Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission (MAVEN) observes a tenuous but ubiquitous flux of protons with the same energy as the solar wind in the Martian atmosphere. During high flux intervals, we observe a corresponding negative hydrogen population. The correlation between penetrating and solar wind fluxes, the constant energy, and the lack of a corresponding charged population at interme...

Looking at the solar photosphere, we see the top of the convection zone in the form of granulation: Hot gas rising from the solar interior as part of the energy transport process reaches a position where the opacity is no longer sufficient to prevent the escape of radiation. The gas expands, radiates, and cools and in so doing loses its buoyancy and descends. These motions, ultimately driven by...

Form for the 2012 SORCE Science Meeting – Annapolis, MD, Sept. 18-19 Models of Spectral Irradiance Variability Origins in the solar atmosphere and impacts on Earth’s atmosphere Session Themes (identify your preference if you have a preference): _____ 1. Modeling of the solar atmosphere with emphasis on spectral irradiance _____ 2. Modeling of the solar influence on Earth climate _____ 3. Observ...

The fraction of solar wind which interacts with the dayside ionosphere and atmosphere of Venus was calculated assuming the presence ofmagnetic field fluctuations in the, • ionosheath region and taking into consideration the interaction with the upper neutral atmosphere extending above the ionopause. The Monte Carlo calculations indicated that fluctuations with Brms/(B) of 0.3, a not unreasonabl...

Quasi-decadal variability in solar irradiance has been suggested to exert a substantial effect on Earth's regional climate. In the North Atlantic sector, the 11-year solar signal has been proposed to project onto a pattern resembling the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), with a lag of a few years due to ocean-atmosphere interactions. The solar/NAO relationship is, however, highly misrepresented...

Space Weather is the study of the conditions in the solar wind that can affect life on the surface of the Earth, particularly the increasingly technologically sophisticated devices that are part of modern life. Solar radio observations are relevant to such phenomena because they generally originate as events in the solar atmosphere, including flares, coronal mass ejections and shocks, that prod...

Using recently derived-values of the water vapor dimer spectral absorption cross section we calculate the water vapor dimer contribution to the clear sky absorption of solar radiation. We consider the water dimer concentrations deduced from local equilibrium thermodynamics, and we account for the overlap of water vapor dimer and monomer absorption bands. We estimate that water vapor dimer contr...

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) Mars orbiter has been gathering information on the Mars upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and solar and solar wind interactions since its orbit insertion in September 2014. MAVEN’s science goals are to understand processes driving the escape of atmospheric gases to space at the present epoch, and their variations with solar and local heliospheric c...

The Genesis Discovery mission returned solar matter in the form of the solar wind with the goal of obtaining precise solar isotopic abundances (for the first time) and greatly improved elemental abundances. Measurements of the light noble gases in regime samples demonstrate that isotopes are fractionated in the solar wind relative to the solar photosphere. Theory is required for correction. Mea...

The solar corona is the source of the solar wind, which is responsible for the heliosphere and plays a crucial role in solar/terrestrial phenomena. A comprehensive understanding of these phenomena can be established only by directly measuring ion and electron velocity distributions, plasma waves, and fluxes of energetic particles near the sun. The problem resulting from the inherent atmosphere ...