Published: 26 June 2026

Webinar with Marco Velli (UCLA, USA)

recorded June 25, 2026

Origins and Structure of the Heliosphere: Novel Discoveries and Insights from Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter

Webinar with Marco Velli (Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA, USA)

The launch of Parker Solar Probe (Parker) in 2018, accompanied shortly after by the launch of Solar Orbiter (Orbiter), has opened a new frontier in the exploration of the Heliosphere.  One of the first observations by Parker Solar Probe was that much of the solar wind, independently of speed, is dominated by Alfvénic fluctuations, suggesting that these fluctuations play a vital role in Heliospheric dynamics. Parker also observed that the Heliospheric current sheet is extremely dynamic in its formation region, with reconnection being a persistently observed process.