Understanding The Sun - The Heliophysics Program

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Understanding The Sun - The NASA Heliophysics Program.

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Heliophysics Science

We live in an exciting environment: the heliosphere, the exotic outer atmosphere of a star. The space beyond Earths protective atmospheric cocoon is highly variable and far from benign. It is the one part of the cosmos accessible to direct scientific investigation, our only hands-on astrophysical laboratory.

Our technological society is increasingly susceptible to space weather disturbances in this curious region. A host of interconnected physical processes, strongly influenced by solar variability, affect the health and safety of travelers in space and the habitability of alien environments. We call the science of the Sun-Solar System Connections "Heliophysics".

Building on NASAs rich history of exploration of the Earths neighborhood and distant planetary systems, we are poised to develop the quantitative knowledge needed to help assure the safety of the new generation of human and robotic explorers. The Heliophysics Program has been completely reevaluated to address the needs of the Vision for Space Exploration.

NASAs future research and exploration within its Heliophysics program aims to "explore the Sun-Earth system to understand the Sun and its effects on Earth, the solar system, and the space environmental conditions that will be experienced by explorers, and to demonstrate technologies that can improve future operational systems."

We have unfolded this articulated strategic goal into the three broad science and exploration objectives:

• Open the Frontier to Space Weather Prediction: Understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the Sun to Earth, to other planets, and beyond to the interstellar medium.

• Understand the Nature of Our Home in Space: Understand how human society, technological systems, and the habitability of planets are affected by solar variability interacting with planetary magnetic fields and atmospheres.

• Safeguard the Journey of Exploration: Maximize the safety and productivity of human and robotic explorers by developing the capability to predict the extreme and dynamic conditions in space.

• http://sec.gsfc.nasa.gov/

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The Heliophysics Science Division (HSD) is located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD, USA. It provides scientific leadership and expertise necessary to achieve NASAs strategic science goals in solar physics, heliospheric physics, geospace physics and space weather.

It leads the definition and development of missions in support of these goals and performs fundamental research into solar structure and magnetic activity, the origins and acceleration of the solar wind, the effects of solar outbursts on the heliosphere, the response of the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system at the Earth and other planets to solar variability including solar irradiance.

• http://hsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/
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Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• sun
• nasa
• heliophysics
• program
• science
• heliosphere
• stars
• space
• weather
• atmosphere
• astrophysics
• earth
• environment
• technologies
• magnetic
• fields
• explorations
• hsd
• gsfc
• solar
• dynamics
• observatories
• telescopes
• winds
• heliospheric
• geospace
• physics
• missions
• magnetosphere
• ionosphere

[xsboost25psi]

That's just awesome. That settles it, I'm gonna be the first person to go to the sun. I'm gonna go at night during the winter so it's not so hot.

[Phoboskomboa]

Not if the Texas board of education has anything to say about it.

[5T34LTHcamoT4NK]

@xsboost25psi LOL, nice one

[Levon9404]

NASA has to be completely ignorant or to arrogant except I was able to know suns true function ahead of them. If they truly want to know how sun is functioning I have the whole explanation for them with evidence. Could be they think if they have all that technology on their possession no body beside them will be able to know how things are functioning out there. Well they can stay as stupid as they are or they will give me opportunity to explain what I know!!

[doowop62]

Plazma? Questionable. Believe me if the Sun were to be investigated in heliographic white light and it were truly exposed without digital edit, one's socks would be knocked off at the sight; creation at it's finest..........

[crankabit]

Hot diggidy dog I wanna do dat

[haloman2814]

how much is the anual salary of a heliophysist?

And what are the working conditions?

Plz reply ASAP

[fluffydanny]

The sun burns its on waste to make more energy. The sun is forever.

[tuseroni]

@fluffydanny um the law of conservation of energy would like to have a word with you...

[urbeinghunted]

The sun is an ultimate concentrate/expansion given its position. Its position, and ours, are born from chance. The sun happens to be, as we happen to be. We could have been next door or a street away, but we weren't..we were here....and the sun was there.....and the moon was where it was. We are here as a stable 'life' giving planet the via the same chance as our lifeform as the same chance as our individual lives born from the sperm that got thru. Life is simple.

[urbeinghunted]

What i dont understand is why people dont understand the sun. In my eyes its simple. Our sun just happens to be in a position in the universe that our position (earth) just happens to result in the stability that caused our life. We are her because of our position within the universe and the position of other planets/stars that have resulted in/caused our our exsistence. Its called CHANCE. the same way that it was your sperm caused your life, and not the others. Life is simpler than you think.

[quince4eva]

Actually The sun will eventually go out.