Space environment

Duration

15h Th, 15h Pr

Number of credits

Lecturer

Denis Grodent

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Chapter I : The geomagnetic field

• Description, dipolar approximation, Gauss development
• Origin of internal and external components
• Time evolution and pole inversions

• Electron and proton motion in the geomagnetic field
• Longitudinal drift and related currents
• Origin and structure of the belts

• Solar eruptions: radiative and particle components
• Effects on the geomagnetic field
• Impact on space missions
• Solar wind and structure of the cavity
• Magnetic reconnection and auroral precipitation

• Composition and energy spectrum
• Solar cycle and perturbations

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, students will have acquired the basics of Earth's magnetic environment, of the radiation belts and the cosmic rays (astroparticles), of solar activity and its impact on space environment. With this knowledge, it will be possible to understand and to take into account the constraints imparted by space environment on Earth orbit and interplanetary space missions, particularly at the level of the design of space instruments.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Good knowledge of general physics and its mathematical tools. Basic concepts of astrophysics and geophysics.
It is highly recommended to first take the course "Atmosphere of the Earth" (SPAT0055).  

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Guided applications: problem solving

Personal research on a topic to be agreed

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Face-to-face lectures and presentations by students of a scientific paper on one of the lectures' topics.

Recommended or required readings

- Files presented during the classes (eCampus) - recommended textbooks: review papers and book chapters

Assessment methods and criteria

- oral exam on the course material
- presentation of the personal research topic

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Depending on the schedule, it should be possible to follow the courses SPAT0055 and SPAT0029 one after the other during the same quarter.

Contacts

Prof Denis Grodent d.grodent@ulg.ac.be
Laboratory for Planeatary and Atmospheric Physics
Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute
Université de Liège Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique Quartier AGORA (B5c) Allée du Six Août, 19C  B-4000 Liège, Belgium
phone: +32 4 366 9773 http://lpap.ulg.ac.be 50°34'55.9"N 5°33'55.8"E50.582194, 5.565510

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