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.
Getting to the true sizes of exoplanets
A star’s magnetic field must be considered in order to correctly determine the characteristics of their exoplanets from observations. This is demonstrated by new model calculations presented in the journal Nature Astronomy by a MPS-led research group. The researchers show that the distribution of the star’s brightness over its disk depends on the star’s level of magnetic activity. This, in turn, affects the signature of an exoplanet in observational data.
Venus: Carbon Ions during Flyby
During its flyby of Venus, the European-Japanese twin space probe Bepi Colombo for the first time found carbon ions escaping from the planet's atmosphere into space. A research group involving MPS reports this finding in the journal Nature Astronomy. The idea for the new measurements was inspired by a rare cosmic event that occurred 25 years ago - and brought a whiff of Venus to Earth.
Sunrise III: Next research flight this year
The next stratospheric flight of the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III is planned for early summer this year. The departure of the flight hardware from the MPS to the launch site beyond the Arctic Circle marks the beginning of the final and decisive phase of the mission. On site at Esrange Space Center near the city of Kiruna, the Sunrise team will spend the next two months preparing the telescope, scientific instruments, and gondola for their mission at an altitude of 35 kilometers.
Long-period oscillations control the Sun’s differential rotation
The interior of the Sun does not rotate at the same rate at all latitudes. The physical origin of this differential rotation is not fully understood. A team of MPS scientists has made a ground-breaking discovery. As the team reports in the journal Science Advances, the long-period solar oscillations discovered by MPS scientists in 2021 play a crucial role in controlling the Sun’s rotational pattern.
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A star’s magnetic field must be considered in order to correctly determine the characteristics of their exoplanets from observations by space telescopes such as Kepler, James Webb, or PLATO. This is demonstrated by new model calculations presented ...
During its flyby of Venus, the European-Japanese twin space probe Bepi Colombo for the first time found carbon ions escaping from the planet's atmosphere into space. A research group involving the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) ...
The next stratospheric flight of the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III is planned for early summer this year. Today's departure of the flight hardware from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany to the launch ...
The interior of the Sun does not rotate at the same rate at all latitudes. The physical origin of this differential rotation is not fully understood. A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany has made ...