Storms in Space [Paperback]

This book is the story of the mysterious region between Earth and the Sun, where violent storms rage unseen by human eyes.Disruption of spacecraft and satellites, television transmission failures and power blackouts are just a few of the powerful effects of space weather, caused by the charged particles and electromagnetic force fields that dominate space. This book compares terrestrial and space weather, and describes how space weather occurs and how it can be monitored and forecasted. Written from a personal perspective, this clear and compelling book will be valuable to anyone with an interest in understanding the phenomenon of space weather.Disruption of spacecraft and satellites, television transmission failures and power blackouts are just a few of the powerful effects of space weather, caused by the charged particles and electromagnetic force fields that dominate space. This book compares terrestrial and space weather, and describes how space weather occurs and how it can be monitored and forecasted. Written from a personal perspective, this clear and compelling book will be valuable to anyone with an interest in understanding the phenomenon of space weather.Imagine what an extra-terrestrial Weather Channel would be like, with a professional space weatherman as your forecaster, and you get rather close to the astounding aspects of nature described in John Freeman's Storms in Space. Known only to a handful of space scientists, yet capable of disrupting technical systems as extensive as communication satellites and electric power grids Storms in Space is the first book to unveil the unseen elements of outer space. Opening with a series of vignettes (describing how the Northern and Southern lights [the aurora] are a visible manifestation of space storms, or how satellites serve as weather stations in space), Freeman provides visual analogies to help illustrate the effects of a storm in space on people. These vignettes explore the chain of events that lead ls„