Exploring the Secrets of the Aurora

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XXXVIII

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2. Search for the Unknown Quantity in the Solar Wind

   Pages 1-40

3. Confronting Paradigms: Aurora Research During the Early Space Age

   Pages 41-88

4. Realizing the Dream of Our Pioneers: Polar Magnetic Substorms and the Associated Current System

   Pages 89-132

5. Is the Earth’s Dipole Really Offcentered and Inclined?: Planetary Magnetic Fields

   Pages 133-148

6. Myth of the Emerging Flux Tubes: Sunspots and Solar Flares

   Pages 149-164

7. Synthesis of the Four Major Disciplines: Predicting Geomagnetic Storms As A Space Weather Project

   Pages 165-195

8. Beyond the Inner Heliosphere: The Magnetic Field Structure of the Outer Heliosphere: A Three-Dimensional Model

   Pages 197-203

9. Back Matter

   Pages 204-237

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Prominent progress in science is inevitably associated with controversies. Thus, young researchers, in particular, have to learn how to persevere during the period of controversy and struggle for acceptance. Unfortunately, the skills needed are not taught in textbooks or monographs, which mostly describe the consensus of contemporary experts.
This book, which is based on my own experiences as a scientist, describes the history of the progress made in auroral science and magnetospheric physics by providing examples of ideas, controversies, struggles, acceptance, and success in some instances.
Although no general methodology (if any exists) is mentioned, I hope that the reader will learn about the history of progress in auroral science and examples (right or wrong) of dealing with the controversies.

• Heliosphere
• Planet
• Solar flare
• Solar wind
• Storm
• Sunspot
• Weather
• magnetic field
• solar
• wind

"Besides space physicists, the book will be interesting to historians and sociologists of science. Historians, because it is a history of an important era of space physics seen from the inside. Sociologists, because Akasofu has strong opinions about the interactions among scientists. Finally, this is a collector's book. It has a handsome binding with a nice picture of an aurora on the cover. It is unique in its mix of science, history, philosophy and exhortation. It is the kind of book that will still beguile a tug off the library shelf 100 years from now."
(EOS, 84:41 (October 2003)

• International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA

  Syun-Ichi Akasofu

Policies and ethics