principles of remote sensing from space. Three chapters follow on the techniques and on the solutions to the problems associated with the various spectral regions in which observations are made. The particular challenges posed by aerosols and clouds are covered in the next two chapters. Of special importance is the accuracy and reliability of remote sensing data and these issues are covered in a chapter on validation. The final section of the book is concerned with the exploitation of data, with chapters on observational aspects, which includes both individual and synergistic studies, and on the comparison of global and regional observations with chemical transport and climate models and the added value that the interaction brings to both. The book concludes with scientific needs and likely future developments in the field, and the necessary actions to be taken if we are to have the global observation system that the Earth needs in its present, deteriorating state. The appendices provide a comprehensive list of satellite instruments, global representations of some ancillary data such as fire counts and light pollution, a list of abbreviations and acronyms, and a set of colourful timelines indicating the satellite coverage of tropospheric composition in the foreseeable future. Altogether, this book will be a timely reference and overview for anyone working at the interface of environmental, atmospheric and space sciences.

Navigation in Space by X-ray Pulsars will consist of two parts. One is on modeling of X-ray pulsar signals. The second part explains how X-ray pulsar signals can be used to solve the relative navigation problem. This book formulates the problem, proposes a recursive solution, and analyzes different aspects of the navigation system. This book will be a comprehensive source for researchers. It provides new research results on signal processing techniques needed for X-ray pulsar based navigation in deep space.

This book provides an in-depth coverage of modern research on dynamical systems. The first part discusses stellar dynamics, integrable systems, the transition to chaos and instabilities in stellar dynamics as well as the dynamics of spiral galaxies. Models are given and compared with observations. The second part is devoted to the direct method of N-body simulations, to gas dynamics simulations and to galaxy formation.
Special care is taken to give to a pedagogical presentation of the material which makes this a unique text well suited for graduate courses in astrophysics.

These proceedings bring together ideas from solar and stellar physics. The sun is near enough for rather detailed observations and one chapter is devoted to the more recent experimental data from observations from space. On the other hand the multitude of stars provides a wide range of physical parameters to test hypotheses in solar and stellar astrophysics. The reader will find an illuminating overview of these fields ranging from the dynamo in the convection zone to the stellar envelopes and winds in the outer regions. In particular the importance of small-scale magnetohydrodynamic processes for the activity phenomena plays an important role in the contributions to this volume. For both students and researchers the general introduction by N. O. Weiss makes an excellent guide to this very active field of research. (See also Lecture Notes in Physics Vol. 291.)

These review articles by outstanding specialists cover the present status ofthe observations of the spectrum and of the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Experimental developments, data analysis and related theoretical aspects are also treated. The idea is to review and discuss at a level accessible to non-specialised astronomers and graduate students the most recent developments in this field as well as the future perspectives for astrophysics and cosmology in particular.

This book brings together a variety of review articles on dynamical phenomena in the solar corona in order to work out the unifying aspects of magnetic energy releases. The experimental data from groundbased methods of radio astronomy as well as from satellites are also discussed. The book addresses researchers in astrophysics, and planetary science but should also be accessible to graduate students.

This two-part book is devoted to classic fundamentals and current practices and perspectives of modern plasma astrophysics. This first part uniquely covers all the basic principles and practical tools required for understanding and work in plasma astrophysics. More than 25% of the text is updated from the first edition, including new figures, equations and entire sections on topics such as magnetic reconnection and the Grad-Shafranov equation. The book is aimed at professional researchers in astrophysics, but it will also be useful to graduate students in space sciences, geophysics, applied physics and mathematics, especially those seeking a unified view of plasma physics and fluid mechanics.

This book provides an overview of the basic concepts and new methods in the emerging scientific area known as quantum plasmas. In the near future, quantum effects in plasmas will be unavoidable, particularly in high density scenarios such as those in the next-generation intense laser-solid density plasma experiment or in compact astrophysics objects. Currently, plasmas are in the forefront of many intriguing questions around the transition from microscopic to macroscopic modeling of charged particle systems. Quantum Plasmas: an Hydrodynamic Approach is devoted to the quantum hydrodynamic model paradigm, which, unlike straight quantum kinetic theory, is much more amenable to investigate the nonlinear realm of quantum plasmas. The reader will have a step-by-step construction of the quantum hydrodynamic method applied to plasmas. The book is intended for specialists in classical plasma physics interested in methods of quantum plasma theory, as well as scientists interested in common aspects of two major areas of knowledge: plasma and quantum theory. In these chapters, the quantum hydrodynamic model for plasmas, which has continuously evolved over the past decade, will be summarized to include both the development and applications of the method.

Incoming Asteroid is based on a project within ASTRA (the Association in Scotland to Research into Astronautics) to provide scientific answers to the question what would we do if we knew there was going to be an asteroid impact in ten years time or less?
Clearly there are many things humanity can do nothing about, for example an unseen object traveling towards us so fast that we have no time to prepare, or an object so large it may be unstoppable. A realistic hazard model was decided upon, and the scenario developed from that: an incoming object about 1 kilometer in diameter, in an orbit ranging from the outer rim of the Asteroid Belt to within that of Earth s.
Three basic possibilities are considered in this book. The first is the deflection of the asteroid, using remote probes along with a number of possible technologies to change the asteroid s course. Second is the attempt of a manned mission, in order to plant a propulsion system on the asteroid to push it into a different orbit. Third is the nuclear option, a last-ditch attempt to break up and then disperse the asteroid using nuclear weapons. (A rather impractical combination of these second and third options were used as the plot of the popular 1998 Bruce Willis feature film, Armageddon.)
Although the cost of developing the technology needed to protect the Earth would be substantial, there would certainly be spin-off benefits. These could eventually result in practical small-scale atomic energy sources, new propulsion systems that could make extraterrestrial mining within the solar system a possibility, and other as-yet unforeseen benefits.

And finally, Incoming Asteroid considers the political implications - how governments across the world should best react to the threat with a view to minimizing loss of life, and in the weeks running up to the possible impact, preventing panic in the population."

Since the launch of UoSat-1 of the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) in 1981, small satellites proved regularly to be useful, beneficial, and cost-effective tools. Typical tasks cover education and workforce development, technology demonstration, verification and validation, scientific and engineering research as well as commercial applications. Today the launch masses range over almost three orders of magnitude starting at less than a kilogram up to a few hundred kilograms, with budgets of less than US$ 100.00 and up to millions within very short timeframes of sometimes less than two years. Therefore each category of small satellites provides specific challenges in design, development and operations. Small satellites offer great potentials to gain responsive, low-cost access to space within a short timeframe for institutions, companies, regions and countries beyond the traditional big players in the space arena. For these reasons (particularly the low cost of construction, launch and operation), small (micro, cube or nano) satellites are being preferred by students and educational institutions, amateur radio operators, small and developing countries, international aid agencies and most recently by defense agencies and satellite operators who are examining deployment of constellation clusters instead of conventional application satellites. In some cases these new capabilities are being deployed as hosted payloads on larger satellites. The advent of hosted payloads as a significant part of the satellite industry represents a key new topic that this book will address. The number of small satellites-of various types--is increasing fast as their benefits are being realized. This short and unique interdisciplinary book, covering both technical and regulatory aspects, examines all the different types of applications and reasons for small as well as exploring technical and operational innovations that are being introduced. It also examines the new technical standards, removal techniques or other methods that might help to address current problems and the regulatory issues and procedures to ameliorate problems associated with small satellites, especially mounting levels of orbital debris and noncompliance with radio frequency and national licensing requirements, liabilities, export controls and so on.

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."

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