The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Yeimy Rivera

Center for Astrophysics

Postdoctoral Fellow

Yeimy Rivera

yeimy.rivera@cfa.harvard.edu

About

Dr. Yeimy Rivera received her PhD from the University of Michigan in 2020. Her research pertains to investigating the evolution of plasma from the Sun by studying heavy ions in the solar wind and transients. In the past, she has simulated the non-equilibrium ionization evolution of ions in a coronal mass ejection and the solar wind between the Sun and interplanetary space to investigate the thermodynamic conditions that reproduce ion observations. Throughout her postdoctoral appointment she plans to investigate heavy ion and other plasma signatures in the solar wind to investigate its origin, formation, and evolution from the Sun with Solar Orbiter's Heavy Ion Sensor and Parker Solar Probe.

PhD

Telescopes and Instruments

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

The Sun is both life-giving and dangerous. Variations in the Sun’s light and wind have profound effects on Earth, while solar storms can wreak havoc on power and communications systems. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a spacecraft dedicated to studying these potentially dangerous variations, and the magnetic fields that drive them. Engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian contributed to the design and construction of the four Atmospheric Imaging Array (AIA) telescopes. AIA is one of the three major experiments carried by SDO.

Visit the SDO Website

Parker Solar Probe

What is driving the solar wind? Some particles in the Sun’s atmosphere gain enough speed to escape the Sun’s gravitational pull and bombard the worlds of the Solar System, but the processes behind the phenomenon are still mysterious. To solve that mystery, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe spacecraft was built to fly through the Sun’s atmosphere, performing the first up-close solar measurements in history. Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian built the Solar Probe Cup (SPC) instrument for the spacecraft. SPC is part of the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite used to sample particles directly from the Sun’s atmosphere for analysis.

Visit the Parker Solar Probe SWEAP Website

Solar and Heliospheric Observer (SOHO)

The Sun is the only star we can study in detail, providing us with the opportunity to observe stellar internal structure, magnetic fields, and atmosphere. Solar and Heliospheric Observer (SOHO), a space observatory jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), has been one of the best sources for that knowledge. Originally designed to operate for two years, SOHO has provided daily data on the Sun for more than twenty years, making it one of the longest running space observatories. During that time, SOHO has monitored the Sun’s atmosphere, surface, and seismology, using a wide range of scientific instruments. Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian developed the instrument SOHO uses to measure the ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun.

Visit the SOHO/UVCS Website