Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

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Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research April 2006
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research April 2006

The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (abbreviation: MPS; German: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung) is a research institute located in Lindau (Katlenburg-Lindau), Germany 20 km north east of Göttingen. Its two research groups work in the exploration of the sun and heliosphere, and the exploration of planets and comets. MPS is part of the Max Planck Society, which operates 80 research facilities in Germany.

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[edit] History

The history of the institute is closely related to Walter Dieminger, who was head of the Luftwaffe test center at Rechlin at the Müritz from 1934 on. After being renamed to the "Centre for Radio Transmission" in 1943 and moving to Leobersdorf in 1944, the institute was united with the Fraunhofer institute from Freiburg at Ried in the Innkreis. After the war an Allied commission decided to move the institute to Lindau am Harz, where buildings of the Technical University of Hanover already existed. The convoy arrived on the 2nd and 3rd of March 1946. During 1948 the radio institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society was transferred from the Fraunhofer Society to the Max Planck Society and renamed "Institute for Ionosphere Research" in 1949. In 1950 the US Air Force paid for the construction of an ionospheric echolot system. The full transfer from Fraunhofer to Max Planck Society and the appointment of W. Dieminger as Director followed by the transfer of the Max Planck Institute of Stratosphere Research from Weisenau near Ravensburg to Lindau and another renaming to "Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy" completed the built up.

After the retirement of W. Dieminger in 1974 the focus changed from atmospheric research to space research. The Institute participated in a long series of space missions like Galileo, Ulysses, Cluster, SOHO, Cassini-Huygens, Rosetta, Mars Express Venus Express and was responsible for most of the camera system of the Giotto mission to Comet Halley.[1] The framing camera on board of the NASA mission Dawn to the asteroid belt was built at the institute.

The biggest changes to the Institute resulted from German unification with the retraction of two of the four directors of the institute in 1998 and 2004 after the retirement of Hagfors and Rosenbauer. The institute was renamed "Max Planck Institute of Solar System Research" in 2004 after the last director concerned with Ionosphere and Stratosphere research retired. The two remaining groups, of director S. Solanki dedicated to the sun and heliosphere and of U. Christensen dedicated to planets and comets form the present-day Institute.

[edit] Degree programme

[edit] Directors of the Institute

  • 1955-1964 Julius Bartels[2] [3]
  • 1955-1975 Walter Dieminger [4] [5] [6]
  • 1965-1971 Alfred Ehmert[7]
  • 1965-1977 Georg Pfotzer [8]
  • 1974-1990 (William) Ian Axford [9]
  • 1992-1998 Tor Hagfors [10]
  • 1977-2004 Helmut Rosenbauer [11]

[edit] Names of the Institute

  • 1934 Erprobungsstelle der Luftwaffe (test site of German air force)
  • 1943 Zentralstelle für Funkberatung (centre for radio transmission)
  • 1949 Max Planck Institut für Ionensphärenforschung (Max Planck institute for ionospheric research)
  • 1958 Max Planck Institut für Aeronomie (Max Planck institute for aeronomics)
  • 2004 Max Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (Max Planck institute for solar system research)

[edit] References

* "60 Jahre Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung" (2006). Max-Planck Forschung (1): 82–83. 
  1. ^ H. U. Keller, C. Arpigny†, C. Barbieri, R. M. Bonnet, S. Cazesparallel, M. Coradini, C. B. Cosmovici, W. A. Delamere, W. F. Huebner, D. W. Hughes, C. Jamar, D. Malaise§, H. J. Reitsema, H. U. Schmidt, W. K. H. Schmidt, P. Seige, F. L. Whipple and K. Wilhelm (1986). "First Halley Multicolour Camera imaging results from Giotto". Nature 321: 320–326. doi:10.1038/321320a0. 
  2. ^ W. Dieminger (1964). "Julius Bartels (17. 8. 1899–6. 3. 1964)". Naturwissenschaften (10): 229–230. doi:10.1007/BF00641354. 
  3. ^ J. Bartels (1962). "Zur Vorgeschichte der Weltraumforschung". Naturwissenschaften (14): 313–323. doi:10.1007/BF00602195. 
  4. ^ Dieminger W., Kohl H. (1962). "Effects of Nuclear Explosions on the Ionosphere". Nature 193,: 963–964. doi:10.1038/193963a0. 
  5. ^ Dieminger W. (1952). "On the Cause of Excessive Absorption in the ionosphere on Winter Days". J. Atm. Terr. Phys. 2 (6): 340–349. 
  6. ^ Year book Max Planck Society 2001
  7. ^ Ehmert A., Erbe H., Pfotzer G., Anger C.D., Brown R.R. (1960). "Observation of Solar Flare Radiation ans Modulation Effects at Balloon altitudes, July 1959". J. Geophys. 65: 2685–2694. doi:10.1029/JZ065i009p02685. 
  8. ^ Pfotzer, G. ; Ehmert, A. ; Erbe, H. ; Keppler, E. ; Hultqvist, B. ; Ortner, J. (1962). "A Contribution to the Morphology of X-ray Bursts in the Auroral Zone Creator" 67: 575–585. 
  9. ^ S. M. Krimigis, T. P. Armstrong, W. I. Axford, C. O. Bostrom, C. Y. Fan, G. Gloeckler, L. J. Lanzerotti (1977). "The Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) experiment on the Voyager spacecraft". Space Science Reviews 21: 329–354. doi:10.1007/BF00211545. 
  10. ^ Kosch MJ, Hagfors T, Nielsen E (1998). "A new digital all-sky imager experiment for optical auroral studies in conjunction with the Scandinavian twin auroral radar experiment". Rev. Scientific Instr. 69: 578–584. doi:10.1063/1.1148697. 
  11. ^ H. Balsiger*, K. Altwegg, F. Bühler*, J. Geiss, A. G. Ghielmetti, B. E. Goldstein, R. Goldstein, W. T. Huntress, W.-H. Ip, A. J. Lazarusparallel, A. Meier, M. Neugebauer, U. Rettenmund, H. Rosenbauer, R. Schwenn, R. D. Sharp, E. G. Shelley, E. Ungstrup, D. T. Young (1986). "Ion composition and dynamics at comet Halley". Nature 321: 330–334. doi:10.1038/321330a0. 

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 51°38′52″N, 10°7′3″E

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