PhD Studentship: Observing the Sun as a Star

The Sun is the only star we know for sure has no orbiting planets in the data - since we can remove them perfectly. That makes it the perfect star to study and eventually aid the search for small planets orbiting other stars. This project will help with the deployment and then usage of a new polarising Solar Telescope to be connected to the brand-new HARPS3 spectrograph on La Palma. This will be a unique telescope-instrument combination. Data from the already running HARPS-N Solar Telescope will be used in complement and to test the new telescope.

This project relies on collecting observations in foreign observatories. Students able to travel will be preferred.

More information about the research group and other available projects can be found here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/sasp

Funding

If you are selected in our entry competition, the PhD will be fully funded, meaning tuition fees are covered. In addition you would receive a monthly stipend to cover your living expenses, and have the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant to earn additional income.

If you would like more information contact sasp-phd@contacts.bham.ac.uk

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