Over the past two decades auroral science has developed from a somewhat mysterious and imprecise specialty into a discipline central in the study of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The investigation of aurora unites scientists with very different backgrounds and interests so that it is difficult to write a self-contained account of the field in a book of reasonable length. In this work I have attempted to include those aspects of theory which I have found valuable in predicting the effects on the atmosphere of auroral particle precipitation. In addition I have attempted to describe the...

Over the past two decades auroral science has developed from a somewhat mysterious and imprecise specialty into a discipline central in the study of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The investigation of aurora unites scientists with very different backgrounds and interests so that it is difficult to write a self-contained account of the field in a book of reasonable length. In this work I have attempted to include those aspects of theory which I have found valuable in predicting the effects on the atmosphere of auroral particle precipitation. In addition I have attempted to describe the...