NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committees responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by Contract NASW 96013 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Cover: Solar x-ray images of the Sun's atmosphere from the Yohkoh mission of ISAS, Japan. Obtained between 1991 (bottom) and 1995 (top) at regular intervals, they provide a dramatic view of how the corona changes during the waning portion of the solar cycle. The Sun's atmosphere, heated to millions of degrees, is hot enough to emit x rays, while its much cooler surface (at about 6,000 °C) is not. As a result, an x-ray image of the Sun will display a bright glow for the corona and a black disk for the surface. The images in this figure also show that as the solar activity cycle progresses from maximum to minimum, the Sun's magnetic field changes from a complex structure to a simpler configuration with fewer fields. Image credit: “The Changing Sun,” Lockheed Martin Palo Alto Research Laboratory, G.L. Slater and G.A. Linford.
Copies of this report are available from
Space Studies Board
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Copyright 1998 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS
GEORGE L. SISCOE,
Boston University,
Chair
SPIRO K. ANTIOCHOS, *
Naval Research Laboratory.
CHARLES W. CARLSON,
University of California, Berkeley
ROBERT L. CAROVILLANO,
Boston College
TAMAS I. GOMBOSI,
University of Michigan
RAYMOND A. GREENWALD,
Applied Physics Laboratory
JUDITH T. KARPEN,
Naval Research Laboratory
ROBERT P. LIN, *
University of California, Berkeley
GLENN M. MASON,
University of Maryland
MARGARET A. SHEA,
Air Force Phillips Laboratory
HARLAN E. SPENCE, *
Boston University
KEITH T. STRONG,
Lockheed Palo Alto Research Center
MICHELLE F. THOMSEN, *
Los Alamos National Laboratory
RICHARD A. WOLF,
Rice University
ARTHUR A. CHARO, Senior Program Officer
CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Senior Program Assistant
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* |
Term ended in 1997. |
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
CLAUDE R. CANIZARES,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Chair
MARK R. ABBOTT,
Oregon State University
JAMES P. BAGIAN, *
Environmental Protection Agency
DANIEL N. BAKER,
University of Colorado
LAWRENCE BOGORAD,
Harvard University
DONALD E. BROWNLEE,
University of Washington
JOHN J. DONEGAN, *
John Donegan Associates, Inc.
GERARD W. ELVERUM, JR.,
TRW Space and Technology Group
ANTHONY W. ENGLAND,
University of Michigan
MARILYN L. FOGEL,
Carnegie Institution of Washington
MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, *
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RONALD GREELEY,
Arizona State University
BILL GREEN, former member,
U.S. House of Representatives
ANDREW H. KNOLL,
Harvard University
JANET G. LUHMANN, *
University of California, Berkeley
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER,
CIESIN
BERRIEN MOORE III,
University of New Hampshire
KENNETH H. NEALSON, *
University of Wisconsin
MARY JANE OSBORN,
University of Connecticut Health Center
SIMON OSTRACH,
Case Western Reserve University
MORTON B. PANISH,
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
CARLÉ M. PIETERS,
Brown University
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
MARCIA J. RIEKE, *
University of Arizona
PEDRO L. RUSTAN, JR.,
U.S. Air Force (retired)
JOHN A. SIMPSON,
Enrico Fermi Institute
GEORGE L. SISCOE,
Boston University
EDWARD M. STOLPER,
California Institute of Technology
RAYMOND VISKANTA,
Purdue University
ROBERT E. WILLIAMS,
Space Telescope Science Institute
JOSEPH K. ALEXANDER, Director (as of February 17, 1998)
MARC S. ALLEN, Director (through December 12, 1997)
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* |
Term ended in 1997. |
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation,
Co-chair
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado,
Co-chair
PETER M. BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
WILLIAM BROWDER,
Princeton University
LAWRENCE D. BROWN,
University of Pennsylvania
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
JOHN E. ESTES,
University of California at Santa Barbara
MARTHA P. HAYNES,
Cornell University
L. LOUIS HEGEDUS,
Elf Atochem North America, Inc.
JOHN E. HOPCROFT,
Cornell University
CAROL M. JANTZEN,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
PAUL G. KAMINSKI,
Technovation, Inc.
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
KENNETH I. KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California at Los Angeles
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
CHANG-LIN TIEN,
University of California at Berkeley
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
COMMITTEE ON SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL RESEARCH
MICHAEL C. KELLEY,
Cornell University,
Chair
GUY P. BRASSEUR, *
National Center for Atmospheric Research
JOHN T. GOSLING, *
Los Alamos National Laboratory
MAURA HAGAN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
MARY K. HUDSON,
Dartmouth College
GORDON HURFORD, *
California Institute of Technology
NORMAN F. NESS,
Bartol Research Institute
THOMAS F. TASCIONE,
Sterling Software
H. FRANK EDEN, Senior Program Officer
DORIS BOUADJEMI, Administrative Assistant
TENECIA A. BROWN, Administrative Assistant
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* |
Term ended in 1997. |
BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE
ERIC J. BARRON,
Pennsylvania State University,
Co-Chair
JAMES R. MAHONEY,
International Technology Corporation,
Co-Chair
SUSAN K. AVERY,
CIRES
LANCE F. BOSART,
State University of New York at Albany
MARVIN A. GELLER,
State University of New York at Stony Brook
DONALD M. HUNTEN,
University of Arizona
JOHN IMBRIE,
Brown University
CHARLES E. KOLB,
Aerodyne Research Inc.
THOMAS J. LENNON,
WSI Corporation
MARK R. SCHOEBERL,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
ELBERT (JOE) W. FRIDAY, JR., Director (as of July 20, 1998)
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Director (through March 31, 1998)
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER,
University of Virginia,
Chair
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington
B. JOHN GARRICK,
St. George, Utah
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
Yale University
DEBRA KNOPMAN,
Progressive Foundation
KAI N. LEE,
Williams College
JUDITH E. McDOWELL,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
RICHARD A. MESERVE,
Covington and Burling, Washington, D.C.
HUGH C. MORRIS,
Canadian Global Change Program
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
H. RONALD PULLIAM,
University of Georgia
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
E-AN ZEN,
University of Maryland
MARY LOU ZOBACK,
U.S. Geological Survey
ROBERT M. HAMILTON, Executive Director (as of December 31, 1997)
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Exective Director (through August 1997)
Foreword
Studies of the Sun have both scientific and practical benefits. Being 100,000 times closer and 10 billion times brighter than any other star, the Sun is a unique laboratory for gaining deep understanding of stellar astrophysics. The Sun is also Earth's one and only external source of energy. Changes in its electromagnetic and particle output affect the structure of our atmosphere, as well as the radiation environment encountered by orbiting satellites.
The next maximum in the roughly dozen-year cycle of solar activity is now only a few years away. This report takes a broad look at how the nation is preparing to observe and understand solar phenomena from space during this peak period. The Committee on Solar and Space Physics together with the Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Research considered the plans of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy, all of which have some relevant interest and involvement. There are specific findings and recommendations for each agency.
The nation seems well positioned to make the best of the coming swell of solar activity. Many spacecraft are already in place or under development that will measure different aspects of the event. With the appropriate coordination and supporting research, this phase of the Sun's cycle could yield important results for science and society.
Claude R. Canizares, Chair
Space Studies Board
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's (NRC's) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The contents of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Loren Acton, Montana State University,
Christopher F. McKee, University of California, Berkeley,
P. Buford Price, University of California, Berkeley,
Patricia H. Reiff, Rice University,
Christopher T. Russell, University of California, Los Angeles, and
John R. Winckler, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Minnesota.
Although the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committees and the NRC.
