Orals: Tue, 5 May, 08:30–10:15 | Room L1
Proba-3 is a mission dedicated to the in-flight demonstration of precise formation flying techniques and technologies, launched on 5 December 2024. The Proba-3 mission consists of two small satellites in a highly elliptical orbit around the Earth. During observation campaigns around the orbit apogee, the two satellites fly in a precise formation, producing a very long baseline solar coronagraph called ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun). One spacecraft carries the optical telescope, and the second spacecraft carries the external occulter of the coronagraph. The inter-satellite distance of around 144 m allows observing the inner corona in eclipse-like conditions, i.e. close to the solar limb and with very low straylight, in different channels: white light (total brightness), Fe XIV (530.45 nm), He I (587.72 nm) and polarisation. The first results of ASPIICS will be presented, and synergies with other missions observing the corona will be discussed.
How to cite: Dolla, L.: Observing the solar corona with the PROBA-3/ASPIICS coronagraph from 1.1 to 3 solar radii, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-17258, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-17258, 2026.
In order to investigate the sources and the physical mechanisms for the propagation of the Slow Solar Wind (SSW), it is essential to analyze and modeling solar data in the middle corona which determines the large scale structure and also the origin of the SSW (from 1.5 up to 6 solar radii).
We have analysed high temporal frequency visible light observations acquired by Metis coronagraph on Solar Orbiter during the perihelia on October 2022, April 2023 and September 2024.
In particular, we focused on series of total and polarized Brightness observations lasting for 40 min up to few hours, acquired with a cadence of 20 s and 60 s. The field of view of the observations ranges from 1.7 to 3.5 solar radii.
We have found in these data sets several examples of inflows detected as collapsing loops and density inhomogeneities. We have noticed that this kind of features are observed mainly along the streamer axis and they are not observed in pseudo-streamers.
Similar features have been detected by ASPIICS on PROBA3 from the limb to few solar radia, allowing the study of the dynamics of the corona with a continuous coverage of the field of view.
How to cite: Abbo, L., Andretta, V., Zhukov, A., Mierla, M., Fineschi, S., Romoli, M., Spadaro, D., and Susino, R.: Detection of downflows with Metis and ASPIICS observations, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-13364, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-13364, 2026.
For the first time in the history of solar physics, the solar corona can be observed in its entirety radial extent . This achievement is made possible by the combined capabilities of a new generation of spaceborne coronagraphs—ASPIICS/PROBA‑3 probing the inner corona, Metis aboard Solar Orbiter covering the mid‑corona, and LASCO on SoHO together with CCOR aboard GOES19 and PUNCH extending the view outward. Together, these instruments provide unprecedented multi‑passband coverage from approximately 1.1 up to 30 solar radii.
Within this emerging observational framework, Metis plays a pivotal role. Its simultaneous visible‑light and ultraviolet HI Lyman‑α imaging, when integrated with complementary measurements from other missions, enables detailed diagnostics of key coronal plasma properties and large‑scale dynamics across the 1.7–9 solar radii range. In this review, it will be outlined the major advances achieved to date, including constraints on solar wind outflows (2D maps and fluctuations) and the characterization of density fluctuations associated with waves and dynamic phenomena such as eruptive prominences, CMEs, and CME‑driven shocks.
How to cite: Frassati, F.: Observing the Solar Corona: How Metis advances our understanding of solar wind, waves, CMEs, and shocks, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-12665, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-12665, 2026.
Understanding how erupting prominences evolve while propagating into the middle corona is essential for constraining the early phase of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
This study aims to investigate the evolution of erupting prominences across the transition from the inner to the middle corona by Solar Orbiter EUI/FSI EUV observations with Metis coronagraph images. The unique characteristics of these instruments—notably the large field of view of the FSI imager, the overlap between their FOVs together with the high-cadence sequences acquired during Remote Sensing Windows—enable the construction of continuous mosaics. These mosaics trace prominence dynamics and morphology seamlessly from their onset in the low corona up to several solar radii. As part of this project, we are developing EUIMET, a dedicated tool that generates EUI/ FSI - Metis mosaics from calibrated data and provides configurable enhancement techniques and opacity level options to optimize the visibility of faint key coronal features.
We apply this method to the spectacular polar crown eruption of 20 October 2023, jointly observed by both instruments, and perform an in-depth morphological and kinematic characterization using triangulation and time–distance analyses. This case study serves as a proof of concept for future systematic investigations of eruptive prominences observed simultaneously in EUV, UV, and with-light regimes.
By providing a unified view of prominence evolution across the middle corona, this work aims to improve our understanding of CME initiation and propagation processes. The developed mosaic tool and data products will be made publicly available to support the solar physics community.
How to cite: De Leo, Y., Di Lorenzo, L., Jerse, G., Zhuang, B., Cremades, H., Temmer, M., and Romoli, M.: Investigating the evolution of erupting prominences seamlessly using mosaics of EUI/FSI and Metis, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-9643, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-9643, 2026.
We present an analysis of internal oscillations observed in a solar prominence located at the eastern limb on 26 September 2022. The prominence axis is oriented nearly parallel to the line of sight (approximately perpendicular to the limb), providing a particularly favorable geometry for the simultaneous detection of intensity variations and Doppler-shift signatures. Wavelet analysis was performed on ground-based H-α observations from the Solar Dynamics Doppler Imager (SDDI), complemented by space-based data from the SDO/AIA 304 Å and STEREO-A 304 Å channels. These chromospheric diagnostics of cool prominence plasma were further supplemented by coronal observations from UCoMP. The primary aim of this study is to compare oscillation periods detected within the prominence body with those present in the surrounding coronal environment, allowing us to investigate the coupling between cool chromospheric material and the overlying hot coronal plasma. The prominence is embedded within a well-developed coronal cavity, indicative of strong magnetic structure and a significant decrease of ambient coronal density.
How to cite: Wiśniewska, A., Koza, J., Muro, G., and Ichimoto, K.: Multi-Diagnostic Investigation of Solar Prominence Oscillations from the Chromosphere to the Corona, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-2447, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-2447, 2026.
Recent advances in space-based solar instrumentation, from missions such as Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, Proba3, Aditya, and PUNCH, have significantly expanded our ability to observe the solar corona across a wide range of wavelengths, spatial scales, and observational geometries. By combining EUV imaging with white-light coronagraphic and heliospheric observations, both static and dynamic coronal structures can now be investigated in unprecedented detail. Recent advances in coronal polarimetry provide new opportunities to probe the coronal magnetic field, offering additional constraints on the 3D geometry of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and on the dynamics of the expanding corona. Special focus lies on the onset of CMEs, which can be tracked continuously from their low-coronal onset through the early stages of their outward propagation. This contribution highlights the synergy between these complementary observations, demonstrating how multi-passband and multi-vantage-point measurements provide new insights into CME initiation, further evolution, and coronal structuring.
How to cite: Temmer, M.: Tracing CME Initiation from the Low Corona to the Inner Heliosphere, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-3392, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-3392, 2026.
Magnetic reconnection at the near-Sun heliospheric current sheet (HCS) dissipates the Parker spiral and converts magnetic energy into kinetic energy of the plasma constituents. Observations at a radial distance of ~16.25 Rs by Parker Solar Probe associated with the encounter 14 (E14) HCS crossing have shown that reconnection-driven particle acceleration mechanisms, likely facilitated by the merging of large-scale flux tubes, are able to accelerate protons up to ~400 keV, which is ≈1000 times greater than the available magnetic energy per particle during this crossing (Desai et al. 2025; Phan et al. 2024). In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of the pitch-angle distributions, differential energy spectra, and maximum energies and spectra of protons and heavy ions (He, O, and Fe) in conjunction with observations of local wave activity during the E14 HCS crossing. Our results show the following: 1) First direct observations of the energization of protons and heavy ions during reconnection. 2) First direct observations that the power-law spectral slopes of heavy ions differ from that of protons, which contradicts previous simulation results where the spectral indices of all ion species are essentially identical. 3) First demonstration that the anisotropies and beams of ions produced during reconnection drive waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies. 4) First evidence that the pitch angle scattering of protons is stronger than that of the other ion species and that this might be responsible for the harder spectral slopes of the heavy ions compared with protons. In summary, PSP observations during the E14 HCS crossing provide strong evidence for in-situ reconnection-driven acceleration of protons and heavy ions at the near-Sun HCS that will need to be fully accounted for by contemporary reconnection-driven energization models.
How to cite: Desai, M., Drake, J., Swisdak, M., Fitzmaurice, A., McComas, D., Bale, S., Phan, T., Berland, G., Mitchell, D., Cohen, C., Hill, M., Christian, E., Schwadron, N., McNutt, R., Matthaeus, W., Rahmati, A., Whittlesey, P., Livi, R., and Larson, D.: Proton and Heavy Ion Acceleration by Magnetic Reconnection at the near-Sun Heliospheric Current Sheet, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-3589, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-3589, 2026.
The solar wind shows different electrons populations, namely, the core, a thermalized isotropic component, and the suprathermals, at energies larger than a few kT, which exhibit non-gaussian energy tails. The latter is divided among an isotropic halo and the strahl population which we can describe as an excess of electrons aligned with the magnetic field line direction.
For this study, we aim at characterizing the strahl electrons distributions and their radial evolution in the close neighborhood of the Sun. For this purpose we study their pitch angle width (PAW) and look for correlations between this quantity and other local plasma or magnetic field parameters. Using the data of the 17th first encounters from Parker Solar Probe plasma analyzers (SPAN-e and SPAN-i) and magnetometers (FIELDS-MAG).
We explore the repartition of the SPAW in a parameter space including distance to the Sun, plasma moments (n, T, v, ...) and magnetic fluctuations properties (alfvenicity, intensity of fluctuations, etc.).
First, we show that Coulomb collisions are the main scattering process closer than 35 solar radii, a region where the SPAW decreases with distance to the Sun - this is a first unambiguous and quantitative observation of the effect of coulomb collisions on suprathermals.
Further away from the Sun, we identify two solar wind type of streams : one in which SPAW are very small, and one characterized by large SPAW. The characteristics of magnetic fluctuations and background plasma properties in these two type of streams are identified, and we discuss the possible reasons of the existence of these low and high scattering regimes.
How to cite: Cherier, E. and Zaslavsky, A.: Scattering of the suprathermal electrons in the solar wind : diagnostic with Parker Solar Probe data, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-10954, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10954, 2026.
Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter are revolutionising our understanding of the Sun’s corona and wind by providing an unprecedented multi-scale view of the inner heliosphere. The Fast Wind Connection Science Solar Orbiter Observing Plan (Fast Wind SOOP) in Spring 2025 highlighted the complementary nature of these missions. Following a Venus gravity assist in February 2025, Solar Orbiter increased its orbital inclination to begin investigating the Sun’s polar regions. In March 2025, with the Sun near activity maximum, Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, and near-Earth satellites intercepted fast solar wind (600-800 km/s) originating from a large trans-equatorial coronal hole within a few days of one another. Parker Solar Probe’s 24th perihelion sampled pristine, sub-Alfvénic solar wind around 10 solar radii, while Solar Orbiter conducted a latitudinal scan at 60–70 solar radii. The variation in radial distance and latitude between the two spacecraft provided valuable insight into the structuring of the solar wind at large scales. While Solar Orbiter targeted high resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the solar wind source regions, supported by observations from Hinode and IRIS. These coordinated campaigns are allowing us to investigate the physical process that heat, accelerate and structure the solar wind at both large and small scales.
How to cite: Finley, A.: Results from the Spring 2025 Fast Wind Connection Science Campaign: Coordinated Sub-Alfvénic and Out-of-Ecliptic Observations, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-5633, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-5633, 2026.
Posters on site: Thu, 7 May, 08:30–10:15 | Hall X4
The origin of the proton beam, a secondary proton population observed in the solar wind, remains unclear. Measurements made by the Solar Probe Cup (SPC) instrument onboard Parker Solar Probe (PSP), together with earlier observations from the Helios mission, suggest that the relative proton beam abundance increases from the Sun to Earth. In addition to the SPC, the PSP is equipped with the SPAN-I instrument which measures ion velocity distribution functions (VDFs) during the PSP’s perihelia that are not covered by the SPC instrument. However, the limited field of view of the SPAN-I instrument prevents direct observation of the full ion VDFs. We apply the Gyrotropic Slepian Reconstruction method (Das and Terres, 2025b) to recover the full ion VDFs and perform bi-Maxwellian fitting to derive the parameters of the proton core and beam populations. We observe that the drift velocity of the proton beam remains close to the local Alfvén speed, even at small heliocentric distances. This finding suggests that the proton beam formation may be related to the reconnection processes near the Sun. Thus, we focus on variations of the proton beam parameters across switchbacks. In addition, we investigate the radial evolution of the proton beam parameters using combined observations from PSP and Solar Orbiter.
How to cite: Satyasmita, S., Durovcova, T., Das, S. B., Terres, M., Nemecek, Z., and Safrankova, J.: Processing of ion VDFs from the SPAN-I measurement onboard Parker Solar Probe, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-5277, 2026.
Understanding how energy is transferred in the solar wind is a fundamental problem in heliophysics. A primary source of energy in the solar corona and solar wind is the ubiquitous presence of both coherent and incoherent waves. In particular, recent observations from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) have provided compelling evidence for the role these waves play in transferring energy to the plasma, offering new insights into the microphysical processes governing solar wind dynamics. Here, we propose a new method to identify coherent and incoherent waves using measurements from PSP. Using the resulting datasets, we investigate the distribution of magnetic helicity in two-dimensional wavenumber space and examine the evolution of turbulence imbalance at sub-ion scales. These results provide new observational constraints on the formation and evolution of turbulence in the near-Sun solar wind.
How to cite: Zhao, J.: Observations of Coherent and Incoherent Waves in the Near-Sun Solar Wind, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-10907, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10907, 2026.
The WISPR instrument onboard Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has provided unprecedented observations of the solar corona, revealing fine-scale structures with exceptional spatial and temporal resolution. Among the most prominent features observed are circle or oval shaped transient density enhancements, commonly referred to as blobs. WISPR images are densely populated with these bright, quasi-circular features. We apply a machine learning (ML)–based approach for automatic blob detection, to handle variations in blob size, brightness, and image background complexity. When applied to multiple PSP encounters (E1-E24), this method reveals a clear increase in the number of detected blobs with decreasing heliocentric distance, in agreement with expectations from coronal dynamics and density dropoff. In addition, we find a significantly higher number of blobs in the aftermath of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The structures can originate from different physical processes including tearing instabilities at the post–coronal mass ejection (CME) current sheets, interchange reconnection in the corona and magnetic reconnection between flux ropes and the ambient solar wind. This ML-based approach enables robust blob detection across varying observational conditions and provides new insights into the spatial distribution and evolution of coronal density structures in the near-Sun environment.
How to cite: Cappello, G., Temmer, M., Li, Y., Jarolim, R., Liewer, P. C., and Bothmer, V.: Automatic Detection of Blobs in WISPR/Parker Solar Probe Data Using a Machine Learning Approach, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-11653, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-11653, 2026.
The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative team developed projects for the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses, building on the group's success from the 2017 Citizen CATE Experiment. The DEB Initiative instrument captured the inner white-light corona at a roughly 5 second cadence and had slight overlap with the SOHO LASCO field-of-view. The DEB Initiative data imaged the inner 90 arcsec of the corona which is not visible with the new Proba-3 ASPIICS instrument. During the 08 Apr 2024 total solar eclipse, DEB citizen science teams operated 80 telescopes at sites both inside and outside the path of totality. Within the path of totality, more than 30 teams collected approximately 500 Gbytes of imagery at locations from Mazatlan, Mexico, to Moncton, Canada. Team positioning provided over 90 minutes in coverage from the first image to the last image, but cloudy weather, combined with geographical spacing, resulted in gaps with no data during about 37 minutes of that time. We discuss the image processing from single exposures to spatially-filtered HDR summed frames using several of the types of analysis produced by Druckmuller and co-workers with some changes for our particular instruments. We also discuss spatial and intensity calibration among several of the telescopes which collected scientific data.
How to cite: Brevik, C., Penn, M., Baer, R., Mandrell, C., and Henson, H.: Ground-based, white-light imaging of the solar corona by the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative during the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-15657, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-15657, 2026.
Starting from encounter 22, Parker Solar Probe is on orbits having the closest approach to the sun (perihelion of 9.9 Rs). We examine the encounter 22, the period from 22nd to 27th December 2024, during which there is roughly three continuous days of sub-alfvenic solar wind. Two heliospheric current sheet crossings are identified. A particular region of interest is also the region of strong fluctuations in the plasma parameters on the 24th of December, when the spacecraft is close to the perihelion. We study the dynamics of the solar wind and the formation of localized structures, such as switchbacks, current sheets, and magnetic flux ropes. We compare these to similar structures that form during periods of Aflvenic solar wind. This allows us to conclude on potential generation mechanisms of different localized structures.
How to cite: Abdulmajed, R., Vaivads, A., Karlsson, T., Sorriso-Valvo, L., and D. Bale, S.: Small-scale localized structures in sub-alfvenic regions of solar wind, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-19918, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19918, 2026.
The Quasi-Thermal Noise (QTN) spectroscopy is an efficient tool to study, in the radio frequency domaine, the electrostatic fluctuations due to the thermal motion of the charged particles in a plasma that surrounds a passive antenna. This noise is ubiquitous, and most of the time, is dominant around the electronic plasma frequency.
The voltage power spectrum of the electrostatic fluctuations depends on the velocity distribution of the electrons fe(v), in addition to the antenna response function. The shape of the QTN in a weakly magnetized plasma allows one to yield an accurate diagnostic of the electron properties such as the total electron density ne and core temperature Tc, which allows one to analyze the electronic populations in the solar wind with great precision.
We present a semi-automatic method to determine the density of the electrons.
It has been applied on the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and on the WIND spacecraft, between late 2018 and early 2025.
Yielding a large-scale structure of the solar wind density, down to 10 Solar Radii, we discuss on its radial and temporal variations with the solar cycle.Finally, based on the above method, we discuss on the implementation of a full fitting to deduce a precise diagnostic of the thermal and non-thermal populations of the electrons, both in the solar wind and in the hermean magnetosphere, when the BepiColombo data will be available in early 2027.
How to cite: Verkampt, B., Issautier, K., Griton, L., and Meyer-Vernet, N.: Quasi-Thermal Noise Spectroscopy, a powerful tool for understanding the plasma in the Heliosphere., EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-20801, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-20801, 2026.
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is the first spacecraft deeply diving into the solar corona. By the EGU 2026, PSP will have completed 27 orbits, including 6 perihelia as close as 9.86 solar radii. PSP reached the ultimate perihelion of 9.86 solar radii first on 24 December 2024, and every 88 days afterwards. This presentation presents a summary of the white-light, plasma and magnetic field properties of magnetic flux rope CMEs and ICMEs observed remotely and in-situ within the solar corona by the WISPR camera and the SWEAP and FIELDS plasma and magnetic field instruments. The study includes events als observed by the imagers of the PUNCH mission.
How to cite: Bothmer, V., Bale, S., Cappello, G., Chifu, I., Deforest, C., Gibson, S., Hess, P., Linton, M., Müller, E., Palmerio, E., Pulupa, M., Shaik, S., Stenborg, G., Stevens, M., Temmer, M., Team, P., and Team, P.: Parker Solar Probe observations of magnetic flux ropes from within the solar corona, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-22305, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-22305, 2026.
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has observed strong perpendicularly diffused proton beams in velocity distribution functions. These were first reported by Verniero et al 2022 and termed as so-called hammerhead VDFs. Attempts to numerically simulate the formation of hammerheads have yet to produce results in alignment with spacecraft observations. This necessitates detailed statistical studies of the occurrence conditions and the associated plasma processes in order to better guide simulations. We developed a Python-based, open-source and fast hammerhead detector called hampy and investigated 20+ recent encounters of PSP data starting from E04. We also carry out detailed field-of-view (FOV) analysis to disqualify the hammerhead detection being a consequence of FOV-biased detection. Our results show that hammerheads dominantly occur around the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). As the HCS goes from being flat to vertical over the solar cycle (going from early to later PSP encounters), the occurrence of hammerheads are seen to pile up in narrow bounds around the HCS with progressively later encounters. We also characterize the hammerhead populations across encounters and heliospheric distance to study trends in the anisotropy of the proton beam and its connection to the density of proton beams as well as the drift speed of the beam to the core.
How to cite: Das, S. B., Verniero, J., Badman, S., Alexander, R., Terres, M., Paulson, K., Shankarappa, N., Fraschetti, F., Rivera, Y., Carcaboso, F., Larson, D., Livi, R., Rahmati, A., and Stevens, M.: Dominant occurrence of hammerhead velocity distributions close to the heliospheric current sheet, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-8461, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-8461, 2026.
The 2024 total solar eclipse over North America provided a multi-perspective view of the Sun and solar wind through combined ground (DKIST, Mauna Loa Solar Observatory UCoMP and K-Cor) and space (Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, LASCO, Hinode) -based remote and in situ observations. Through a multi-mission coordinated effort, we examine near-contemporaneous and multi-wavelength observations of the corona to derive detailed plasma conditions and magnetic field properties used to compute an energy budget of an equatorial coronal hole. The remote properties of nascent coronal hole wind are connected to its heliospheric counterpart sampled by Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter during a fortuitous spacecraft alignment. Together, the Alfvén wave, enthalpy, kinetic, and gravitational energy fluxes of a single solar wind stream can be traced from deep in the corona (subsonic regime), across the Alfvén surface and beyond, providing critical constraints to the mass and energy flow in the atmosphere of our star. Our main results show that a hydrodynamic framework with added Alfvén wave forcing accurately describes radial solar wind observations. Comparisons between measured magnetic and velocity fluctuations and the radial scaling of the WKB approximation indicate significant dissipation below the Alfvén surface.
How to cite: Rivera, Y. and the 2024 Solar Eclipse Coordination Team: Measured energy exchange in coronal hole solar wind from its solar origins to the heliosphere, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-12938, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-12938, 2026.
Posters virtual: Thu, 7 May, 14:00–18:00 | vPoster spot 4
EGU26-266 | ECS | Posters virtual | VPS28
An important medium for ion energization and non-thermal ions' energy release in the near-Sun solar wind: ion-scale wavesThu, 07 May, 14:06–14:09 (CEST) vPoster spot 4
How to cite: Liu, W.: An important medium for ion energization and non-thermal ions' energy release in the near-Sun solar wind: ion-scale waves , EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-266, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-266, 2026.
EGU26-15364 | Posters virtual | VPS28
Status of MEGA-H: An Ultra-Wide-Field Camera for Heliophysics ApplicationsThu, 07 May, 14:09–14:12 (CEST) vPoster spot 4
MEGA-H is a multi-detector, wide-field telescope system that produces ultra-high-resolution, seamless images. The optical path employs pickoff mirrors that partition the image field onto three individual detectors. The detectors can be located conveniently apart from each other while preserving the whole FOV and producing a recombined image without any gaps. This architecture enables a scientist to choose the best detector for the task, which may have the good detection properties but insufficient number of pixels, and combine multiple detectors to achieve the desired pixel count. This camera system will initially be mounted behind a wide FOV white light imager and be capable of both wide FOV (10 degrees on diagonal) and high instantaneous field of view (iFOV) (<1.5”) to observe the Sun’s corona.
We describe our progress in assembling and testing the instrument, which is built around COTS telescope optics and camera heads. Alignment features facilitate fine positioning of the two pickoff mirrors and three camera heads. Stray light control features prevent ‘sneak path’ rays from falling on the wrong detector. The instrument is designed to work in an airborne environment. A thermal control subsystem incorporates four thermal zones, to maintain tight focus and alignment under dynamic environmental conditions, while a focus mechanism compensates for large changes in temperature. The data path is sized to store full-resolution data from three 127 Mpixel cameras, at a rate of 10 GB/s. A real time viewer produces fused images from the three cameras for monitoring of the image acquisition process.
MEGA-H is sponsored by HESTO, NASA’s Heliophysics Science and Technology Office.
How to cite: Eskin, J., Caspi, A., DeForest, C., Oakley, P., Brown, B., Finch, T., Frye, J., Lage, J., Sharma, J., Speck, R., Spuhler, P., and Turner, R.: Status of MEGA-H: An Ultra-Wide-Field Camera for Heliophysics Applications, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-15364, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-15364, 2026.
