The Magnetosphere and Ionosphere

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Even though most of the emphasis since early satellite observations has been placed upon understanding Earth's magnetosphere, we now know that such an environment is common throughout the universe. Understanding the dynamics of Earth's magnetosphere is important not only because of its influence on our planet's environment but also because it serves as a laboratory in which physicists can study the basic laws of nature in a way and on a scale not accessible in earthbound laboratories.

For an overview of the magnetosphere, try the Sun-Earth Connection page at UNM. A more detailed description of the magnetosphere can be found at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Education page.

Research at the University of New Mexico on the magnetosphere and ionosphere takes two forms:

• Ionospheric Modeling: Here, we develop computational models of the physics of the ionosphere. These primary purpose is to understand how the ionosphere distorts images made by the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) of astrophysical radio sources.

• Laboratory Studies: In the laboratory we model some of the physics processes thought important in the dynamics of the magnetosphere.

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