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| Solar Physics Division (AAS) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Solar Physics Division (AAS) |
| Formation | 1969 |
| Type | Division of a professional society |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | International |
| Parent organization | American Astronomical Society |
Solar Physics Division (AAS) The Solar Physics Division is a specialized division of the American Astronomical Society focused on the study of the Sun and related heliospheric phenomena. It serves as a professional forum linking researchers, educators, and instrument scientists associated with institutions such as the National Solar Observatory, NASA, European Space Agency, and observatories including Mount Wilson Observatory and Big Bear Solar Observatory. The Division interfaces with missions and projects like Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Parker Solar Probe, and Solar Orbiter while coordinating with societies such as the Royal Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union.
The Division emerged within the American Astronomical Society amid growing interest generated by programs such as the International Geophysical Year and the launch of observatories like Lick Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory. Founding members included scientists affiliated with Harvard College Observatory, Caltech, Stanford University, and University of Colorado Boulder who had worked on projects tied to the Apollo program and early spaceborne solar instruments. During the 1970s and 1980s the Division expanded its role in coordinating community responses to missions such as Helios (spacecraft), Hinode, and planning activities related to SOHO and the Ulysses mission. Later decades saw cross-disciplinary collaboration with researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and international partners at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
Governance follows the structure of the American Astronomical Society with an elected Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and an Executive Committee composed of members from universities and national laboratories such as University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Michigan, Princeton University, and University of Chicago. Advisory panels include representatives from agencies like National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as liaisons to the Committee on Space Research, the American Geophysical Union, and facility managers from National Solar Observatory and High Altitude Observatory. Bylaws and election procedures are administered consistent with policies of the American Astronomical Society and oversight by legal counsel often engaged from institutions near Washington, D.C..
Membership comprises researchers, instrument scientists, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and emeritus scientists from institutions like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, European Southern Observatory, and Space Telescope Science Institute. The Division administers awards and prizes including lectureships and recognition analogous to honors like the Eddington Medal, the Bruce Medal, and the Karl Schwarzschild Medal, while offering travel grants and dissertation prizes that echo programs at National Science Foundation and fellowships similar to those from the Simons Foundation. Award committees have included past winners and nominators from centers such as Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Max Planck Society.
The Division organizes regular scientific meetings, topical sessions, and workshops often co-located with the American Astronomical Society winter meeting, and works with mission teams from NASA Ames Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and international collaborations tied to European Space Agency events. Conferences feature invited speakers from institutions like MIT, Yale University, University of Colorado, University of California, Santa Cruz, and laboratories such as Ames Research Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory, with program committees coordinating special sessions on topics linked to Solar Probe Plus planning, Space Weather forecasting activities, and instrument design workshops associated with Advanced Technology Solar Telescope efforts.
The Division communicates science through channels aligned with journals and publishers such as The Astrophysical Journal, Solar Physics (journal), Astronomy & Astrophysics, and conference proceedings tied to American Institute of Physics. It issues newsletters, position statements, and science white papers that engage agencies like NASA, National Science Foundation, and international bodies including European Space Agency and the Committee on Space Research. Outreach of results occurs via preprints on repositories similar to arXiv, media briefings in coordination with institutions such as Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and press offices at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Education and public outreach programs partner with museums and centers such as the Smithsonian Institution, Planetary Society, California Academy of Sciences, and university outreach offices at University of California, Berkeley and University of Colorado Boulder. Initiatives support teacher training, citizen science projects similar in spirit to programs by the Zooniverse platform, summer schools modeled after workshops at European Southern Observatory and NASA training for educators, and collaborations with amateur astronomy organizations like the Astronomical League.
Research priorities include solar magnetism, helioseismology, flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar-stellar connections pursued at facilities like Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, Big Bear Solar Observatory, National Solar Observatory, and space missions including Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode, Parker Solar Probe, and Solar Orbiter. Work by Division members impacts operational forecasting for space-based assets and infrastructure overseen by agencies such as NOAA, contributes to fundamental plasma physics connected to laboratories like Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and theory centers at Institute for Advanced Study, and informs international consortia including the International Space Weather Initiative and collaborations with the International Astronomical Union.
Category:American Astronomical Society divisions Category:Solar physics organizations