Did you know that the solar wind wasn't discovered until '62

Post #5,231 by brettj 8/15/01 1:48:36 AM Reply	Did you know that the solar wind wasn't discovered until '62 ... and do you know how far the solar wind extends? P.S. bonus question: How fast could you sail on an asteroid/meteor if you equiped it with a solar wind sail? Would you be able to control it? :]
Post #5,286 by wharris2 8/15/01 1:27:07 PM Reply	What are you calling discovery? Kepler in the 1600's theorized it - of course it was not possible to actually measure particles until we had satellites able to do so. Voyager 2 showed that the voyager wind extends past Pluto and probably a lot further. But all we know for sure is the Voyager data. I'd prefer not to try to attach a solar sail to an asteroid. I don't know exactly, but the acceleration is very low - but it can continue for a long time, allowing you to build up pretty good velocity before it is effectively unusable. French Zombies are zapping me with lasers!
Post #5,289 by Fearless Freep 8/15/01 1:42:27 PM Reply	I think Asimov alluded to it... ...in "The Stars, Like Dust" was that published before '62? Jay O'Connor "Going places unmapped to do things unplanned to people unsuspecting"
Post #5,293 by Another Scott 8/15/01 2:02:03 PM Reply	Also, the van Allen belts were discovered in 1958 (IGY). [link\|http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Iradbelt.html\|Radiation Belts] It's not much of a stretch to go from discovering lots and lots of charged particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field to thinking that they came from the Sun. Cheers, Scott.
Post #5,398 by brettj 8/16/01 9:32:00 AM Reply	Good answer. One of the first scientists to publish a paper (in the 50's?) on solar carpusular radiation was Ludwick Bierman. He was trying to explain why the tails of comets always trail away from the sun. He was ridiculed. He later committed suicide. In 1962 the Mariner II probe proved him right. It's plasma detectors found an always present solar wind of 300-800 km/second. End of debate. It's a good thing that the earth's atmosphere and magnetic field protect us from this radiation. Plus we get a cool light show when the Auroras pick up, although the power grid may be zapped on occasion (ref: NE Canada in 1995?).

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