The solar wind emitted from the solar corona is a highly ionized plasma composed of electrons, protons, He2+ ions, and a small fraction of heavier ions. Additionally, interstellar neutral (ISN) atoms ionized in the heliosphere form populations of pickup ions (PUIs). The two most abundant PUIs are of H+ and He+.
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Thursday, Apr 11, 2019
Parisa Mostafavi who is working with Prof Dave McComas as a Visiting Student Research Collaborator won the Graduate Research Award in the College of Science of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Monday, Mar 4, 2019
Since crossing the heliopause on 2012 August 25, Voyager 1 observed reductions in galactic cosmic ray count rates caused by a time-varying depletion of particles with pitch angles near 90°, while intensities of particles with other pitch angles remain unchanged. Between late 2012 and mid-2017, three large-scale events occurred, lasting from ~...
Saturday, Jan 26, 2019
The Moon is continually bombarded by interplanetary meteoroids. While many of the meteoroid sources are near the ecliptic plane, a significant population of high-inclination meteoroids exists at 1 au that bombards the lunar polar regions.
Friday, Jan 25, 2019
Airless bodies in the solar system are continually bombarded by meteoroids, sustaining impact ejecta clouds. While large bodies like the Moon retain a significant fraction of ejecta, small asteroids shed this material into the interplanetary dust complex. Measurements of the lunar impact ejecta cloud found it was sustained by the known sporadic...
Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a revolutionary mission that simultaneously investigates two of the most important overarching issues in Heliophysics today: the acceleration of energetic particles and interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium.
Thursday, Oct 4, 2018
On Oct. 3, 2018, Parker Solar Probe performed the first significant celestial maneuver of its seven-year mission.
Friday, Sep 21, 2018
One month after its successful launch, Parker Solar Probe — a NASA’s robotic spacecraft designed to explore the Sun’s atmosphere — has collected and transmitted its first data...
Friday, Aug 17, 2018
Nonthermal pickup ions (PUIs) are created in the solar wind (SW) by charge-exchange between SW ions (SWIs) and slow interstellar neutral atoms. It has long been theorized, but not directly observed that PUIs should be preferentially heated at quasiperpendicular shocks compared to thermal SWIs.
Monday, Aug 13, 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — On Aug 12 at 3:31a, three massive booster engines lifted a Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the Parker Solar Probe — including ...
