Heliophysics and Planetary Science Branch

The Heliophysics and Planetary Science Branch studies the coupled Sun-Earth system and the terrestrial planets and icy satellites of our solar system. Our heliophysics portfolio includes instrumentation development, sounding rocket flight, and research focusing on energy transfer across physical scales throughout the solar atmosphere. Our planetary science portfolio includes research on the origin, composition, and evolution of terrestrial planetary bodies, focusing on geological, geophysical, and related models, experiments, and observations conducted in the field, laboratory, and via analysis of remotely sensed data from space-based missions.
David McKenzie and Ken Kobayashi (ST13) are co-authors on a manuscript recently accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, entitled “Tomography of a Solar Plage with the Tenerife Inversion Code”. The paper reports progress in analyzing the spectropolarimetric observations obtained …
Paper Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journal Read More »
Seth H Garland, PhD student at the Air Force Institute of Technology, authored a paper including part of his dissertation research on modeling the evolution of 3D coronal magnetic fields during a solar flare. This paper was accepted on 2/22/23 …
Evolution of Coronal Magnetic Field Parameters During X5.4 Solar Flare Read More »
On Feb 1, 2023, Linda Krause (ST13) attended a Panel on Innovative Solutions (PoIS), hosted by the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), to explore forming a mission concept team for the AI Microsat sPACe weaTher (IMPACT), a mission to …
The NASA SRWG met at the Wallops Flight Facility Feb 1-2, 2023. The meeting included a day of open sessions for community participation followed by a closed session of the working group to address findings concerning the status of the …
MSFC scientist Dennis Gallagher’s (ST13) paper, “The Breathing Plasmasphere: Erosion and Refilling” was recognized by the publisher of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics as one of the Most Cited Papers for 2021-2022. This is a very exciting and …
MSFC Scientist’s Paper Recognized as One of the Most Cited Papers for 2021-2022 Read More »