LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Heliospheric Plasma Physics (SW) Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that observes the solar wind with radio telescopes to explore space weather.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring space weather through observations of the solar wind
The Heliospheric Plasma Physics Lab (SW Lab) studies the solar wind and how it works, observing it from the ground with a group of large radio telescopes that the lab developed itself.
Its subjects include the three-dimensional structure of the solar wind, how it is generated, variations accompanying solar activity, and the forecasting of these variations (space weather forecasting).
The radio telescopes are located at three sites: Toyokawa in Aichi Prefecture, the foot of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Kiso in Nagano Prefecture.
The lab belongs to the Heliospheric Research Division of the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research. It accepts graduate students as a cooperating lab of the Division of Science in the Graduate School of Science, and can also take fourth-year undergraduates from the School of Science.
Key terms
- Solar wind
- A flow of extremely hot charged particles (plasma) blowing out from the Sun
- Interplanetary scintillation
- A phenomenon in which the radio waves from a celestial radio source "twinkle" because of density fluctuations in the solar wind. Abbreviated as IPS
- Coronal mass ejection (CME)
- A phenomenon in which an explosion on the Sun's surface blows part of the solar atmosphere out into space
- Space weather forecasting
- Predicting in advance changes in the space environment around the Earth caused by the solar wind and other factors
NewsLab news
A paper by Professor Iwai et al. published in The Astrophysical Journal
Doctoral and master's students win Outstanding Student Presentation Awards at JpGU
Research results on observing and predicting solar storms (space weather) and their applications announced at a press conference
A paper by Professor Iwai et al. published in Solar Physics
ResearchResearch themes
Building on observations of the solar wind and an understanding of its physics, the lab conducts research that leads to understanding and predicting space weather. By combining interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations and radio diagnostics with numerical models and data-driven methods, it aims to capture space weather phenomena from multiple perspectives.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring the solar wind with the twinkling of radio sources
The lab simultaneously observes the "twinkling" of celestial radio sources (interplanetary scintillation) with multiple ground-based antennas to measure the speed of the solar wind. This makes it possible to measure the solar wind very close to the Sun and at high latitudes, which is difficult for spacecraft.
*Illustrative imageUncovering how the solar wind is generated
The lab tackles unsolved mysteries, such as the source of the energy that drives the solar wind and why it splits into two components, slow and fast. Research so far has shown that the properties of the Sun's magnetic field strongly influence the acceleration of the solar wind.
*Illustrative imageToward practical space weather forecasting
The lab studies how coronal mass ejections (CMEs) propagate using IPS observations, and, together with research institutions that issue space weather forecasts, develops propagation models that incorporate observational data. Research so far has shown that incorporating the data improves the accuracy of predicting when a CME will arrive.
*Illustrative imageSpace weather research in collaboration with NICT
In joint research with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), the lab works on developing the observation data and models used in operational space weather forecasting systems. A researcher in charge of space weather forecasting at NICT also serves as a visiting professor and collaborates with graduate students.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Heliospheric Plasma Physics Lab are faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, secretaries, and technical staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorKazumasa Iwai
- Assistant ProfessorKenichi Fujiki
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Heliospheric Plasma Physics (SW) Lab
Solar-Terrestrial Environment Physics (SST) LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsComprehensive, multifaceted study of the solar-space environ…
Space Physics Observation (SSE) LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsIn geospace, which extends from Earth's upper atmosphere to …
Astrophysics (A) LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsObservational study of star and galaxy formation and evoluti…
Complexity Science Theory (ΣT) LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsMost matter in the universe is in the plasma state, and plas…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Antenna array of URAN-2 radio teelscope” YeS (Serge Yerin) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Measuring the solar wind with the twinkling of radio sources: “Radio telescope The Dish” Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Uncovering how the solar wind is generated: “The total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 (eso1822l)” ESO/P. Horálek/Solar Wind Sherpas project / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Toward practical space weather forecasting: “Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection lrg” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Space weather research in collaboration with NICT: “Aurora in Abisko near Torneträsk” Pavel.shyshkouski / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Solar-Terrestrial Environment Physics (SST) Lab): “First GOES-17 SUVI Images Capture Solar Flare ( )” NOAA Satellites / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Space Physics Observation (SSE) Lab): “Aurora Borealis over the Killarney Provincial Park Observatory” KillarneyDiscovery / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Astrophysics (A) Lab): “CSIRO ScienceImage 559 Radio Telescopes at the Australia Telescope Compact Array” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Complexity Science Theory (ΣT) Lab): “Experimental hall of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator at IPP Greifswald 03” Siarhei Besarab / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.