The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
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Kelly Korreck

Center for Astrophysics
Astrophysicist
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Kelly Korreck
kkorreck@cfa.harvard.edu

About

I am a solar physicist working at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the High Energy Astrophysics Department in the Solar Stellar X-ray Group (SSXG). I work on understanding high energy phenomena associated with shock physics in the heliosphere and in astronomical systems such as supernova remnants. To do this, I work on building and operating scientific satellite instrumentation. I am a science Co-I and former chief observer for the X-ray Telescope (XRT) aboard JAXA's Hinode Satellite. I was a planner for the TRACE Satellite. The images from this wonderful satellite is the reason why I am in solar physics. I had the distinct pleasure to work with an amazing international team to build the High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) Sounding Rocket. Those 5 minutes of flight captured the highest resoultion images of the solar corona in the extreme ultraviolet. Currently, I am a science Co-I and head of Science Operations of the Solar Wind Electron Alpha and Proton (SWEAP) Instrument Suite which will fly on NASA's Solar Probe Plus - a mission to touch the Sun's corona.

Telescopes and Instruments

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
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High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C)

Why the Sun’s corona — the wispy outermost atmosphere — is so much hotter than its surface stands as a big mystery in solar science. NASA’s High-Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) is an ultraviolet telescope designed to help solve the mystery, and understand the processes by which the Sun sends violent storms of particles into the Solar System. Since most of the light from the Sun’s atmosphere is blocked by air molecules on Earth, Hi-C is carried on a short-flight rocket into Earth’s upper atmosphere. Since 2012, Hi-C has flown three times, providing the highest resolution images of the corona and revealing new details in the Sun’s atmosphere. Hi-C is jointly operated by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, with contributions from other researchers around the world.

Visit the Hi-C Website
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