Biography

Dr Steph Yardley is an STFC Ernest Rutherford and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at Northumbria University, specialising in solar physics and space weather research.

Dr Yardley led ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter’s first dedicated solar wind observation campaign, connecting solar wind measurements at close distances from the Sun with high-resolution observations of their sources in the solar atmosphere. This achievement fulfilled one of Solar Orbiter’s core science goals and resulted in her being shortlisted for this year’s Global Space Awards in the Science Breakthrough category.

A dedicated science communicator, Dr Yardley engages global audiences by translating the latest research into accessible insights that inspire the public and next-generation scientists.

Synopsis

Our Star from a New Perspective

For decades, we’ve only imaged the Sun from Earth’s perspective, viewing it edge on within the solar system’s plane. But what if we could look down on the Sun from above and see its poles for the first time?

ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission is revolutionising our understanding of the Sun and space weather by venturing closer than the orbit of Mercury and with its recently inclined orbit it is now capturing unprecedented views of the Sun’s poles. The Sun’s poles hold crucial clues to understanding the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle, and the origins of space weather. Over the coming years, the best views are yet to come as Solar Orbiter will tilt its orbit even further marking the beginning of a new era for solar and heliospheric physics.