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Solar-Planetary Relationships: Magnetospheric PhysicsThe quadrennium 1975-1978 was a period of great advance for solar-wind studies, a period that combined exploration of new regions with increased maturity in established fields of study. The Helios, Pioneer, and Voyager spacecraft have been exploring the inner and outer regions of the solar wind. There has been a rebirth of the study of possible relations between solar variability and Earth's climate and weather, stimulated largely by Eddy's investigation of the Maunder Minimum; the solar wind may well prove to be a significant link in solar-terrestrial relations. Unique coronal data from the SKYLAB 1973-1974 mission, in combination with satellite and ground-based observations, provided the basis for identification of coronal holes as the main source of highspeed solar wind. The interplanetary medium has continued to serve as a laboratory for the study of plasma processes that cannot yet be studied in terrestrial laboratories, providing insights of potential importance both for controlled fusion research and for astrophysics. It is ironic that such a productive period, the legacy of many past space missions, was also a time of severely limited opportunity for new space investigations; the outlook for the future is equally austere. Especially regrettable is the dearth of career opportunities for young scientists in this field; comparison of the bibliography of this report with that of its predecessor 4 years ago shows few new names. Despite such problems, research has continued with enthusiasm and much has been learned. The present report will survey selected topics related to the origin, expansion, and acceleration of the solar wind and the plasma physics of the interplanetary medium. Companion reports deal with a number of closely related topics, including the heliocentric distance and latitude variation of the solar wind and its fluctuations topology of the interplanetary magnetic field morphology of solar-wind streams and shocks, sunweather studies, and interplanetary manifestations of type-3 bursts. Of the subjects that fall within the scope of this report, the study of the relationship between coronal holes and solar-wind streams, and the associated revision of our ideas about solar wind acceleration and heating, have had the most impact; hence I review these topics in considerable detail. In addition, I discuss the topics of hydromagnetic waves and turbulence, and interplanetary electrons, as items of particular importance during the past quadrennium.
Document ID
19980217101
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Barnes, Aaron (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: Review of Geophysics and Space Physics
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 17
Issue: 4
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.15:207889
NASA/TM-1979-207889
Paper-9R0447
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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