Coronal Mass Ejection and radio source imaged by LOFAR and SDO (see details here)

A fully funded PhD studentship is available in the area of Solar Radio Physics at the University of Glasgow. It is a joint UK-Franco project supported by Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The successful candidate will be based in Glasgow in the Astronomy & Astrophysics group (http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk) and they will closely collaborate with Paris Observatory, Meudon. The PhD student will work with imaging and spectroscopic data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), developing simulations to establish more detailed links between radio transient phenomena and the fine structures in radio burst spectra.

The student should have a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree or higher in a relevant discipline and should be a UK or French National. The anticipated start date is 1st October 2016. Interested candidates should email Dr Kontar.

In the outer solar corona, the radio observations provide the unique link between near-Sun phenomena and the effects of solar activity that extend throughout the heliosphere.  ‘RadioSun‘ sponsored researchers use Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio images to study giant radio source associated with a Coronal Mass Ejection.

“In recognition of truly outstanding research achievements associated with PhD study in the broad field of plasma physics”, the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS) awarded Dr Natasha Jeffrey a PhD prize for her thesis “The spatial, spectral and polarization properties of solar flare X-ray sources“

Peter Levens, a PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group, has won the School of Physics and Astronomy’s Thomson Prize for his second year report on Solar Tornadoes in Prominences.

Well done Peter!

Differential Emission Measure (left) and Emission Measure Distribution (right) for a location in the solar tornado. From Levens et al (2015) A solar tornado observed by EIS: plasma diagnostics. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 582, A27. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201425586)

A recent Times Higher Education article is all about the school’s composer-in-residence Drew Mulholland.

Times Higher Education

The BBC have also interviewed him about his work with the Astrophysics group.

BBC

Rendezvous with the sun

Glasgow solar physicist Dr Bian presents a general public talk for 12+ about the Sun in Irkutsk. “Rendezvous with the sun”

Galina Motorina, former visiting PhD student in A&A group has won a prestigious prize from the Government of St Petersburg for her work on RHESSI and SDO/AIA data  [announcement translated by Google]. This work on DEM in flares has been partially published Geomagnetism and Aeronomy and The Astrophysical Journal.

On the 7th October 2015, bright aurora/northern lights were visible over Glasgow due to fast solar wind from a coronal hole on the Sun. A&A group member Dr Iain Hannah was able to photograph this aurora (shown below) and a time lapse of it is available here.

On Friday 25th, four members of the group attended the Exploration 2015 at Glasgow Science Centre, a free night in which over 1000 members of the public came along to talk to researchers. We showed off some of the latest solar images and explained (using spectral lamps and spectrometers) why we look at the different colours/wavelengths of the solar light.

Amateur and professional astronomers are taking part in an observation campaign of solar flares until the 27th September 2015. F-HUNTERS is a campaign targeted to amateur astronomers, organized by the dissemination team of the F-CHROMA project. The main goal is to encourage solar astrophotographers to hunt for solar flares, along with space and ground-based solar observatories. The progress of the campaign can be followed on F-CHROMA’s Facebook page or Twitter feed.
F-CHROMA is a project funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme, coordinated by Prof Lyndsay Fletcher.

In a short video, Alec explains the importance of solar system plasmas to be discussed at STFC Introductory Solar System Plasmas School hosted by Astronomy & Astrophysics group

The School’s objective is to bring internationally leading UK scientists to instruct and inspire the incoming PhD students. It will provide them with the broad context in which their specific research will reside, and encourage interdisciplinary thinking from the outset.

Thanks to Paul Wright and Duncan Stackhouse one can follow CESRA school via twitter #CESRA2015

Hamish Reid and Natasha Jeffrey speak about radio school in a short UoG video

BBC’s Sky at Night programme this month features work by Dr Iain Hannah on small explosive releases of energy in the Sun’s atmosphere observed by NASA’s NuSTAR telescope. These observations are trying to catch the faint X-ray signatures of electrons being accelerated which would give clues to the physics powering these events.

Glasgow University is hosting the 2015 CESRA radio summer school. The school is open to solar radio physicists including PhD students and early career researchers.  The school will cover the essential elements of theory, modelling and data analysis and will feature lectures and tutorials.  Students will have the opportunity to meet and discuss research topics with their peers together in an informal atmosphere.

Further details: http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/cesra2015/

Baolin Tan (China), Alexey Kuznetsov (Irkutsk, Russia) and Sergei Kuznetsov and Alexander Morgachev (Pulkovo, Russia) visit our group to work on the solar flares and radio emission from the Sun. The visits are supported by pan-European EU funded network ‘RadioSun’  involving China, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and the UK.

The University’s observatory at Acre Rd is being refurbished over the summer – below are some photos showing the good progress that has been made. Lot’s has been done since the fifth, fourth, third, second and first set of pictures.

Dr Prasad Subramanian, an associate professor of Physics at IISER Pune, visited the Glasgow Astronomy Group to study eruptions on the Sun. The collaboration is associated with the renewal of an agreement between University of Glasgow and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune (IISER-Pune).

Duncan Stackhouse, Nic Bian, Iain Hannah and Eduard Kontar jointed solar flare experts from around the world gathered at NJIT last week to share the latest research with RHESSI at 14th RHESSI workshop.

Congratulations to Eduard Kontar and Nic Labrosse who have been newly elected to positions in the International Astronomical Union. Eduard has been elected to the Steering Committee of Division E (Sun and Heliosphere) and Nic to the Steering Committee of Commission E1 (Solar Radiation and Structure). Lyndsay Fletcher also takes over the Presidency of Commission E2 (Solar Activity) and remains as an ex officio member of Division E. All three group members formally assume their new roles after the closing ceremony of the XXIXth General Assembly of the IAU in Honolulu on 14th August 2015.

The University’s observatory at Acre Rd is being refurbished over the summer – below are some photos showing the current progress. Lot’s has been done since the fourth, third, second and first set of pictures.

The University’s observatory at Acre Rd is being refurbished over the summer – below are some photos showing the current progress. Lot’s has been done since the third, second and first set of pictures.

Work by A&A Group member Dr Iain Hannah has featured in a recent image/press release by the Royal Astronomical Society and NASA, showing an image of new X-ray observations of small flares (or microflares) taken with NASA’s NuSTAR telescope (blue in the image), combined with those in EUV from SDO/AIA (red/yellow) and lower energy X-rays from Hinode/XRT (green). This image recently featured as NASA’s image of the day.

The University’s observatory at Acre Rd is being refurbished over the summer – below are some photos showing the current progress. Lot’s has been done since the second and first set of pictures.