Heliosphere News - December 2, 2020

A newsletter devoted to Heliospheric Science.

Editor: Nathan Schwadron (nschwadron at unh.edu)

Co-Editor: Mihir Desai (mdesai at swri.edu)

Co-Editor: Eric Zirnstein (ejz at princeton.edu)

Co-Editor: Matina Gkioulidou (matina.gkioulidou at jhuapl.edu)

Co-Editor: Jamie Rankin (jsrankin at princeton.edu)

Coordinator: Liz Wilber (Elizabeth.Wilber at unh.edu)

Web site editor: Ken Fairchild (Ken.Fairchild at unh.edu)

If you are interested in being added to the list, being removed from the list, or posting an announcement, please send information to Nathan, Mihir, Eric, Matina, or Jamie. Posts are limited to ascii text.

Newsletters are archived on the following website:

http://heliospherenews.unh.edu/.

******************* Announcements *******************

1. MEETING: COSPAR Scientific Assembly, NEW DATES: 28 January - 4 February 2021

2. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Civil Servant Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

3. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Space Physics at JHU/APL

4. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Space Physics at UAH

5. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Position in Local ISM and/or Exoplanets

6. ANNOUNCEMENT: Access to Solar Orbiter Low Latency Data

7. ANNOUNCEMENT: The Solar Orbiter Mission A&A Special Issue

8. ANNOUNCEMENT: Solar Orbiter First Data Release

9. ANNOUNCEMENT: New AGU SPA Student Committee - Join us!

10. ANNOUNCEMENT: SPA SUPPORT FOR DEPENDENT CARE COSTS DURING THE FALL AGU MEETING 2020

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1. MEETING: COSPAR Scientific Assembly, NEW DATES: 28 January - 4 February 2021

43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly will take place on 28 January - 4 February at the International Convention Center in Sydney, Australia. The 2021 Assembly will combine the latest in space research findings with activities designed to enrich the global space research community - including helping equip our future leaders, and workshopping with space industry - and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. You will have the opportunity of a lifetime to interact directly with everything that Australia has to offer - our science and innovation, our people, our heritage, and our beautiful environment. The Assembly website is https://www.cospar2020.org/.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:

Early Bird Registration Deadline 31 October 2020

Speaker Registration Deadline 31 October 2020

Accommodation Booking Deadline 15 December 2020

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2. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Civil Servant Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

The Energetic Particle Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is looking to hire a scientist with experience in designing, building and analyzing data from instruments that measure ionized and neutral high-energy particles in the heliosphere and magnetosphere. The laboratory currently has instruments in development for the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission (launch in 2024), several cubesats for Low-Earth Orbit and interplanetary space, and the Lunar Gateway.

The Energetic Particle Laboratory is in the Heliospheric Science Laboratory (Code 672) of Goddard's Heliophysics Science Division.

This is a US Government Civil Servant position, therefore applicants are required to be either US citizens or currently holding a green card and are expected to have a PhD in a related field and several years of experience beyond completion of their PhD. Interested individuals should send a current CV to Adam Szabo (adam.szabo at nasa.gov), Code 672 Lab Chief, and Eric Christian (eric.r.christian at nasa.gov), Code 672 Associate Lab Chief and head of the Energetic Particle Laboratory.

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3. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Space Physics at JHU/APL

The Space Physics Group at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) is seeking a Post-Doctoral Researcher to conduct basic scientific research on energetic particle processes in the inner heliosphere through the use of observations from the Parker Solar Probe mission and the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS) instrument on Solar Orbiter. Efforts will include data processing, instrument operation, science trade analyses in support of both missions, as well as in-depth original scientific research on solar wind, energetic particle acceleration, coronal mass ejections, and related fundamental physical processes.

The successful applicant must have completed a PhD in Physics or a related field by the start of the position, and demonstrated experience in a scientific field applicable to space physics. The applicant should have an in-depth knowledge of space plasma and/or solar physics, preferably including acceleration and transport processes of energetic particles in the corona and the solar wind. The applicant should have experience with the analysis of in-situ and/or remote sensing datasets, and the ability to utilize models, either empirical or physics-based, to aid the interpretation of spacecraft observations.

For more details and to apply, please see: https://prdtss.jhuapl.edu/jobs/post-doctoral-fellow-solar-space-physics-573

For questions, please contact Dr. Robert Allen (Robert.Allen at jhuapl.edu)

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4. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Space Physics at UAH

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Assistant III to conduct research in Space Physics. The Postdoctoral Research Assistant will work with researchers at UAH on numerical modeling of the helium atom transport from the local interstellar medium into the inner heliosphere and participate in the comparison of simulated energetic neutral helium fluxes with the Interstellar Boundary Explorer measurements.

A successful candidate must have Ph.D. in Physics, Astronomy, or Engineering, or related field with 2-3 years of full-time verifiable work experience (GRA experience counts). Candidates with 1 to 3 years of postdoctoral research in numerical modeling of space plasma flows are especially encouraged to apply.

The approximate starting salary is $52,216 to $60,000 with an excellent benefits package (www.uah.edu/hr/benefits). To ensure full consideration, applicants should submit a complete CV, a cover letter detailing experience and three references. Qualified applicants should apply online for the Postdoctoral Research Assistant III at https://careers.uah.edu/cw/en-us/job/493633/postdoctoral-research-assistant-iii

Questions should be addressed to Nikolai Pogorelov (np0002@uah.edu).

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5. JOB OPPORTUNITY: Postdoctoral Position in Local ISM and/or Exoplanets

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work in collaboration with Seth Redfield primarily on UV/optical/IR spectra of the interstellar medium and/or transiting exoplanets. Projects may include measuring and modeling the fundamental properties of the interstellar medium amongst the nearest stars and/or characterizing the atmospheres and circumplanetary environments of exoplanets. The data sources are high-resolution spectra from a variety of ground-based and space-based facilities, spanning the UV, optical, and IR. Experience with data reduction and analysis, high resolution spectroscopy, and observational studies of the ISM and/or exoplanets will be helpful. The precise research direction will be determined in collaboration with the Postdoctoral Research Associate. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will be encouraged to interact with other faculty and to carry out independent research with full access to observational facilities available. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in astronomy or astrophysics at the start of the appointment.

Wesleyan University, located between New York City and Boston, has a small and active astronomy program which emphasizes involvement of undergraduate and M.A. students in research. The Postdoctoral Research Associate would also have the opportunity, if desired, to develop educational skills through mentoring students in research and possibly teaching. This is a grant-funded position and funding has been approved for 2 years with the possibility of 1 additional year contingent upon mutual agreement and continued funding. Anticipated start date is in the Fall of 2021.

The following documents are required (submitted electronically): (1) Cover letter, (2) Current curriculum vitae with publication list, and (3) Statement of research experience and interests. Applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to sredfield@wesleyan.edu by the due date. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Applications received by 15 December 2020 will be given full consideration.

Salary is competitive and includes health and retirement benefits as well as a travel allowance. Please see the Wesleyan Benefits website for more information: https://www.wesleyan.edu/hr. Related URLs include Seth Redfield's web site, the Astronomy Department at Wesleyan, and the Planetary Science Group at Wesleyan (see below):

https://sethredfield.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/

https://www.wesleyan.edu/astro/

https://www.wesleyan.edu/planetary/

Apply through the Wesleyan Online Career Opportunities site here: https://careers.wesleyan.edu/postings/7487

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6. ANNOUNCEMENT: Access to Solar Orbiter Low Latency Data

The Solar Orbiter teams are making public the Low Latency data from the four in-situ instruments (EPD, MAG, RPW, SWA), available via the ESA Solar Orbiter Archive.

Low Latency data are a limited subset of each instrument's data, downlinked in full during every communications pass. They are primarily an operational product, designed to provide situational awareness to the Solar Orbiter team, while the spacecraft is far from Earth, and it takes several weeks to months for science data to be returned to Earth. Within the team, low latency data will be used to perform high-level instrument health checks, to help choose the best targets for the high-resolution imagers, and, for some instruments, to help us select the most interesting events to downlink at the best resolution.

These data will be immediately available to the whole community from now on and for the entire duration of the mission. However they should be used with caution: they are not of a sufficient quality to undertake science analysis and results derived from them should not be submitted for publication. Full science-quality level 2 data products will be released later this year.

More details on how to access these data, together with a list of caveats are provided in this link: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/access-to-solar-orbiter-low-latency-data

For more information, feel free to contact the instruments' Principal Investigators:

EPD (Energetic Particle Detector) PI: Javier Rodriguez-Pacheco, University of Alcala, Spain, fsrodriguez at uah.es

MAG (Magnetometer) PI: Tim Horbury, Imperial College London, UK, t.horbury at imperial.ac.uk

RPW (Radio and Plasma Waves) PI: Milan Maksimovic, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, France, milan.maksimovic at obspm.fr

SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) PI: Chris Owen, MSSL, University College London, UK, c.owen at ucl.ac.uk

For mission-level questions, please contact the ESA Project Scientists:

Daniel Mueller: daniel.mueller at esa.int

Yannis Zouganelis: yannis.zouganelis at esa.int

For questions about the Solar Orbiter Archive, please contact the Archive Scientist, Pedro Osuna (Pedro.Osuna at sciops.esa.int).

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7. ANNOUNCEMENT: The Solar Orbiter Mission A&A Special Issue

The Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) journal has published a special issue featuring a series of 17 papers on the Solar Orbiter mission and its instruments.

The entire issue is open access and all papers can be downloaded following this link:

https://www.aanda.org/component/toc/?task=topic&id=1082

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8. ANNOUNCEMENT: Solar Orbiter First Data Release

On September 30, ESA released the first science data from the Solar Orbiter mission launched on 10 February 2020. This release concerns data from the in-situ payload that entered its science phase on 15 June 2020, when the spacecraft was at its first perihelion at 0.51 astronomical units. Calibrated data from the instruments EPD (Energetic Particle Detector), MAG (Magnetometer) and RPW (Radio and Plasma Waves) are publicly available, while data from the SWA instrument (Solar Wind Analyser) will become public later this year. The remote-sensing payload will start its science phase in November 2021.

All data are available via the ESA Solar Orbiter Archive: http://soar.esac.esa.int/soar/

In the future, new calibrated science data will be made available at the latest three months after their reception on the ground, following the open-data philosophy of the mission.

For more information, feel free to contact the instruments' Principal Investigators:

EPD (Energetic Particle Detector) PI: Javier Rodriguez-Pacheco, University of Alcala, Spain, fsrodriguez at uah.es

MAG (Magnetometer) PI: Tim Horbury, Imperial College London, UK, t.horbury at imperial.ac.uk

RPW (Radio and Plasma Waves) PI: Milan Maksimovic, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, France, milan.maksimovic at obspm.fr

SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) PI: Chris Owen, MSSL, University College London, UK, c.owen at ucl.ac.uk

For mission-level questions, please contact:

Daniel Mueller (ESA Project Scientist): daniel.mueller at esa.int

Yannis Zouganelis (ESA Deputy Project Scientist): yannis.zouganelis at esa.int

For questions about the Solar Orbiter Archive, please contact the Archive Scientist, Pedro Osuna (Pedro.Osuna at sciops.esa.int).

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9. ANNOUNCEMENT: New AGU SPA Student Committee - Join us!

Greetings to all students and early career scientists!

Are you interested in making the upcoming Virtual AGU Fall meeting more accessible and inclusive? Do you have ideas about things that the SPA Section could be doing to serve our community in general? Then come join me in the new AGU SPA student committee!

My name is Gilly, and I am your student representative on the SPA Executive Committee. Last month, the student representatives from all of the AGU sections had a meeting where we talked about what each section was doing to support their communities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/163sbXaCpzzsy67I0X-wVXckjfw1r1a2Tf1eArI_2U5I/edit

In response to that meeting, our section has decided to form our own SPA Student Committee. This committee will be responsible for communicating the needs of the students at AGU meetings (and throughout the rest of the year too!) to the executive committee, and will be well positioned to spearhead initiatives that serve our community. And because this is a new committee, there is a lot of room for the role of the committee to evolve to best meet our needs. If you are interested in volunteering, please fill this brief form (full link below). Open to anyone who wants to improve the student experience at AGU, including high schoolers, undergraduates, grad students, postdocs, and EC scientists. Feel free to email me directly at chris.gilly at colorado.edu if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Chris Gilly (he/him)

AGU SPA Student Representative

PhD Candidate, Heliophysics

University of Colorado Boulder, APS Dept.

Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Public Talk Facilitator, Fiske Planetarium

www.gilly.space

Student Rep Meeting Minutes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/163sbXaCpzzsy67I0X-wVXckjfw1r1a2Tf1eArI_2U5I/edit?usp=sharing

Interest in Joining Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdElI8G3qjZURc9qjpr7whN7qaLQHXhaCbFvb7eGTfeczUXxg/viewform

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10. ANNOUNCEMENT: SPA SUPPORT FOR DEPENDENT CARE COSTS DURING THE FALL AGU MEETING 2020

While we are exciting about the upcoming Fall AGU meeting, SPA recognizes that this may be a difficult and complicated time for many people. One aspect of this is providing care for dependents conflicts with attending virtual meetings.

With support from our sponsors, Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace, SPA is able to provide some help through awards intended to offset the cost of dependent care during the Fall AGU Meeting.

If you are interested in being considered for these awards, please fill out the application at:

https://forms.gle/fPqJaG4YiQrSXRuK6

Sincerely,

The SPA leadership team

Christina Cohen

Geoff Reeves

Larry Paxton

Liz MacDonald

Romina Nikoukar

Christina Lee

Ale Pacini

Chris R. Gilly

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All the best,

Jamie