Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the universe. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, including the sun, solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation. Space physics is a fundamental part of the study of space weather and has important implications not only to understanding the universe, but also to practical everyday life, including the operation of communications and weather satellites. Space physics is unique from other fields of astrophysics which study similar phenomenon, in that space physics utilizes in-situ measurements from high altitude rockets and spacecraft.
Read more about Space Physics: History
Famous quotes containing the words space and/or physics:
“The true gardener then brushes over the ground with slow and gentle hand, to liberate a space for breath round some favourite; but he is not thinking about destruction except incidentally. It is only the amateur like myself who becomes obsessed and rejoices with a sadistic pleasure in weeds that are big and bad enough to pull, and at last, almost forgetting the flowers altogether, turns into a Reformer.”
—Freya Stark (1893–1993)
“Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)