Auroral Physics
Auroral Physics

Author: David J. Knudsen

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2021-08-27

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9789402421217

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This volume surveys our current scientific understanding of the terrestrial aurora. It is organized into eleven reviews detailing theoretical and observational aspects of characteristic auroral morphologies, and how these in turn are organized according to local time, latitude, and activity level. Popular descriptions often attribute the aurora to the interaction of charged particles from the solar wind with atoms in the upper atmosphere. In fact, most auroras are not the result of direct entry of solar wind particles. Rather, as detailed in this volume, auroral particle acceleration and generation of auroral forms occur primarily within the magnetosphere. Importantly, many key aspects of the aurora – most notably, the physical mechanisms responsible for the generation of discrete arcs – are still unexplained, and auroral physics continues to be an active area of scientific research. Each review chapter therefore includes a summary of open questions for further investigation. Providing the first comprehensive review of the terrestrial aurora in two decades, this book will aid both active researchers and newcomers interested in understanding the current state of the field. Previously published Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Auroral Physics”

The Northern Lights
The Northern Lights

Author: Lucy Jago

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780140290158

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Just over one hundred years ago Kristian Birkeland looked into the night sky of his native Norway and saw in the beautiful Northern Lights a mystery waiting to be solved. Determined to prove to the world his bold theory about the heavens above, this misunderstood genius began a quest that would take him from Norway's ice mountains to the deserts of Africa, and across a continent ravaged by war. It was a quest that alienated friends and family, ruined his health and sanity, and ended in his mysterious death in a Japanese hotel in 1917. Lucy Jago brilliantly tells the fascinating and tragic story of Kristian Birkeland, the man who saw in the night sky a secret that no one else could see, but who died trying to convince the world of his vision.

Auroral Plasma Physics
Auroral Plasma Physics

Author: Götz Paschmann

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 9400710860

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This volume gives a broad synthesis of the current knowledge and understanding of the plasma physics behind the aurora. The aurora is not only one of the most spectacular natural phenomena on Earth, but the underlying physical processes are expected to be ubiquitous in the plasma universe. Recognizing the enormous progress made over the last decade) through in situ and groundbased measurements as well as theoretical modelling, it seemed timely to write the first comprehensive and integrated book on the subject. Recent advances concern the clarification of the nature of the acceleration process of the electrons that are responsible for the visible aurora, the recognition of the fundamental role of the large-scale current systems in organizing the auroral morphology, and of the interplay between particles and electromagnetic fields.

Auroral Phenomenology and Magnetospheric Processes
Auroral Phenomenology and Magnetospheric Processes

Author: Andreas Keiling

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-05-09

Total Pages: 794

ISBN-13: 1118671538

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Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 197. Many of the most basic aspects of the aurora remain unexplained. While in the past terrestrial and planetary auroras have been largely treated in separate books, Auroral Phenomenology and Magnetospheric Processes: Earth and Other Planets takes a holistic approach, treating the aurora as a fundamental process and discussing the phenomenology, physics, and relationship with the respective planetary magnetospheres in one volume. While there are some behaviors common in auroras of the different planets, there are also striking differences that test our basic understanding of auroral processes. The objective, upon which this monograph is focused, is to connect our knowledge of auroral morphology to the physical processes in the magnetosphere that power and structure discrete and diffuse auroras. Understanding this connection will result in a more complete explanation of the aurora and also further the goal of being able to interpret the global auroral distributions as a dynamic map of the magnetosphere. The volume synthesizes five major areas: auroral phenomenology, aurora and ionospheric electrodynamics, discrete auroral acceleration, aurora and magnetospheric dynamics, and comparative planetary aurora. Covering the recent advances in observations, simulation, and theory, this book will serve a broad community of scientists, including graduate students, studying auroras at Mars, Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter. Projected beyond our solar system, it may also be of interest for astronomers who are looking for aurora-active exoplanets.