Livro - Storms in Space

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 to the storm and to connect the facets of the storm with the scenes in the vignettes. Freeman details the state of the art in forecasting space storms, the models that are used, and the prospects for their future improvement. He also describes the hazards of space storms for human technological systems including human space flight. Storms in Space provides both a new understanding and appreciation of how seemingly insignificant disturbances out there can have major effects right here.

*Features:

-Describes a fascinating, unseen world that is unknown to all but a handful of experts;
-Written by a leading expert on space weather, from an intensely personal perspective;
-Contains a unique interview with a professional space weatherman.

*Table of Contents

Introduction
The cast of characters
Vignettes of the storm
1. Two kinds of weather
2. The saga of the storm
3. Weather stations in space
4. Lights in the night: the signature of the storm
5. A walking tour of the magnetosphere
6. The sun: where it all begins
7. Nowcasting and forecasting storms in space
8. Technology and the risks from storms in space
9. A conversation with Joe Allen
10. Manned exploration and space weather hazards
11. The present and future of space weather forecasting
Mathematical Appendix: A closer look
Glossary
Figure captions.