Solar/Space physicist.
DR. MIHO JANVIER
SOLAR / SPACE PHYSICIST
"Les secrets du Soleil" is out now! (French edition)
Nous évoluons dans le voisinage d’une étoile fascinante, à la fois proche et mystérieuse. Depuis la nuit des temps, nos yeux se sont tournés vers le Soleil, et nous pensons le connaître : son fonctionnement, sa présence à la fois rassurante quand dardent ses rayons et inquiétante quand il est question du réchauffement climatique. Pourtant, la science n’en finit pas de révéler de nouveaux phénomènes surprenants, qui ont des incidences directes sur notre vie.
Saviez-vous, par exemple, que le Soleil n’est pas (que) jaune ? que sa surface n’est pas lisse ? qu’il y pleut, qu’il y vente, et même qu’il existe d’autres soleils ?
L’astrophysicienne Miho Janvier, spécialiste du soleil, nous invite à explorer ces phénomènes, à la lumière des extraordinaires clichés rapportés de missions spatiales.
À 150 millions de kilomètres de notre Terre, un voyage en images, à la découverte des plus beaux secrets du Soleil.
BIOGRAPHY
Miho Janvier is a solar and space physicist at the European Space Agency (ESA/ESTEC, NL), seconded from the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (France). While her doctorate degree is in plasma physics and applications to nuclear fusion science, her current work focuses on the understanding of when solar flares occur, how solar storms travel in space and how they impact planetary environments in the solar system.
In a nutshell, she works towards a better prediction of "space weather", with a goal of better understanding the influence of the Sun's activity on human societies. She uses data from space missions from NASA, ESA and JAXA as well as analyse and develop with her team and collaborators 3D computer models of solar eruptions.
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Miho currently works at ESA in the project science team for Solar Orbiter. She is also the deputy project scientist on the instrument SPICE as well as a scientific co-Investigator on the instrument EUI on board Solar Orbiter, the ESA/NASA mission to explore the Sun and its close neighbourhood. The mission was launched in February 2020 from Cape Canaveral, (FL, USA) and is currently orbiting the Sun.
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Miho works closely with partners around the world to enhance data collection during the Solar Orbiter observation campaigns. These include missions from NASA (IRIS, Parker Solar Probe), JAXA (Hinode, JAXA/ESA Bepi Colombo), as well as ground-based telescopes such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, Big Bear solar observatory in California, and facilities in the Canary Islands. These coordinated campaigns are crucial to obtain a comprehensive dataset of our Sun.
Her passion for astrophysics and science communication has led her to develop several science communication projects, and has set up a non-profit organisation called SpaceTravelVR (www.spacetravelvr.com). She partnered with the movie production company TreeHouse Digital Ltd to develop a 360 degrees experience of a solar storm using science data and VFX, and is currently working with the French national space agency CNES and ESA to develop a project showcasing the Solar Orbiter mission in Virtual Reality. She is also a public speaker, as well as a keen communicator and is involved in several NPOs dedicated to engage the public in difficult situations (e.g. hospitals and prisons).
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Miho was named WIRED UK Innovation fellow in 2016 and is a TED Fellow since 2017
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Interests
SOLAR PHYSICS - SPACE PHYSICS - PLASMA PHYSICS
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION - VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED TECHNOLOGIES
​75. An overview of Solar Orbiter observations of interplanetary shocks in Solar Cycle 25
D. Trotta, A. Dimmock, H. Hietala, X. Blanco-Cano, et al.
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 277, id. 2 (2025)
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74. The need for near-earth multi spacecraft heliospheric measurements and an Explorer mission to investigate interplanetary structures and transient in the near-earth heliosphere
N. Lugaz, C.O. Lee, N. Al-Haddad, et al.
Space Science Reviews, Volume 220, id. 73 (2024)
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73. A comparison of Forbush decreases driven by ICMEs and SIRs
C. Gutierrez, S. Dasso, P. Démoulin, M. Janvier
Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 259, id. 106232 (2024)
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72. SPICE connection mosaics to link the Sun’s surface and the heliosphere
T. Varesano, D. M. Hassler, N. Zambrana Prado, J. Plowman, et al.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 685, id. A146 (2024)
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71. Coronal voids and their magnetic nature
J. D. Nölke, S. K. Solanki, J. Hirzberger, H. Peter, et al.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 678, id. A196 (2023)
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70. A multiple spacecraft detection of the 2 April 2022 M-class flare and filament eruption during the first close Solar Orbiter perihelion
M. Janvier, S. Mzerguat, P. R. Young, É. Buchlin, et al.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Forthcoming article (2023)
National Radio: Science, CQFD
September 2023
Conference speaker
December 2024
Dr. Janvier's outreach programs bring science to a general audience in a fun and interactive way.
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To book Dr. Janvier for an event send her a message.
