The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The IGY encompassed eleven Earth sciences: aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, glaciology, gravity, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitude determinations (precision mapping), meteorology, oceanography, seismology and solar activity. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... Aurora borealis Polar aurorae are optical phenomena characterized by colorful displays of light in the night sky. ... The airglow is the very weak emission of visible light by the earths atmosphere, which means that the night sky is never completely dark. ... Cosmic rays can loosely be defined as energetic particles originating outside of the Earth. ... The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. ... Mouth of the glacier Schlatenkees near Innergschlöß, Austria. ... It has been suggested that Law of universal gravitation be merged into this article or section. ... The ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. ... Map of Earth showing curved lines of longitude Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... Latitude, denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Seismology (from the Greek seismos = earthquake and logos = word) is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. ... 20 years of solar irradiance data from satellites Solar variation refers to fluctuation in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun. ...

Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union launched artificial satellites for this event; the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 of October 1957 was the first successful artificial satellite. Other significant achievements of the IGY included the discovery of the Van Allen Belts and the discovery of mid-ocean submarine ridges, an important confirmation of plate tectonics. ... A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... Sputnik 1 (Russian Спутник-1, Fellow traveller 1) was the first artificial satellite to be put into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... Van Allen belts The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, trapped by Earths magnetic field. ... Plate tectonics (from the Greek word for one who constructs, τεκτων, tekton) is a theory of geology developed to explain the phenomenon of continental drift, and is currently the theory accepted by the vast majority of scientists working in this area. ...

Motivation

There had been two preceding International Polar Years, from 1882 to 1883 and from 1932 to 1933. In the 1950s new instrumentation, including especially rocketry and seismography, inspired U.S. scientist Lloyd Berkner to propose a third polar year. The IGY was chosen to occur during a solar maximum, during which some unusual effects of the sun on the Earth might be observed. The International Polar Year (or IPY) was a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... ... Lloyd V. Berkner (born February 1, 1905, in Milwaukee, died June 4, 1967, in Washington, D.C.) was the U.S. physicist and engineer who first measured the height and density of the ionosphere. ... Solar maximum or solar max is the period of greatest solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. ... The Sun is the star at the centre of our Solar system. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ...

History

For the history of the International Polar Years, see the article International Polar Year. The International Polar Year (or IPY) was a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. ...

The International Council of Scientific Unions, a parent body, broadened the proposals from polar studies to geophysical research. More than 70 existing national scientific organizations then formed IGY committees, and participated in the cooperative effort. The International Council for Science (ICSU), formerly called the International Council of Scientific Unions, was founded in 1931 as an international non-governmental organization devoted to international co-operation in the advancement of science. ...

IGY is featured in a song of the same name on Donald Fagen's solo album, The Nightfly: Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as co-writer and co-founder of the jazz rock band Steely Dan. ... The Nightfly is the first solo album by former Steely Dan member Donald Fagen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ...

What a beautiful world this will be

What a glorious time to be free

External links

• University of Saskatchewan Archives
• History of ionosondes, at the U.K.'s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
• History of arctic exploration