The solar wind is the focus of multiple open questions in solar and heliospheric physics. These questions include; 1) how the solar wind creates and controls the inner heliosphere, 2) how the solar corona transitions from the photosphere to the inner heliosphere, 3) how corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the solar wind are generated, 4) how coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are formed and interact with the solar wind? The WISPR optical telescope on the recently launched Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was designed to investigate these open questions. The combination of WISPR observations with other remote sensing observations of the solar corona and heliosphere (i.e. STEREO SECCHI and SOHO LASCO) will provide valuable context for the environment that PSP is flying through. The in-situ measurements from PSP and other spacecraft will provide additional information about the state of the corona and heliosphere. This program uses WISPR and other remote sensing observation as the primary means of investigating the solar wind. Other heliophysics resources can be incorporated to interpret remote sensing observations, including in situ and ground-based observations, and data-driven modeling.

key words

Solar wind; Solar corona; Heliosphere; Solar physics; Coronal mass ejections; Parker Solar Probe

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants