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Research Areas
CSPAR conducts research in multiple areas of space plasma physics. However, our primary areas of interest include the following.
Solar and Heliospheric Physics
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The Sun is the center of our solar system and all life within it. Changes in the Sun, from long-term changes in brightness to short term flares directly affect Earth’s atmosphere and human society. In addition to radiant energy, the Sun also emits a high-speed stream of ionized plasma that forms a magnetic bubble, called the heliosphere, about the Sun and the solar system. This high speed plasma stream, called the solar wind, interacts with the Earth’s protective magnetic fields to cause disturbances called magnetic storms. For planets without a protective magnetic shield, like Mars, the solar wind is in direct contact with the planet’s atmosphere. The question of what happened to past Martian water may directly related to the interactions with the solar wind.
CSPAR researchers model the Sun and its behavior. They also model the solar wind, the heliospheric boundaries, and the interaction between the heliosphere and the interstellar medium outside the heliospheric boundaries.
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Geospace Physics
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Earth’s near-space environment is dominated by the electrodynamically coupled magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere known collectively as geospace. This region is a tightly coupled system characterized by plasma processes of ionized gases. Geospace acts both as a buffer and as a conduit between Earth and solar wind disturbances. The magnetosphere, for example, deflects most of the solar wind energy that would otherwise directly impact Earth. In this process, however, the magnetosphere is forced to reconfigure itself creating currents that flow throughout geospace, including Earth’s atmosphere.
Geospace is the location of most of our space activities. Communication, navigation, Earth weather and remote sensing, emergency location, defense reconnaissance, and NASA space science and astronomy missions are all affected by space weather. Space weather also causes disturbances of electric power grids and sensitive electronic systems on the ground. These include navigation systems used by commercial airliners.
CSPAR researchers strive to understand the complex interaction between Earth’s ionosphere, the magnetic regions about Earth, and the interactions between these regions and the solar wind.
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Aeronomy
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“Aeronomy is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of the composition, movement, and thermal balance of planetary atmospheres.” Banks and Kockarts, Aeronomy, (Academic Press) 1973.
Aeronomy focuses on the those parts of the Earth’s atmosphere from roughly 40 to 600 km. This includes the regions where the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station fly. (Most people are unaware that these missions are still well within Earth’s atmosphere!) Aeronomy requires a knowledge of the chemistry and physics of neutral and ionized gases, how they respond to external influences such as changes in the Sun, and how they interact with each other to redistribute energy. There is also a complex electrodynamic coupling between the Earth’s atmosphere and the near-space environment surrounding it. Aeronomy is not limited to just Earth. It is a discipline that can be used to understand all planetary atmospheres, which is relevant to NASA’s future exploration goals. For example, it is critical to understand the aeronomic properties of Mars’ atmosphere before a human landing.
CSPAR researchers model the structure of the upper atmosphere, and its coupling with the near-Earth plasmasphere.
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Space Weather
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We do not live in isolation; we are intimately coupled with the space environment through our technological needs, the habitability of planets and solar system bodies we plan to explore, and ultimately the fate of Earth itself. Variability in the near-Earth space environment affects the daily activities that constitute the underpinning of our society, including communication, navigation, and weather monitoring and prediction.
CSPAR researchers work to predict the details of solar disturbances that may affect humankind, society, and technology on Earth and throughout the solar system. This includes the nature of solar wind disturbances, their three-dimensional structure and evolution, and their geoeffectiveness (how much influence they may have).
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High Energy Astrophysics and Astronomy
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High energy astrophysics includes the most energetic and extreme phenomena in the universe, such as pulsars, black holes, and gamma ray bursts. In addition to understanding the origin and evolution of the universe, CSPAR researchers are able to test physical laws under extreme conditions that cannot be created on Earth.
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