The Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (aka: KIS; german: Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik), formerly known as Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics (KIS) is a

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

located in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. As a member of the

Leibniz Association The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines. As of 2020, 96 non-university research insti ...

, the institute conducts basic research in astronomy and astrophysics with a particular focus on solar physics. The institute's structure and operation is based on three strategic pillars: 1) fundamental research, 2) operation of the German solar telescope infrastructure on Tenerife, and 3) applied research in data science and operation of the Science Data Center. Institute's Professors appointed and habilitated at the University of Freiburg offer lectures at various university degree levels and train young scientists.

History

The institute was founded in 1943 as the 'Fraunhofer Institute' by

Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer (10 November 1910 – 23 May 1975) was a German astronomer and astrophysicist. His research focused on the Sun, and for that purpose he initiated construction of several solar telescopes and founded the Kiepenheuer Institute ...

. Kiepenheuer was director of the institute from 1943 until his death in 1975. The institute was renamed as the 'Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics' to honour the founder of the institute and to enable the

Fraunhofer Society The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...

to call their own institutes (the first of which was founded in 1954), 'Fraunhofer Institutes'. Both institutions had been named independently after the physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer, and they had no other connection besides the name. In November 2018, name of the institute was renamed to Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS) – to highlight the institute's membership in the

Organisation

The Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS) is a foundation under public law of the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

and a member of the

. The organs of the Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS) are the Foundation Council, the Scientific Advisory Council and the Board of Directors. The institute is divided into two scientific departments: "Solar and Stellar Astrophysics" and "Observatory and Instrumentation." A third administrative-technical department combines the cross-sectional groups of administration and technical service.

Observatories

The Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics operates solar observing facilities for its own research and for the solar community in Germany and other countries. The institute's prime facilities are the German solar telescopes at the

Teide Observatory Teide Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Teide), IAU code 954, is an astronomical observatory on Mount Teide at , located on Tenerife, Spain. It has been operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias since its inauguration in 1964. It becam ...

of the Intituto des Astrofisica de Canarias on

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Spain, with Europe's largest solar telescope

GREGOR Gregor is a masculine given name. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Gregor Abel (born 1949), Scottish footballer * Gregor Adlercreutz (1898–1944), Swedish equestrian * Gregor Aichinger (c. 1565–1628), Germ ...

as well as the

Vacuum Tower Telescope The Vacuum Tower Telescope is an evacuated-optics solar telescope located at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is operated by the Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS). It was built between 1983 and 1986, wit ...

. In addition, the institute is involved in a number of modern ground-based and space- and balloon-borne observing facilities such as Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), balloon-borne Solar Observatory, and

Solar Orbiter The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). SolO, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the ...

. These include both instrumentation developments and scientific activities. From the 1940s to 1980s, the institute operated the Schauinsland Observatory (near Freiburg) as a research facility. It is now exclusively used for teaching and public outreach purposes. From the 1950s to 1988, the institute operated the Solar Observatory in Anacapri,

Capri, Italy Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

. The Coudé refractor became operational in 1966, and from that time the solar telescope on the Schauinsland continued to be used only for testing equipment. For several years, the Capri observatory with its domeless telescope provided observation time to the institute. In the early 1970s, the institute searched for a suitable place to establish a European solar observatory, and Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer took an active part in this search. Finally the Spanish island of Tenerife was chosen, due its dry weather and stable atmosphere. In 1989, the

became operational, with a 70-cm mirror and adaptive optics. The outpost in Capri was closed after the solar observatory at the Teide Observatory became operational. In 2013,

GREGOR Solar Telescope GREGOR is a solar telescope, equipped with a 1.5 m primary mirror, located at 2,390 m altitude at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It replaces the older Gregory Coudé Telescope and was inaugurated on May 21, 2012. First l ...

, equipped with a 1.5 m primary mirror, started its science operations at the

References

External links

Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS)
{{Authority control Research institutes in Germany Astrophysics institutes 1943 establishments in Germany Freiburg im Breisgau