For almost three decades since Mariner 2 flew by the planet in December 1962, Venus has been the subject of intense investigation by both the Soviet and American space programs. Since the intrinsic magnetic field of Venus is exceedingly weak, if it exists at all, we expect many phenomena of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Venus to differ from their terrestrial counterparts. While flybys and landings of the many Venus missions provided useful data on these phenomena, orbital missions were needed for their detailed investigation. Such orbital missions were provided by the Soviet program with Veneras 9 and 10 in October 1975 and by the United States with the Pioneer Venus Orbiter in December 1978. Originally designed for a prime mission of only 243 days, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter is still functioning over a decade later, providing data nearly - hours a day through one of the most active solar cycles to date. We expect these transmis sions to continue until September 1992 when gravitation perturbations will lower the periapsis of the PVO orbit so that the spacecraft will be lost to the atmosphere. The Venera 9 and 10 and the Pioneer Venus observations have led to an explosion of knowledge about the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Venus and their interaction with the solar wind. The availability of data over a full solar cycle has.

Andrew F. Nagy Originally published in the journal Space Science Reviews, Volume 139, Nos 1–4. DOI: 10. 1007/s11214-008-9353-0 © Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2008 Keywords Aeronomy The term “aeronomy” has been used widely for many decades, but its origin has mostly been lost over the years. It was introduced by Sydney Chapman in a Letter to the Editor, entitled “Some Thoughts on Nomenclature”, in Nature in 1946 (Chapman 1946). In that letter he suggested that aeronomy should replace meteorology, writing that the word “meteor is now irrelevant and misleading”. This proposal was apparently not received with much support so in a short note in Weather in 1953 Chapman (1953)wrote: “If, despite its obvious convenience of brevity in itself and its derivatives, it does not commend itself to aeronomers, I think there is a case for modifying my proposal so that instead of the word being used to signify the study of the atmosphere in general, it should be adopted with the restricted sense of the science of the upper atmosphere, for which there is no convenient short word. ” In a chapter, he wrote in a 1960 book (Chapman 1960), he give his nal and de nitive de nition, by stating that “Aeronomy is the science of the upper region of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important”. The Workshop on “Comparative Aeronomy” was held at ISSI during the week of June 25–29, 2007.

Planetary Aeronomy is a modern and concise introduction to the underlying physical and chemical processes that govern the formation and evolution of the upper atmospheres of planets. The general approach employed permits consideration of the growing number of extrasolar planets, the detailed observation of which will become possible over the next decades. The book explains the physics behind many atmospheric processes, which are relevant for the evolution of planetary atmospheres and their water inventories, and also contains useful scaling laws and analytical expressions that can be applied to any planet. Readers thus gain insight into the evolution of terrestrial planets and their long-time habitability, atmospheric stability, etc. This volume can be used both as graduate textbook for students wishing to specialize in the field as well as succinct compendium for researchers in the field.

For advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate science, Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics is an introductory textbook on the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean and their interaction, with an emphasis on global scales. It will give students a good grasp of what the atmosphere and oceans look like on the large-scale and why they look that way. The role of the oceans in climate and paleoclimate is also discussed. The combination of observations, theory and accompanying illustrative laboratory experiments sets this text apart by making it accessible to students with no prior training in meteorology or oceanography.* Written at a mathematical level that is appealing for undergraduates andbeginning graduate students* Provides a useful educational tool through a combination of observations andlaboratory demonstrations which can be viewed over the web* Contains instructions on how to reproduce the simple but informativelaboratory experiments* Includes copious problems (with sample answers) to help students learn thematerial.

The “Ashen Light” of Venus—a ghostly emission of light from the night side of our nearest planetary neighbor—is among the last unsolved mysteries of astronomical history. In the four centuries since the phenomenon was first reported, highly reputable visual observers of Venus have recorded seeing the Ashen Light, while others have spent a lifetime searching for it without once being convinced that they ever saw it. Is the Ashen Light a trick of the eye? The result of a defective lens? A real scientific event? Occasional references to the Ashen Light are scattered across the literature, yet no work to date has synthesized these records. This book therefore digs deep into the history of the mystery and our latest attempts to understand it, sifting through the clues that might explain whether it is caused by physics, is conjured up by the eye or brain, or a combination of both. This baffling story will appeal to amateur astronomers, hobbyists, and lay readers interested in joining the debate about one of the most elusive observable phenomena ever recorded in the night sky.

Our subject is, of course, nothing more than applied physics and chemistry. But in addition to those basic sciences the student of planetary atmospheres needs an overview of atmospheric structure and physical processes as presently understood. This book is intended to help fill that need for both graduate students and research scientists. Although the approach is mainly theoretical, very little basic physics is developed here. Material that is standard fare in third- and fourth-year physics courses is simply absorbed where needed.

Weather and Climate on Planets discusses the problems of the meteorology of planets. Planetary meteorology is the study of the regularities of the atmospheres and their thermal regime and dynamics, specifically the properties of the planetary surfaces and the specific features of the interactions between the atmospheres and surfaces. This book contains four chapters and begins with an overview of origin and evolution of the solar system and planetary atmospheres. The introductory chapter describes some basic characteristics of planetary atmospheres, laboratory and numerical modeling of the atmospheric circulation, and the application of remote sounding. The remaining three chapters examine the weather, climate, and other meteorological aspects of planet Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. This book will be of value to meteorologists, astronomers, researchers, and students.

For advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate science, Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics is an introductory textbook on the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean and their interaction, with an emphasis on global scales. It will give students a good grasp of what the atmosphere and oceans look like on the large-scale and why they look that way. The role of the oceans in climate and paleoclimate is also discussed. The combination of observations, theory and accompanying illustrative laboratory experiments sets this text apart by making it accessible to students with no prior training in meteorology or oceanography.* Written at a mathematical level that is appealing for undergraduates andbeginning graduate students* Provides a useful educational tool through a combination of observations andlaboratory demonstrations which can be viewed over the web* Contains instructions on how to reproduce the simple but informativelaboratory experiments* Includes copious problems (with sample answers) to help students learn thematerial.