Joint Physics Dept.–Inst. for Space Weather Sci. Colloquium

November 21, Thursday (** SPECIAL DAY**)

Size of the Solar System

Dr. Lou Lanzerotti

Dept of Physics, NJIT

(Solar Physics, Host: Haimin Wang)

Room: ECE 202

**SPECIAL TIME: 1pm - 2pm with teatime at 12:45pm

*ZOOM Meeting ID for those who cannot attend in-person: 917 2169 7568

(APPROVAL by Prof Ahn REQUIRED for APPH/MTSE PhD Students to attend online)

*Password: check email or request from kenahn@njit.edu

In the mid-1950s, even before there was known to be a solar wind, discussions had begun as to where the local interstellar medium (LISM) surrounding the Earth and the solar system might be found. The scientific debates that ensued in the subsequent more than six decades – until Voyager 1 crossed in 2004 the termination shock between the out-flowing solar wind and the heliosheath – are described in Chapter 8 of our recently published book* and will be discussed in this ISWS Colloquium. Seven other chapters in the book discusses other significant scientific debates that engaged the research community near the beginning of the space age. Three of the debates covered in the book were in space plasma physics, three in planetary science, one in astrophysics, and one was a debate that ended when it was conclusively proven that the data were instrumental. Among them, the two authors knew many of the protagonists in the debates, and even contributed slightly to two the debate topics. In addition to the “history” of the debates, the paths to their resolutions illustrate how scientific discovery and understanding is achieved, and how new research can often be stimulated by the resolution of a vigorous – even long-lasting – debate.

The Forward to the book is written by Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Administrator 2016-2022. The book was recently given the 2024 Book Award by the Science Section of the International Academy of Astronautics.

* Cummings, W. D., and Lanzerotti, L. J., Scientific Debates in Space Science: Discoveries in the Early Space Era, Springer Praxis Books, 2023.