Einar Tandberg-Hanssen - Böcker

Few phenomena have stirred the imaginations of solar scientists as much as the explosive energy of solar flares. In The Physics of Solar Flares, first published in 1988, Einar Tandberg-Hanssen and A. Gordon Emslie approach this subject by drawing heavily on experimental data from the Solar Maximum Mission, as well as other ground-based and space-borne instruments. The data are incorporated into many theoretical investigations. The authors put the main emphasis on understanding the underlying physical processes. Starting from the language of physics, the authors guide the reader into the more specialised concepts of solar physics. The book is divided into two main parts: four chapters set the essentials of physics needed to attack the complexities of flare phenomena, and then a further four treat different aspects of the phenomena. This important book is aimed primarily at beginning graduate students who are assumed to have knowledge of basic physics.

The last 20 years since the publication of Dr Tandberg-Hanssen's book "Solar Prominences" have seen a renewed interest in this interesting form of solar activity. As a consequence, new ideas have been explored to explain the great variety of prominences, their relationship to solar flares and their seemingly complete dependence on the action of magnetic fields. This book gives these and other aspects of prominences in a comprehensive treatment and brings out the basic physics behind the displays of prominence activity. After an historical introduction and classification of prominences, the necessary mathematical and physical background is presented so that the formation, stability and disappearance of prominences can be thoroughly discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the intimate relationship between disappearing prominences and the all-important effects of the large-scale coronal magnetic fields. This book is intended for advanced students in astrophysics and professional solar astronomers.

For some time to come, this book should be the main source for research in prominences. It surveys the results of the past years, including the "Hvar Reference Atmosphere", which was developed by a panel as a model for quiescent prominences. The reader will find papers on the formation of and physical conditions in prominences, on magnetic fields, on mass motion and energy flow, and on the prominence-corona interface.

o beaute sans seconde SeuIe sembIabIe Ii toi SOLEIL pour tout Ie monde ... JEAN-FRANc;OIS SARASIN (1615-1654) The last decade has seen the publication of monographs covering most areas of solar activity: flares (Smith and Smith, 1963), sunspots (Bray and Loughhead, 1964) and the corona (Billings, 1966). Consequently, of all the major manifestations of solar activity only prominences are without a comprehensive and unified treatment in the current literature. The present book is written in an attempt to remedy this situation, and to furnish an account of some of the most spectacular and most beautiful aspects of solar activity. Our ultimate aim is an understanding of the physical processes involved. I hope that this book may provide if only a small step toward this goal. After an historical introduction and some general definitions Chapter I proceeds with an account of several classification schemes for prominences. Most of the observational material is presented in Chapter II and forms the basis on which different models of prominences are built in Chapter III. Chapters IV and V give most of the physics of prominences, treating, as they do, the formation and stability of these objects. The interaction of prominences with other manifestations of solar activity is the subject of Chapter VI, and the final Chapter VII considers prominences in the larger context: as an integral part of the corona.

Informal discussions in 1977 among a number of scientists asso­ ciated with solar and interplanetary physics revealed a need for a dialogue between the two often-divergent groups. It was clear that the latter group was dependent essentially on the sun for its raison d'etre. On the other hand it was also clear that the former group could benefit in its search for insight vis-a-vis solar activity by looking beyond the shell of the inner corona. Needless to add that the combined solar/interplanetary topic is relevant to astrophysics when one considers stellar winds and binary star flows. It was felt, there­ fore, that a symposium was essential to bring together, for the first time, leading solar and interplanetary physicists from the interna­ tional community to discuss and record herein their own research. The fundamental physical processes underlying our own capricious star's activity can be understood only by the coupling of solar and interplan­ etary topics in an intimate observational and theoretical structure. This book, intended for active research scientists and advanced grad­ uate students, is an important step in this direction. The background of solar and interplanetary dynamics is provided in Part I (The Life History of Coronal Structures and Fields) and Part II (Coronal and Interplanetary Responses to Long Time Scale Phenomena).