The solar wind

The current status of our understanding of the nature and origin of the solar wind is briefly reviewed, with emphasis being placed on the need for wave-particle interactions to account for the main energy source as well as details of the particle distribution functions. There has been considerable progress in the theoretical treatment of various aspects of the physics of the solar wind but a complete understanding is not yet in sight. Arguments concerning the ultimate fate of the solar wind are reviewed, in particular those concerning the distance to the shock wave which marks the termination of supersonic flow. This is of particular significance in view of recent observations suggesting that the termination might occur at about 50 AU from the Sun.