SDO 2025 Science Workshop: A Gathering of the Helio-hive!

February 17-21, 2025| Hotel Boulderado, Boulder, Colorado



The Opening Reception will occur on the evening of February 17, 2025. There will also be a conference dinner, tentatively planned for the evening of February 19, 2025.

General Schedule:

Monday February 17, 2025: Day 1 of Conference and Opening Reception (evening)
Tuesday February 18, 2025: Day 2 of Conference
Wednesday February 19, 2025: Day 3 of Conference and Conference dinner (evening)
Thursday February 20, 2025: Day 4 of Conference
Friday February 21, 2025: Mini-workshops, Data Analysis sessions

The SDO 2025 Science Workshop is organized into 7 sessions that span the breadth and depth of SDO Science. They are:


Solar Internal Dynamics and Structure

SDO observations have significantly advanced our understanding of the plasma motion below the solar surface and its connection with the various phenomena occurring above the surface. These have led to many new discoveries by expanding our knowledge of the solar interior, for example, the identification of Rossby and inertial waves. However, several intriguing problems remain unsolved that require a better understanding of both observational and theoretical aspects. These include the characterization of local flows, at what depth and where the return of meridional flows happens, how helioseismology can provide new insights into solar activity forecasting.


From Creation to Emergence: Magnetic Fields of the Sun

The creation of magnetic flux in the solar interior along with its subsequent transport and emergence into the solar atmosphere plays an important role in the Sun. SDO's continual full-disk coverage has provided a wealth of information about the solar magnetic field. This session will focus on multiple aspects of the solar magnetic field including dynamo processes, flux emergence and transport, active region evolution, helicity flux, and polar field dynamics. It is intended to connect the convection zone, surface, and the layers above. Theory, numerical simulations, and observations will be compared in order to determine what processes are empirically validated and where gaps in our understanding exist. We particularly welcome statistical analyses, studies on long-term variability, coordination between SDO and other instruments, and comparisons of observation and modeling.


Coronal Dynamics: Unveiling the Origins of the Solar Wind

This session delves into the intricate relationship between solar corona processes, such as coronal heating, waves, and jets, and the formation of the solar wind. We will explore how observations of coronal dynamics by the SDO enhance our understanding of the solar wind's origin and its significant impact on space weather and Earth's environment.


Energetic Outbursts: Deciphering Solar Flares, CMEs, and SEPs

Our Sun is the source of the largest instances of energy release in our solar system. Detection of these energy releases can be measured through a large range of instruments and at many wavelengths. Join us at the energetic outbursts session where we focus on a range of phenomena including solar eruptive events, including flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and solar energetic particles (SEPs), as well as discussing the challenges of forecasting these events.


Impacts of Solar Variability on Earth, Other Planets, and Space Weather

Since it first launched, SDO has been fundamental in providing observations for studying the Sun's area of influence, the heliosphere. This session aims to discuss the ways SDO continually provides vital information for monitoring the effects of the Sun on Earth, other planets, and the Space Weather. In particular, this session hopes to highlight how SDO products and observations feed models in operational environments, drive Research-to-Operations (R2O) solutions, and inform future operation-focused missions.


Next Horizon: The Future Solar and Heliophysics Missions

SDO's long continuous baseline of solar observations has set the stage for the next generation of instruments, missions, and software. New instruments and investigations are being developed due to SDO's role in mission-enabling technology and broadened understanding of solar processes. The next generation includes new instrumentation, platforms, vantage points, data processing strategies, and even onboard autonomy and data compression. This session will focus on efforts to establish the new era of SDO science.


Stellar insights from the SDO Observations

The Sun, our closest star and the only one we can observe with spatial resolution, serves as a paradigm for understanding stellar phenomena. By exploring the parallels between the solar and stellar phenomena, from magnetic activities to energetic events, this session will showcase how SDO data bridges solar physics with broader astrophysical insights and enhances our knowledge of stellar dynamics across the universe.


Research that falls outside these topics is also welcome at the Workshop.