Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

The research focus of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research is our cosmic neighborhood: the solar system with its planets and moons, comets and asteroids as well as the sun. The aim of the scientists is to describe the processes in the solar system in models and to simulate them on the computer. In addition, instruments are being developed and built to study these bodies from space. The Institute is involved in numerous space missions.

A stereo view of the Sun’s magnetic field

A stereo view of the Sun’s magnetic field

Two space probes see more than one - especially when they look at their research object from two different directions as is the case for ESA’s Solar Orbiter and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. A team of scientists led by the MPS has now succeeded in combining observational data from both spacecraft from March of last year in such a way that the magnetic field at the visible surface of the Sun can be unambiguously determined for the first time.

International Awards forYuto Bekki

International Awards for
Yuto Bekki

Dr. Yuto Bekki of the MPS received awards from two international associations of professional astronomers. He received the Patricia Edwin PhD Thesis Prize from the Solar Physics Division of the European Physical Society and an honorable mention from the Sun and Heliosphere Division of the International Astronomical Union. Using a suite of computer simulations, which he developed from scratch, the young researcher characterized a class of long period oscillations.
 

Tiny plasma jets power the solar wind

Tiny plasma jets power the solar wind

Tiny plasma jets on the Sun, racing from the solar corona into space at speeds of a few hundred kilometers per hour, could be the long-sought source of the solar wind. As a team of researchers led by the MPS reports in the journal Science, a large number of such tiny jets can be found in high-resolution images of a coronal hole taken by ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft in March 2022.

A taste of the solar wind and a glimpse of Earth

A taste of the solar wind and a glimpse of Earth

About three months after the launch of ESA's JUICE spacecraft, the scientific instruments that the MPS is sending along on the long journey to Jupiter have completed their first tasks in space. Both instruments have proven that they are fully functional under space conditions and have sent their first scientific data back to Earth.
However, for SWI in particular the first steps in space turned out to be quite differently than expected.

 

Research Departments

Sun and Heliosphere
The focus of this department is the solar interior, the solar atmosphere, the solar magnetic field, the heliosphere, and the interplanetary medium, as well as solar radiation and solar energetic particles. The balloon-mission Sunrise, a balloon-borne solar observatory, is managed by this department. The mission investigates our central star from a height of about 35 km. In addition to several other participations in space missions, the department significantly contributes to the ESA's Solar Orbiter.
Planetary Science Department
This department investigates the interior, the surfaces, atmospheres, ionospheres, and magnetospheres of planets and their moons, as well as comets and asteroids. The department currently contributes or has contributed to important space missions such as the ESA's missions JUICE to the Jovian system, BepiColombo to Mercury and Rosetta to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko as well as NASA's missions InSight to Mars and Dawn to the asteroid belt.
Solar and Stellar Interiors
Helioseismology and asteroseismology are tools that use the oscillations of the Sun and stars to probe their interior structure and dynamics. This allows us to test and refine the theory of stellar structure and evolution, thereby bringing us closer to understanding solar and stellar magnetism. The department hosts the German Data Center for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, and is preparing to host the data center of ESA's exoplanet hunting mission, PLATO.

At a Glance

International Office
On the pages of the International Office, new employees and guests will find information for their stay in Göttingen and at the institute.
IMPRS
PhD programme: International Max Planck Research School for Solar System Science at the University of Göttingen.
Staff at the MPS
Staff directory
Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Canteen at the MPS
Mon - Fri 9 - 13
This week's menu

News

Seminars

Planetary Science Seminar: Magnetism in planet-forming disks and the solar nebula

Oct 6, 2023 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
MPS, Room: Equuleus + Fornax

IMPRS Defense: Numerical Modelling of Zonal Winds on Gas Giants with Magnetic Fields and Stably Stratified Layers (Paula Wulff)

Oct 25, 2023 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
Max-Plack-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Room: Auditorium

IMPRS Defense: Observationally constrained dynamo models of the Sun (Simon Cloutier)

Nov 13, 2023 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Max-Plack-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Room: Auditorium

IMPRS Defense: Inferring solar interior flows with iterative helioseismic holography (Björn Müller)

Nov 29, 2023 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
Max-Plack-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Room: Auditorium

News

In Memory of Erhard Kirsch

September 28, 2023

Dr. Erhard Kirsch, former scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, passed away on 12 September, 2023 at the age of 89.

Two space probes see more than one - especially when they look at their research object from two different directions as is the case for ESA’s Solar Orbiter and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. A team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute ...

Dr. Yuto Bekki of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Germany received awards from two international associations of professional astronomers. He received the Patricia Edwin PhD Thesis Prize from the Solar Physics Division of ...

Tiny plasma jets on the Sun, racing from the solar corona into space at speeds of a few hundred kilometers per second, could be the long-sought source of the solar wind. As a team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System ...

Please also have a look at the job offers at the web pages in German.

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