Intern in the Science Engagement and Oversight Office, Coronal Brightenings in Solar Orbiter Data

Internship Opportunity: Science Engagement and Oversight Office – Coronal Brightenings in Solar Orbiter Data

Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of D/SCI, the Head of the Science Engagement and Oversight Office is responsible for overseeing the scientific content of the Programme, interfacing with the scientific community and providing scientific expertise to studies, projects and missions, also in other Directorates as needed.

CESAR (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) is a joint educational programme developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), and the public company ISDEFE. It is based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain. Its main goal is to provide students and teachers from European schools with hands-on educational materials and resources about Astrophysics and Space Sciences, to be used in the classroom, as well as easy access to ESA’s data archive and to optical and radio telescopes.

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Impact of small-scale EUV brightenings on the solar atmosphere: insights from high-resolution Solar Orbiter data

This project will investigate small-scale brightenings in the solar atmosphere using high-resolution EUV observations from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) onboard Solar Orbiter. These transient brightenings, often associated with localized magnetic activity, are thought to play a role in coronal heating and mass transfer to the solar wind. Despite their abundance and significance, many aspects of their statistical properties and magnetic environment remain unexplored.

The selected intern will compile and analyze a diverse set of EUI image sequences and identify brightenings using existing detection techniques or threshold-based methods. Artificial intelligence methods may also be explored to improve or automate the detection process. These detections will be combined with measurements from other instruments onboard Solar Orbiter, such as magnetic field data from the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI), as well as from other observatories, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), and ground-based observatories. Using this multi-instrument dataset, you will investigate how the occurrence and properties of brightenings vary across regions of the solar disk with different magnetic activity and characteristics.

The project will develop skills in solar physics, handling large datasets, feature detection, multi-wavelength analysis, and statistical interpretation. It may also involve the application or evaluation of AI-based tools for pattern recognition or classification. The outcome is expected to provide new insight into the statistical distribution and characteristics of small-scale energy release events in the solar atmosphere, contributing to ongoing efforts to understand the mechanisms that heat the corona and drive the solar wind.

Behavioural Competencies

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

• The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.
• During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.
• Comfort in working with Python and experience analyzing scientific or image-based datasets.
• Prior exposure to solar physics is helpful but not essential.
• Strong analytical thinking and a careful approach to data interpretation and methodology are important.
• An interest in machine learning approaches for feature detection or classification is desirable.

Important Information and Disclaimer

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).