This invaluable book provides an introduction to space science. It brings together the various space science disciplines in one volume, and will benefit a wide audience, particularly students starting their graduate studies. The text presents a unique outlook, which will encourage students to think in broad terms across the whole range of space science, from the Earth's climate system to cosmology. There are also chapters describing basic techniques necessary to progress in space science research.

Contents:

• Remote Sensing of the Earth's Climate System (I Mason)
• Planetary Science (A Coates)
• Space Plasma Physics — A Primer (C J Owen)
• Space Weather (S Matthews)
• The Physics of the Sun (L Harra)
• X-Ray Astronomy (K Mason)
• Using Quantum Physics and Spectroscopy to Probe the Physical Universe (L Harra & K Mason)
• An Introduction to Magnetohydrodynamics (L van Driel-Gesztelyi)
• 'Minimal' Relativity (K Wu)
• Cosmology (M Page)
• Topics in Practical Statistics (M Cropper)
• Instrumentation for Photon Detection in Space (J L Culhane)
• Space Engineering (A Smith)

"Space Science is now a remarkably wide ranging subject, with enormous advances having been made in the last decade in solar, planetary and X-ray astronomy, not to mention remote sensing, the Earth's upper atmosphere and it's interaction with the solar wind. Consequently, collecting together graduate level reviews in all these areas was a challenging project in which the editors have succeeded admirably. Exploiting the wide expertise available at MSSL, there are up-to-date articles on current research which will be of value to any space science graduate student. Because of the basic physics (e.g. plasma physics, magnetohydrodynamics, quantum physics) that is included in each chapter, the book could also serve as the basis for an advanced undergraduate course in space science. I will certainly recommend it to students here at Southampton."

“It brings together the various space science disciplines in one volume, and will benefit a wide audience, particularly students starting their graduate studies.”