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PHY 424: Atmospheric and Space Physics

A 3-credit course offered as part of the Minor in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A), and also available as an elective for students pursuing a major in Physics.

This course is part of the Space and Planetary Science (SPS) track of A&A Minor. The necessary mathematics and physics are introduced from the ground up, ensuring accessibility for students from diverse backgrounds, including physical and life sciences, electrical engineering, and computer science.

Prerequisite: Familiarity with calculus and willingness to learn more calculus during the course.

Course Content

Heliosphere

How is the heliosphere created? Define plasma in the context of the solar system. A brief history of space physics. What are the different magnetospheres within the heliosphere?

Trapped particles

How to describe the gyration of charged particles in the magnetic field lines of Earth? Why do the particles bounce and drift along with the gyration? Which quantities are considered adiabatic invariants?

Collisions and conduction

Collisions in ionized plasma, plasma conductivity, formation of the ionosphere, ionospheric conductivity, ionospheric currents, auroras.

Convection and storms

Diffusion and frozen flux, magnetic merging, convection electric field, corotation and plasmasphere, high-latitude electrodynamics, auroral electrojets, substorms.

Space Dynamics

How to send a spacecraft to orbit Mars?

Space Mission

Design a scientific space mission including its total cost.

Keystone Project

Design a mock space mission for a specific scientific purpose.

Textbooks

  1. James R. Holton, An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Academic Press, 5th edition.
  2. Robert G. Fleagle, An Introduction to Atmospheric Physics, Academic Press, 2nd edition.
  3. W. Baumjohann and R. A. Treumann, Basic Space Plasma Physics, Imperial College Press, 1997.
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