Max Planck Institute For Solar System Research - Research

Research

Subjects of research at the Institute are the various objects within the solar system. A major area of study concerns the Sun, its atmosphere, the interplanetary medium as influenced by the solar wind, as well as the impact of solar particles and radiation on the planets. The second area of research involves the interiors, surfaces, atmospheres, ionospheres, and magnetospheres of the planets and their moons, as well as of comets and asteroids. A further essential part of the activities at the Institute is the development and construction of instruments for space missions. The Institute, as the successor to the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy, is in an excellent position to meet these technologically demanding tasks. Highly qualified and experienced specialists work in well-equipped workshops, in electronic and optics labs as well as with special facilities such as clean rooms, thermal vacuum chambers, and vibration test stands. The analysis and interpretation of the acquired datasets are accompanied by intensive theoretical work. Physical models are proposed and then tested and further developed with the aid of computer simulations.