Where and Why Does Space Weather Occur?

The emerging science of space weather has its roots in the fundamental physics taught at the undergraduate level. However most of the textbook support for this new discipline is either at or near the graduate level. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Academy are partnering to produce a new introductory undergraduate level textbook. The text is aimed at students with knowledge of core physics: sophomore-level Newtonian mechanics and electricity and magnetism. We anticipate this book will be appropriate for students who are not physics majors but have a technology interest, be they engineers, meteorologists or space professionals. In this paper we will discuss the organization and contents of the text and the types of problems and examples to be included. We will emphasize the special focus sections that compare and contrast space and terrestrial weather. We will also discuss the material being developed for instructor support and materials being developed for electronic laboratories.