Welcome

This is the homepage of the Solar-Heliospheric Research Group at the University of Michigan. We study the physics of the Sun and the heliosphere through theory, data analysis and space instrumentation. Visiting our Missions, Science, and Technology sections will give you a better idea of the kind of work we do.

News

MESSENGER Third Mercury Flyby

1 Oct 2009 -- The MESSENGER spacecraft made it's third and final flyby of Mercury on Tuesday (29Sep2009) before going into orbit March 2011. While the crucial gravity assist was successfully achieved, science data collection was interrupted by a power problem early in the flyby. This severely limited the amount of data returned for our FIPS instrument, and several others. For details on the flyby, see the MESSENGER site.

Introducing Dr. Edmondson.

15 Sep 2009 -- Justin Edmondson, a SHRG graduate student, successfully defended his PhD Thesis on Monday, September 14th. His thesis was titled: THEORY OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL INTERCHANGE RECONNECTION AND THE DYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF THE GLOBAL SOLAR CORONAL MAGNETIC FIELD STRUCTURE: A MECHANISM FOR THE ORIGIN AND GENERATION OF THE SLOW SOLAR WIND

Unusually Cold Material Found Inside Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

26 Aug 2009 -- Survey of ACE SWICS data from 1998 - 2008 reveals much more cold material in the solar wind associated with ICMEs than previously known. These recent exciting research results from the SHRG's work on the ACE SWICS data are highlighted in the latest ACE News Item.