Commission 49: Interplanetary Plasma and Heliosphere

Commission 49 (Interplanetary Plasma and Heliosphere) is part of IAU Division II (Sun and Heliosphere). The research topics include large-scale solar disturbances such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), shocks, and corotating interaction regions (CIRs) propagating into the heliosphere. The disturbances propagate through the solar wind, which essentially defines the heliosphere. The solar disturbances provide large-scale laboratory to study plasma processes over various time and spatial scales, the highest spatial scale being the size of the heliosphere itself (~100 AU). These solar disturbances are related to solar activity in the form of active regions and coronal holes. Solar eruptions are accompanied by particle acceleration and the particles can be hazardous to life on earth in various ways from modifying the ionosphere to damaging space technology and increasing lifetime radiation dosage to astronauts and airplane crew. Particle acceleration in solar eruptions poses fundamental physics questions because the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. One of important processes is the particle acceleration by shocks, which occurs throughout the heliosphere. The heliosphere has both neutral and ionized material, with interesting interaction between the two components.