NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Stellar Ablation of Planetary AtmospheresWe review observations and theories of the solar ablation of planetary atmospheres, focusing on the terrestrial case where a large magnetosphere holds off the solar wind, so that there is little direct atmospheric impact, but also couples the solar wind electromagnetically to the auroral zones. We consider the photothermal escape flows known as the polar wind or refilling flows, the enhanced mass flux escape flows that result from localized solar wind energy dissipation in the auroral zones, and the resultant enhanced neutral atom escape flows. We term these latter two escape flows the "auroral wind." We review observations and theories of the heating and acceleration of auroral winds, including energy inputs from precipitating particles, electromagnetic energy flux at magnetohydrodynamic and plasma wave frequencies, and acceleration by parallel electric fields and by convection pickup processes also known as "centrifugal acceleration." We consider also the global circulation of ionospheric plasmas within the magnetosphere, their participation in magnetospheric disturbances as absorbers of momentum and energy, and their ultimate loss from the magnetosphere into the downstream solar wind, loading reconnection processes that occur at high altitudes near the magnetospheric boundaries. We consider the role of planetary magnetization and the accumulating evidence of stellar ablation of extrasolar planetary atmospheres. Finally, we suggest and discuss future needs for both the theory and observation of the planetary ionospheres and their role in solar wind interactions, to achieve the generality required for a predictive science of the coupling of stellar and planetary atmospheres over the full range of possible conditions.
Document ID
20080039628
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Moore, Thomas E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Horwitz, J. L.
(Texas Univ. Arlington, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
August 9, 2007
Publication Information
Publication: Reviews of Geophysics
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 45
ISSN: 8755-1209
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
Paper number 2005RG000194
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: UPN 370-08-43
CONTRACT_GRANT: UPN 432-01-34
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG05GF67G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATM-0505918
CONTRACT_GRANT: UPN 370-28-20
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available