(b) Student Projects
Students should be encouraged to also look at files not listed and at
other resource
material.
What is the polar aurora and what is known about it? | The Polar Aurora
(+H),
Electrons, Auroral Imaging, Auroral Acceleration.
| How were the radiation belts discovered? | Explorers 1 and 3 (+S), the
Radiation
Belts (+H,S).
| The active Sun | The Sun (+H,S) The Sun's Corona, Solar Energetic
Particles, "Birth of a Radiation Belt"
| High energy particles in space | Electrons (+H), Ions (+H) The
Radiation Belts
(+S), Energy, Energetic Particles, Cosmic
Rays, High Energy Particles in the Universe, Solar
Energetic Particles, "Birth of a Radiation Belt,"
| Magnetospheres of other planets | Magnetospheres Other than Ours, The
Io
Dynamo (see also Electric Currents from
Space (+H)).
| Satellite orbits | Synchronous Orbit, Lagrangian Points, The Wind
Spacecraft,
Low Polar Orbit. Supplement with readings on Kepler's laws and their use, and by
logging onto
home pages of various satellite missions, using listed links and resources.
| Dynamos in Space | Electric Currents from Space (+H,S)
| The Earth's Magnetosphere | An overview project: start with the
summary files
and branch out
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(c) Self Study
A teacher will occasionally come across a bright young student who seeks to know
"all about space
exploration" and is willing to invest attention and time. "The Exploration of
the Earth's
Magnetosphere" is meant for such use: it is self-contained and nonmathematical,
explicitely
addressing many facets and covering related areas of physics, astronomy and
history.
Students with a more technical background may want to go beyond the introductory
level of
"Exploration." A suitable place to start is "A Brief History of Magnetospheric
Physics During the
Spaceflight Era" which is also included. Space scientists and graduate students,
in particular, will
find leads to many key articles in the extensive bibliography of that work.
(d) "Space Physics for Poets "
In recent years, many undergraduate physics departments have instituted
nonmathematical
introductory courses for non-physics majors, sometimes whimsically titled
"Physics for
Poets."
"Exploration" can provide the outline of a one-semester course on a similar
level, which might well
be called "Space Physics for Poets." A teacher presenting such a course needs a
thorough
command of physics and some additional familiarity with the Earth-Sun
environment. The article
'A Brief History of Space Physics During the Spaceflight Era" included in these
web files contains
a great amount of relevant material, and more can be found in its large
bibliography and in the file
Additional Resources" reached from the home page of "Exploration."
Teachers are also advised to look up the article "Space Physics for Poets" in
The Physics
Teacher, vol. 35, p. 38-9, January 1997.
Happy Exploring!
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Last updated 25 November 2001
Re-formatted 9-28-2004
Above is background material for archival reference only.
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