How do weak shocks accelerate high energy particles?
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Abstract
Shock waves are found everywhere in the Universe and are one of the most efficient ways of accelerating particles like protons and electrons. However, the conditions required to produce those shocks and accelerate particles are so extreme that they're impossible to recreate on Earth. As a result, we still don't know a lot about how these shocks accelerate particles or how they're affected by things like density or magnetic field. Most of the shocks that produce these very high energy particles are also incredibly far away in other galaxies, making them difficult to study properly. For example, while we can see a supernova shock using astronomical telescopes, it's really hard to then identify and study the particles it accelerates.
However, the Earth is located close to a natural laboratory with extreme density, temperature and magnetic field variations which regularly produces large-scale shocks that shower us with energetic particles; the Sun. We have a fleet of spacecraft returning constant observations of the Sun, allowing us to see in near-real-time the sudden release of stored magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere (also called the corona). This energy release can produce bursts of radiation that we call solar flares, hurl massive bubbles of plasma called coronal mass ejections into the solar system towards the Earth and launch vast global shock waves that can travel across the Sun in under an hour. Although these shocks are so much weaker than supernovae that they shouldn't be able to accelerate any particles, they regularly produce billions of energetic particles that we can almost immediately detect at Earth. These particles can be fatal for satellites orbiting the Earth, blinding them and causing them to fail, with knock-on effects for GPS and telecommunications. With my research, I'm trying to understand why these really weak shocks occur, how they accelerate particles to incredibly high energies and how those energetic particles affect the Earth and the near-Earth environment.
The Sun offers a unique opportunity to study both extreme shocks and the particles that they accelerate at the same time in unprecedented detail; we can see what happens and "touch" the resulting particles, which is something that you can't do in any other field of astrophysics. Everything about this situation is also very counterintuitive; the Sun is a pretty average star producing very weak shocks that shouldn't be able to accelerate any particles yet it manages to accelerate particles to incredibly high energies. How this happens is still an open question, and one that has implications not just for our understanding of the Sun, but also for fundamental plasma physics and space weather. If we know how this process works we might be able to predict it, which will help us to protect vulnerable spacecraft and infrastructure on Earth. On a more personal level though, working on this topic really hammers home the differences between how calm the Sun is when you look at it from the ground versus the violently active Sun producing solar eruptions which we see from space, which I just think is fascinating.
However, the Earth is located close to a natural laboratory with extreme density, temperature and magnetic field variations which regularly produces large-scale shocks that shower us with energetic particles; the Sun. We have a fleet of spacecraft returning constant observations of the Sun, allowing us to see in near-real-time the sudden release of stored magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere (also called the corona). This energy release can produce bursts of radiation that we call solar flares, hurl massive bubbles of plasma called coronal mass ejections into the solar system towards the Earth and launch vast global shock waves that can travel across the Sun in under an hour. Although these shocks are so much weaker than supernovae that they shouldn't be able to accelerate any particles, they regularly produce billions of energetic particles that we can almost immediately detect at Earth. These particles can be fatal for satellites orbiting the Earth, blinding them and causing them to fail, with knock-on effects for GPS and telecommunications. With my research, I'm trying to understand why these really weak shocks occur, how they accelerate particles to incredibly high energies and how those energetic particles affect the Earth and the near-Earth environment.
The Sun offers a unique opportunity to study both extreme shocks and the particles that they accelerate at the same time in unprecedented detail; we can see what happens and "touch" the resulting particles, which is something that you can't do in any other field of astrophysics. Everything about this situation is also very counterintuitive; the Sun is a pretty average star producing very weak shocks that shouldn't be able to accelerate any particles yet it manages to accelerate particles to incredibly high energies. How this happens is still an open question, and one that has implications not just for our understanding of the Sun, but also for fundamental plasma physics and space weather. If we know how this process works we might be able to predict it, which will help us to protect vulnerable spacecraft and infrastructure on Earth. On a more personal level though, working on this topic really hammers home the differences between how calm the Sun is when you look at it from the ground versus the violently active Sun producing solar eruptions which we see from space, which I just think is fascinating.
Organisations
- University College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Collaboration)
- University of Orsay (Collaboration)
- University of Buenos Aires (Collaboration)
- National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) (Collaboration)
- University of Liege (Collaboration)
- Royal Observatory of Belgium (Collaboration)
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (Collaboration)
- Centro Universitario de Ciudad Juárez (Collaboration)
- Boston University (Collaboration)
- International Space Science Institute (ISSI) (Collaboration)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- Laboratoire Charles Fabry (Collaboration)
- Academy of Athens (Collaboration)
- The Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (Collaboration)
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (Collaboration)
- Royal Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- Queen's University Belfast (Fellow)
People |
ORCID iD |
| David Long (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Zouganelis I
(2020)
The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan Translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zhukov A
(2021)
Stereoscopy of extreme UV quiet Sun brightenings observed by Solar Orbiter/EUI
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Yardley S
(2019)
Understanding the Plasma and Magnetic Field Evolution of a Filament Using Observations and Nonlinear Force-free Field Modeling
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wang S
(2022)
Velocities of an Erupting Filament
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wang S
(2020)
Magnetic Structure of an Erupting Filament
in The Astrophysical Journal
To Andy S. H.
(2021)
The Evolution of Plasma Composition During a Solar Flare
in arXiv e-prints
To A
(2023)
Understanding the Relationship between Solar Coronal Abundances and F10.7 cm Radio Emission
in The Astrophysical Journal
To A
(2021)
The Evolution of Plasma Composition during a Solar Flare
in The Astrophysical Journal
Telloni D
(2022)
Observation of a Magnetic Switchback in the Solar Corona
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Shimizu T
(2020)
The Solar-C_EUVST mission: the latest status
Schwartz P
(2019)
2D non-LTE modelling of a filament observed in the H a line with the DST/IBIS spectropolarimeter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rochus P
(2020)
The Solar Orbiter EUI instrument: The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
O'Kane J
(2019)
Stealth Coronal Mass Ejections from Active Regions
in The Astrophysical Journal
O'Kane J
(2021)
Solar origins of a strong stealth CME detected by Solar Orbiter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
O'Kane J
(2021)
The Magnetic Environment of a Stealth Coronal Mass Ejection
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ngampoopun N
(2023)
The Merging of a Coronal Dimming and the Southern Polar Coronal Hole
in The Astrophysical Journal
Murabito M
(2021)
Investigating the origin of magnetic perturbations associated with the FIP Effect
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mihailescu T
(2022)
What Determines Active Region Coronal Plasma Composition?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Matthews S
(2021)
The high-energy Sun - probing the origins of particle acceleration on our nearest star
in Experimental Astronomy
Mandal S
(2023)
Signatures of dynamic fibrils at the coronal base: Observations from Solar Orbiter/EUI
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mandal S
(2022)
What drives decayless kink oscillations in active-region coronal loops on the Sun?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Macneil A
(2019)
Active Region Modulation of Coronal Hole Solar Wind
in The Astrophysical Journal
Long D
(2023)
Multistage Reconnection Powering a Solar Coronal Jet
in The Astrophysical Journal
Long D
(2023)
The Eruption of a Magnetic Flux Rope Observed by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe
in The Astrophysical Journal
Long D
(2021)
Localized Acceleration of Energetic Particles by a Weak Shock in the Solar Corona
in The Astrophysical Journal
Long D
(2019)
Quantifying the Relationship between Moreton-Ramsey Waves and "EIT Waves" Using Observations of Four Homologous Wave Events
in The Astrophysical Journal
Li D
(2023)
A Statistical Study of Short-period Decayless Oscillations of Coronal Loops in an Active Region
in The Astrophysical Journal
Harra L
(2020)
Locating Hot Plasma in Small Flares using Spectroscopic Overlappogram Data from the Hinode EUV Imaging Spectrometer
in Solar Physics
French R
(2020)
Dynamics of Late-stage Reconnection in the 2017 September 10 Solar Flare
in The Astrophysical Journal
Downs C
(2021)
Validation of Global EUV Wave MHD Simulations and Observational Techniques
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dolliou A
(2023)
Temperature of quiet Sun small scale brightenings observed by EUI on board Solar Orbiter: Evidence for a cooler component
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
De Pablos D
(2021)
Matching Temporal Signatures of Solar Features to Their Corresponding Solar-Wind Outflows
in Solar Physics
Collinson G
(2023)
Shocklets and Short Large Amplitude Magnetic Structures (SLAMS) in the High Mach Foreshock of Venus
in Geophysical Research Letters
Chitta L
(2022)
Solar coronal heating from small-scale magnetic braids
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Berghmans D
(2021)
Extreme-UV quiet Sun brightenings observed by the Solar Orbiter/EUI
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Baker D
(2019)
Transient Inverse-FIP Plasma Composition Evolution within a Solar Flare
in The Astrophysical Journal
Baker D
(2022)
Evolution of Plasma Composition in an Eruptive Flux Rope
in The Astrophysical Journal
Baker D
(2021)
Plasma Upflows Induced by Magnetic Reconnection Above an Eruptive Flux Rope
in Solar Physics
Baker D
(2020)
Can Subphotospheric Magnetic Reconnection Change the Elemental Composition in the Solar Corona?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Auchère F
(2020)
Coordination within the remote sensing payload on the Solar Orbiter mission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Alipour N
(2022)
Automatic detection of small-scale EUV brightenings observed by the Solar Orbiter/EUI
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
| Description | Gave lecture on Solar Orbiter at STFC-funded summer school for PhD students |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Provided an insight into the unique nature of the Solar Orbiter mission and elaborated on the different ways to access and use the data products produced by the mission. Also discussed the different options for providing input to the instrument teams for defining science targets during operations. |
| Description | NERC DTP Space Weather training |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | As one of the modules covered as part of the NERC DTP, this has increased visibility of space weather and the effects of space weather for students who would not typically interact with this topic. |
| Description | Organised International conference dedicated to outputs from the Solar Orbiter mission |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The conference included a public outreach talk attended by 100 members of the public, and a day dedicated to education and training which included sessions on accessing and analysing observations from the different instruments onboard the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. |
| Description | Submitted white paper to SSAP call for input on the STFC Roadmap for Solar System Research |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | Laboratoire Charles Fabry |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | Royal Observatory of Belgium |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | The Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | University of Liege |
| Department | Liege Space Center |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | EUI consortium |
| Organisation | University of Orsay |
| Department | Space Astrophysics Institute |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | MSSL was responsible for the Common Electronics Box (CEB) of EUI, which was delivered to Airbus UK as part of the complete EUI telescope in May 2017. Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020, and EUI was switched on in March 2020. Commissioning is ongoing, with first light expected in April 2020. |
| Collaborator Contribution | EUI was conceived by a multi-national consortium and proposed in 2008 under the scientific lead of Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the engineering lead of Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The Full Sun Imager was designed and developed at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), and the HRILya was developed by Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The mirrors of FSI and HRIEUV were manufactured by Institut d'Optique (IO), and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) contributed the structure of the OBS. |
| Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully delivered to Airbus UK in May 2017 and Solar Orbiter was successfully launched in February 2020. EUI was switched on in March 2020, with commissioning ongoing, and first light expected in April 2020. A paper describing the EUI instrument was accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics in 2019. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Academy of Athens |
| Country | Greece |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Austrian Academy of Sciences |
| Department | Space Research Institute |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Boston University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Centro Universitario de Ciudad Juárez |
| Country | Mexico |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | International Space Science Institute (ISSI) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
| Department | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Department | Queen Mary Innovation |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | Royal Institute of Technology |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | University of Buenos Aires |
| Country | Argentina |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Team at the International Space Science Institute on "Foreshocks Across the Heliosphere: System Specific or Universal Physical Processes?" |
| Organisation | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an international team convening at ISSI to study shocks throughout the heliosphere and quantify if the processes associated with them are universal or system specific. Each member of the team is an expert in studying shocks in different locations throughout the heliosphere. As an expert in shocks in the solar corona, I am the solar physics representative. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Each member of the team is an expert in shocks in a different region of the heliosphere and the aim of this team is to try and quantify whether the processes associated with the different shocks are system specific or universal. |
| Impact | The collaboration was originated in 2018 with the aim of applying to ISSI as an international Team. The first application was unsuccessful, but the feedback was vital to improving the application. The improved application was submitted to the 2019 call where it was successful. Although we have been working on preparation for the meeting since June 2019, the first official meeting was the first week of March 2020. As a result, there are no significant outcomes yet. At the meeting there was a lot of discussion about the different systems and phenomena and a roadmap was developed for the papers to be written by the group. The aim now is to work on these papers and try to submit them within the next year. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | First light image release from Solar Orbiter EUI |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The first light images from Solar Orbiter EUI were released to the general public. This was accompanied by a major media event organised by ESA, along with press releases from every organisation involved (including UCL). I was interviewed by a number of media outlets, including the Daily Mail, the Guardian, CNN, MIT Technology Review, the Irish Independent, the Evening Standard, the Daily Express, iNews, and the Daily Mirror. The first light image was also featured on the front page of the Financial Times. The impact of the media event and image release was global, with the ESA press office estimating that >600M people were reached via traditional media and >3Bn people were reached via social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/headlines/2020/jul/solar-orbiters-first-images-reveal-campfires-sun |
| Description | Interview for UK Space Agency talking about the launch of Solar Orbiter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by the UK Space Agency for a short video released via their social media presence discussing the launch of the ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The video was aimed at the general public and was retweeted 49 times. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/spacegovuk/status/122610050488072192 |
| Description | Media blitz surrounding the launch of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A variety of events occurred surrounding the launch of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, which hosts the EUI instrument. A number of press releases were issued by each of the members of the consortium, with UCL staff interviewed by and quoted on BBC News, The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, i (The paper for today), iNews, The Scotsman, The Evening Standard, and RTP Noticias (Portugal). The launch itself was attended by many team members and was widely tweeted about and discussed online. There was a significant increase in interest in Solar Orbiter as a result of the media surrounding the launch. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | NASA social media highlight |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | My research was highlighted by a NASA Social media release covering interesting features observed by NASA missions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/NASASun/status/1605312948284563461 |
| Description | Switch on of the EUI onboard Solar Orbiter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The EUI telescope was successfully switched on on Tuesday 3 March. This was reported to the general public via posts on the official EUI website and via social media channels. This indicates that EUI is fully operational and represents a major milestone for the mission. The report was widely shared and engaged with on social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |