Photo by Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Merav Opher

Associate Professor

Department of Astronomy
 Boston  University                              
 CAS Bldg, Room 514F     
 PHONE: (617) 358-6385                
 FAX:   (617) 353-5704          
mopher@bu.edu       

Group Webpage

Images and Movies about my 
research

News about Opher's research

   

Editor, Geophysics Research Letters

AWARDED the 2007 PECASE (Presidential Early Career Award)
  
  Recent popular talk at the Boston Athenaeum, October 2015 on
  the heliosphere link here
   Re
  Movie as part of the American Museum of Natural History
   "Journey to Stars Show" - link here to see a short version

  Movie in Portuguese - a talk that I gave at MIT
  about Voyager as part of simpósio @MIT - link here
  
  Editor Picks from the Invited talks at the 57th DPP Meeting

  Read  NASA Press Release on Solar Wind Jets Found in the Heliosphere Found Read
  Read  NASA Press Release on Strong Interstellar Magnetic Field

   Read  NASA Press Release on Bubbles at the Edge of the Solar System
 
  Read the story featured in Boston Globe   video

   Listen to a recent interview at WGBH on Voyager   audio

   Watch a fun interview with BU News Crew with Sara Rimer on Voyager


Research: Magnetic Field Processes in Space

Research Fields

  • Shock Physics
  • Magnetized Winds
  • Interaction of Solar System with Interstellar Medium
  • Coronal Mass Ejection Evolutions
  • Solar-Like Stars
 

Courses/Lectures

Curriculum Vitae

Sponsors

  • NSF
  • NASA

More Links

  • Publications
  • Students (Group Page)
  • Talks




This is how NASA sees me...click here for a fun cartoon
in Space Place Live
My research interests are magnetic field processes in space physics and astrophysics, particularly how magnetic field affect the interstellar medium, disks around young stars, solar, stellar winds, jets and the early universe. I am using sophisticated state-of-the-art numerical modeling as experiments in conjunction with new theoretical approaches and observational data. 

I am also interested in developing new computational models (such as coupling Kinetic-MHD models; PIC Codes-MHD; new AMR techniques, etc).

Voyager 1 and 2, the most distant man-made objects are right now probing the confines of the solar system. It is believed that Voyager 1 in December 15, 2004 has exited the Termination Shock, the first boundary of the solar system, and now is going through the turbulent region the Heliosheath where magnetic effects are crucial. Voyager 2 in the August of 2007 crossed the shock going southward from Voyager 1.

Recently we predicted that the heliosphere is asymmetric and were able to match the Voyager 1 and 2 particle observations. By matching the radio data and particle we are able to find the plane of the interstellar magnetic field plane.

to learn more..