References for Coordinate Transformations

This page lists some references that give useful information on methods for transforming vectors and tensors between different space physics coordinate systems.

General papers

• C.T. Russell, (1971) "Geophysical Coordinate Transformations", Cosmic. Electrodyn. 2, 184-196
• M.A. Hapgood, (1992) "Space Physics Coordinate Transformations: A User Guide", Planet. Space Sci. 40, 711-717 (but see correction note in Hapgood (1997)).
• M.A. Hapgood, (1995) "Space physics coordinate transformations: the role of precession", Annales Geophysicae, 13, 713-716.
• M.A. Hapgood, (1997) "Corrigendum to Space Physics Coordinate Transformations: A User Guide", Planet. Space Sci. 45, 1047.

Reference works

• The Almanac for Computers published each year by the US Naval Observatory contains many useful formulae for calculating many of the rotation angles used in space physics coordinate transformations.
• The Astronomical Almanac jointly published each year by the US Naval Observatory and the UK Nautical Almanac Office contains much useful information on formulae used in coordinate transformations.
• The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac published in 1992 contains more detailed information. The old 1961 edition, which was published as the Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Emphemeris, is still widely available and remains a useful reference.
• Practical Astronomy with your Calculator by Peter Duffett-Smith, first published in 1979 by Cambridge University Press, gives an excellent short introduction to some of the astronomical calculations underlying space physics coordinate transformations. A version of this book for personal computers is also available.

Geomagnetic models

• International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) Division V - Working Group 8, (1996) "International Geomagnetic Reference Field, 1995 revision", Geophys, J. Int. 125, 318-321.
• Thompson, R. and Barraclough, D.R., (1982) "Geomagnetic secular variation based on spherical harmonic and cross validation analyses of historical and archaeomagnetic data", J. Geomag. Geoelectr. 34, 245-263.

Boundary normal systems

• Russell, C.T. and Elphic R.C., (1978) "Initial ISEE magnetometer results: magnetopause observations", Space Sci. Rev. 22, 681-715.
• Sonnerup, B.U.Ö., (1976) "Magnetopause and boundary layer", in Physics of Solar-Planetary Environments (ed. D.J. Williams, pub. American Geophysical Union), 541-557.
• Sonnerup, B.U.Ö. and Cahill, L.J. Jr., (1967) "Magnetopause structure and attitude from Explorer 12 observations", J. Geophys. Res. 72, 171-183. (See pages 173-175 for a discussion of boundary normal determination by minimum variance.)

Other reports

• Bhavnani, K.H. and Vancour, R.P. (1991) Coordinate Systems for Space and Geophysical Applications, Report PL-TR-91-2296, Phillips Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts 01731-5000, USA. This report gives a comprehensive review of a large number of coordinate systems. It also has an extensive glossary of terms.

This page was last updated on 4 February 2002 by Mike Hapgood (Email: M.Hapgood@rl.ac.uk).