This book, for the first time, ties together physical processes across the full scale of the heliosphere. It is about the natural connections that exist between the various parts of the system. Therefore, it is mainly cast in terms of those mechanisms and phenomena rather than individual missions in space. However, to give credit, this has only been possible because of the existence of a fleet of deep space missions such as Ulysses, SOHO, and the Voyagers. It is only with them working in concert that a real understanding of the physics can be, and has been achieved.
There are fourteen chapters in the book written by top scientists from around the world. The level of presentation is very high but the authors were given enough space to present understandable introductions, physical discussions, and extensive bibliographies.
The audience for this book consists of graduate students and researchers in astronomy as well as specialists in solar physics and interplanetary plasma physics.