PHYS 564 Space Weather III :Magnetospheric Physics
During periods of solar and solar wind activity, geomagnetic storms and substorms inject plasma into the Earth's radiation belts that can cause spacecraft missions to fail, enhance auroral precipitation on the edges of the polar cap, and drive intense ionospheric currents that can disrupt electric transmission and cause power blackouts. The course will provide an understanding for the physics underlying these phenomena. Although PHYS 562 and PHYS 563 (Space Weather I and II) are highly recommended, they are not prerequisites.