Solar wind interaction with planets and minor planetary bodies

NASA STEREO使命携带的日光层成像仪彻底改变了我们对行星际空间太阳风的看法。这些宽视场相机揭示了太阳风流和太阳质量喷射的存在，因为它们从太阳向外移动。虽然这项使命的目的是研究这种“空间天气”对地球的影响，但HI相机的宽视场通常包含行星、彗星和许多小行星。随着轻型太阳风模型HUXt的出现，加上先进的数据同化技术，现在可以方便地模拟整个内太阳系的太阳风，从而研究太阳风与这一更广泛的行星体的相互作用。在这个项目中，学生将详细考虑这种相互作用，以确定在这些其他行星体的空间天气效应的签名。

The Heliospheric Imagers carried by the NASA STEREO mission have revolutionised our view of the solar wind in interplanetary space. These wide-field cameras reveal the presence of solar wind streams and solar mass ejections as the move outwards from the Sun. While this mission was designed to study the impact of such 'space weather' at Earth, the wide fields of view of the HI cameras often contain planets, comets and many minor planets. With the advent of the lightweight solar wind model, HUXt, together with advanced data assimilation techniques, it is now possible to conveniently model the solar wind throughout the inner solar system and thus study the interaction of the solar wind with this wider selection of planetary bodies. In this project, the student will consider such interactions in detail to identify signatures of space weather effects at these other planetary bodies.