Heliophysics

Heliophysics studies the Sun, the heliosphere, and how solar activity shapes space environments throughout the solar system.

Solar magnetic field: The magnetic field generated by the Sun’s electrically conducting plasma, varying across its surface and atmosphere. Its changing structure powers flares, coronal mass ejections, and the solar cycle.
Sun: The star at the center of the Solar System, whose gravity and radiation govern its planets and smaller bodies. Its interior and atmosphere supply the energy and plasma studied by heliophysics.
Geomagnetic storm: A major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere caused by energy transferred from the solar wind. Storms can disrupt power grids, navigation, and satellite operations.
Parker Solar Probe: A NASA spacecraft launched in 2018 to study the Sun’s corona and solar wind from close range. Its in-situ measurements sample plasma near the Sun’s source regions.
Coronal heating problem: The unresolved question of why the Sun’s corona is far hotter than its visible surface. Its solution would explain the energy balance of the solar atmosphere.
Solar wind: A continuous flow of charged particles escaping from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. It carries solar plasma and magnetic fields through the heliosphere.
Solar corona: The Sun’s tenuous outer atmosphere, extending millions of kilometers into space. The corona is the source region of the solar wind and many eruptions.
Aurora: Light emitted when energetic charged particles excite atoms and molecules in a planetary upper atmosphere. Auroras reveal how solar particles enter and energize Earth’s atmosphere.
Solar Orbiter: A joint ESA–NASA mission launched in 2020 to observe the Sun and measure the heliosphere. Its imaging and particle measurements connect solar activity to heliospheric conditions.
Solar wind acceleration: The physical processes that accelerate solar plasma outward from the corona to supersonic speeds. Explaining it links coronal conditions to heliospheric plasma measurements.

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Space scienceBroader topic: It tracks solar activity and its effects on the space environment around Earth.