Palo Alto Colloquia
The Palo Alto Colloquia are a long-standing tradition of public outreach that deliver information about aerospace research and development to the local community. All presentations are given on Thursdays at 4:15 p.m. in the Lockheed Martin ATC Auditorium in Building 202 and last about an hour. Refreshments are available at 4:00 p.m. Visitors are welcome. Stop by to find out the latest details about some fascinating science! Next Event | Dec 3: FIRST RESULTS FROM THE INTERSTELLAR BOUNDARY EXPLORER: REVEALING THE GLOBAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SOLAR WIND AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM |
Dr. Stephen Fuselier, Lockheed Martin/ATC  The sun moves through the local interstellar medium, continuously emitting ionized, supersonic solar wind plasma and carving out a cavity in interstellar space called the heliosphere. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft was launched in October 2008 to “image the edge of our solar system and beyond—discovering the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium.”
IBEX recently completed the first all-sky maps of this interaction by imaging energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) emanating from the region. These maps reveal a bright “ribbon” of ENA emissions that may be ordered by the local interstellar magnetic field interacting with heliosphere. This talk focuses on predictions of the boundaries prior to IBEX, the IBEX mission design, and the new results.
Dr. Fuselier is senior manager of the Space Physics Department at the Advanced Technology Center, co-investigator on the IBEX science mission, and sensor lead for the IBEX-Lo sensor. His scientific field of interest is space plasma physics, including magnetic reconnection, cometary atmospheres, and neutral atom imaging. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and his master’s and PhD from the University of Iowa, all in physics. He has over 200 publications in science journals and books.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ibex/index.html
|
