On the importance of the cross-body approach in planetary aeronomy

Abstract

Cross-disciplinary and cross-body approaches can be applied to study universal processes occurring in the heliosphere. Magnetospheric, interplanetary, and heliospheric plasmas, all of which are low density plasmas, host similar processes. A cross-disciplinary approach is thus of great relevance for a universal understanding of processes occurring within these various plasmas. On the other hand, the upper atmosphere of planets and moons are a highly collisional medium acting differently compared to a collisionless plasma. Therefore, the comparative study between solar system bodies hosting atmospheres under different settings is a more suitable approach for assessing universal processes in aeronomy. For the past several years the aeronomy community has undertaken many initiatives in comparative studies of solar system atmospheres. We highlight the maturity of this field and illustrate its relevance by applying the comparative approach to key scientific topics. We would like to encourage aeronomers interested in comparative studies to consider participating to International Heliophysical Year (IHY) focused activities. More information on the comparative initiative can be found at the IHY website (http://ihy.gsfc.nasa.gov/) as well as at: http://www.bu.edu/csp/uv/ cp-aeronomy/aeronomy-sol-sys.html.