THE SUN S MILLION DEGREE OUTER ATMOSPHERE THE CORONA IS SO HOT THAT IT GENERATES A CONTINUOUS OUTFLOW OF IONIZED GAS CALLED THE SOLAR WIND. THE HIGH ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF THE SOLAR WIND ENABLES CORONAL MAGNETIC FIELD LINES TO BE DRAGGED AWAY BY THE FLOW OUT INTO THE HELIOSPHERE. ENERGETIC PARTICLES CAN TRAVEL ALONG THESE FIELD LINES AND WHEN CLOSER TO EARTH THEY CAN DAMAGE KEY INSTRUMENTATION ON SATELLITES USED FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION (E.G. GPS) AND CAN ALSO EXPOSE ASTRONAUTS TO HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION. IT IS THUS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND BETTER THE BASIC PHYSICS ORIGINS AND ACCELERATION OF THE SOLAR WIND IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE PHYSICAL MODELS USED TO FORECAST THE POTENTIALS HAZARDS THE SOLAR WIND PRESENTS TO GROUND AND SPACE SYSTEMS NEAR EARTH. WE PROPOSE A THREE-YEAR EFFORT WITH THE OVERALL GOAL OF IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICS UNDERLYING THE ORIGINS AND ACCELERATION OF THE SOLAR WIND. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL FOCUS ON THE SOURCES OF THE SOLAR WIND WHAT ROLE MAGNETIC EXPANSION FACTOR (FS) PLAYS IN BOTH FAST AND SLOW WIND AND IMPROVING METHODOLOGIES FOR SPECIFYING AND PREDICTING THE SOLAR WIND.

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

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