Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
This article is a list of notable unsolved problems in astronomy.Problems may be theoretical or experimental. Theoretical problems result from inability of current theories to explain observed phenomena or experimental results.
Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy , aurorae , planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres , radiation belts , and space weather (collectively known as solar-terrestrial physics [ 1 ] ).
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. [1] [2] As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their positions or motions in space—what they are, rather than where they are", [3] which is studied ...
Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun.It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics and astrophysics.. Because the Sun is uniquely situated for close-range observing (other stars cannot be resolved with anything like the spatial or temporal resolution that the Sun can), there is a split between the related discipline of observational ...
The dynamic pressure of the wind dominates over the magnetic pressure through most of the Solar System (or heliosphere), so that the magnetic field is pulled into an Archimedean spiral pattern (the Parker spiral [6]) by the combination of the outward motion and the Sun's rotation. In near-Earth space, the IMF nominally makes an angle of ...
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to detect sodium and aluminum ions in the solar wind, as well as helium in the inner Solar System. [66] In November 1972, Pioneer 10 encountered Jupiter's enormous (compared to Earth) magnetosphere and would pass in and out of it and its heliosphere 17 times charting its interaction with the solar wind. [ 66 ]
Developmental Ephemeris or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Developmental Ephemeris (JPL DE) is a widely used model of the solar system, which combines celestial mechanics with numerical analysis and astronomical and spacecraft data. Dynamics of the celestial spheres concerns pre-Newtonian explanations of the causes of the motions of the stars and ...
The solar wind is guided by the Sun's magnetic field and hence largely emanates from the polar regions of the Sun; the induced spiral shape of the field causes a drag torque on the poles due to the magnetic tension force. During solar maximum the entire magnetic field of the Sun flips, thus alternating the polarity of the field every solar ...