Author Description

Uncover the mysteries of space weather and solar activity, and learn about the practical consequences on human activity from astronaut safety to power grid blackouts with this authoritative compilation of up-to-date official documents. The 11 parts of this massive compilation report on every aspect of the vital role of the sun and space weather. Contents include: Part 1: Overview * Part 2: Solar Basics * Part 3: The Sun, the Earth, and Near-Earth Space: A Guide to the Sun-Earth System * Part 4: Solar Storms and You! Exploring the Human Impacts of Solar Activity * Part 5: Workshop Report on Space Weather Risks and Society * Part 6: Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Mission Briefing * Part 7: National Space Weather Program Strategic Plan * Part 8: Report on Space Weather Observing Systems: Current Capabilities and Requirements for the Next Decade * Part 9: Halloween Space Weather Storms of 2003 * Part 10: Intense Space Weather Storms October 19 - November 07, 2003 Service Assessment * Part 11: In The Dark - Military Planning for a Catastrophic Critical Infrastructure Event This compilation includes the book, The Sun, the Earth, and Near-Earth Space: A Guide to the Sun-Earth System. a beautifully written work by one of America's top solar experts providing an easy-to-read yet thorough guide to our Sun and its impact on planet Earth. An excerpt: "In a world of warmth and light and living things we soon forget that we are surrounded by a vast universe that is cold and dark and deadly dangerous, just beyond our door. On a starry night, when we look out into the darkness that lies around us, the view can be misleading in yet another way: for the brightness and sheer number of stars, and their chance groupings into familiar constellations, make them seem much nearer to each other, and to us, that in truth they are. And every one of them--each twinkling, like a diamond in the sky--is a white-hot sun, much like our own. The nearest stars in our own galaxy--the Milky Way