Markku Alho – Space Physics Research

TET trainee mapping the space weather chain 30.10.-10.11.2023

Miro Eggert spent his two weeks of vocational training in the space physics research group. Here is what he had to say about his experience:

Hello! I’m currently in 9th grade at Latokartanon peruskoulu. I spent my two weeks of vocational training in the space physics research group at the university of Helsinki. I wanted to come here, because I have been interested in space and physics for a long time. I have also dreamt about becoming a physicist for a bit now, and I wanted to see what it was like to be one.

What was my experience like? It was amazing. The place had a great atmosphere and everyone seemed kind. During the training I had a few jobs to do. First one of them was to make a poster about the physical phenomena that occur between the Sun and Earth. Second one was to do an excel about every spacecraft that are or no longer are in use, from the https://celestrak.org/satcat/ database. Here is a picture of the poster:

The poster by Miro Eggert, describing the space weather chain and environment from the surface of the Sun all the to the Earth, with smaller postcards from the group’s researchers describing some of their work.

Being here for two weeks was very rewarding, because I got to learn so much new information about space and plasma physics. I also attended a few meetings and went to a few lectures. Some of the lectures were quite hard for me to understand, but some of them were easier to understand.

So after all the two weeks went really fast and it was really rewarding to be here. If you are interested in this and you have your TET-training incoming, then I would really recommend this place for you and I bet that you would have an interesting week.

TET-trainee in science visualization, 12.12.-16.12.2022

Marius Junkkarinen participated in vocational training in the space physics group during a week in December, and writes:

Hey! I’m currently in 9th grade, at Järvenperän koulu. I spent my one week work practice here at University of Helsinki, with the Vlasiator space physics group in the department of physics. I decided to apply here, because I’ve been interested in space since I was little. I found out about this place by searching the websites of the Universities located in Espoo and Helsinki.

During the week I got to know what it’s like to be a space physicist. I also participated in a science meeting, and a few seminars, which were about fusion energy, astrophotography and space applications about plasma physics. My main project of the week was to take good looking 3D renders of velocity distribution functions using Blender, and then make a poster about that. Here’s a few photos about that.

Left: Old render and cross-sections; Right: New volumetric render with Blender

Overall, the week was very rewarding, as I learned a lot of new stuff. If your TET-week will be soon, and you are interested in space and physics, consider applying here! You can find contacts from here: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/tutustu-meihin/ihmiset/henkilohaku. The people working here seem motivated to do their job.

Recruiting summer trainees for 2023

The UH Space Physics Group is recruiting summer trainees!

We are offering several positions which will challenge and inspire new space scientists, with topics ranging from solar eruptions such as coronal mass ejections to the complicated plasma dynamics of near-Earth space. Most projects will use either the world’s most accurate space weather simulation Vlasiator or the leading European space weather simulation EUHFORIA, both developed by members of our groups. Some projects will also include direct analysis of satellite observation datasets. Experience with Python and basics of plasma physics are a plus, but not required. Most positions provide an excellent topic for BSc or MSc theses!

A short overview of some of our offered topics are listed below, some full descriptions and staff members who can answer your questions can be found in our thesis section. Please indicate in your application which projects you are interested in and any preference between modelling, observations/data analysis or theory. Also, please indicate if you would like to do your BSc or MSc work based on your summer trainee work.

Please apply for these positions through the University of Helsinki Department of Physics summer trainee application system by 31.1.2023! These positions are open only to students enrolled at the University of Helsinki.

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