The eleventh COSPAR colloquium The Outer Heliosphere: The Next Frontiers was held in Potsdam, Germany, from 24-28 July, 2000, and is the second dedicated to this subject after the first one held in Warsaw, Poland in 1989.Roughly a century has passed after the first ideas by Oliver Lodge, George Francis Fitzgerald and Kristan Birkeland about particle clouds emanating from the Sun and interacting with the Earth environment. Only a few decades after the formulation of the concepts of a continuous solar corpuscular radiation by Ludwig Bierman and a solar wind by Eugene Parker, heliospheric physics has evolved into an important branch of astrophysical research. Numerous spacecraft missions have increased the knowledge about the heliosphere tremendously. Now, at the beginning of a new millenium it seems possible, by newly developed propulasion technologies to send a spacecraft beyond the boundaries of the heliosphere. Such an Interstellar Proce will start the in-situ exploration of interstellar space and, thus, can be considered as the first true astrophysical spacecraft. The year 2000 appeared to be a highly welcome occassion to review the achievements since the last COSPAR Colloquia 11 years ago, to summarize the present developments and to give new impulse for future activities in heliospheric research.

NASA has now sent a robot beyond our solar system—and another is on its way! Through detailed, fascinating main content and sidebars, readers learn about the process of creating the technology for the amazing Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes. Their unique features are described, and full-color photographs and illustrations further showcase the impressive abilities of these robots. This book introduces the many STEM careers important to the Voyager missions as well as the long-term future of these probes. Readers today could be the Voyager scientists of tomorrow!

This book is the result of a working group sponsored by ISSI in Bern, which was initially created to study possible ways to calibrate a Far Ultraviolet (FUV) instrument after launch. In most cases, ultraviolet instruments are well calibrated on the ground, but unfortunately, optics and detectors in the FUV are very sensitive to contaminants and it is very challenging to prevent contamination before and during the test and launch sequences of a space mission. Therefore, ground calibrations need to be confirmed after launch and it is necessary to keep track of the temporal evolution of the sensitivity of the instrument during the mission. The studies presented here cover various fields of FUV spectroscopy, including a catalog of stellar spectra, datasets of Moon Irradiance, observations of comets and measurements of the interplanetary background. Detailed modelling of the interplanetary background is presented as well. This work also includes comparisons of older datasets with current ones. This raises the question of the consistency of the existing datasets. Previous experiments have been calibrated independently and comparison of the datasets may lead to inconsistencies. The authors have tried to check that possibility in the datasets and when relevant suggest a correction factor for the corresponding data.

When we look at a starry night sky, we are looking out through vast invisible expanses of our own Solar System. The planets, appearing as bright specks, have been revealed as worlds by space missions. However, the invisible spaces between them are equally interesting. Unseen forces, such as the effect of gravity, spiraling magnetic fields, and subatomic particles, originate from the Sun. Celestial bodies too small to see form unexpected patterns, while atoms and nuclei are hidden even if in our own bodies. Weaving the history of discovery with clear explanations, Invisible Solar System pulls back the cloak of invisibility under which myriad aspects of the local region of space are connected. Features: • Gravity, originally seen as an invisible force, is now revealed as a curvature of spacetime, and, even in its simple form, enables amazing patterns to form • The smallest particles have other structures that enable them to interact, powering the present Solar System while also giving clues to nuclear events past and present • Long-range forces of electricity and magnetism connect the Sun and planets, dominating the hot plasma gas of space while protecting us from cosmic rays via multiple layers of magnetic shields Martin Connors is a Professor of Astronomy, Mathematics, and Physics at Canada’s dominant distance education institution, Athabasca University. He is also affiliated with the planetary science group at Western University in London, Canada. He has authored numerous courses and scientific articles. His wide-ranging research has extended from the history of astronomy, through asteroids and their impact craters, to auroras and their magnetic effects. He has been a visiting professor at UCLA and at Nagoya University in Japan. When not doing scientific work, he reads about history, practices foreign languages, and blends photography with travel when possible.