Heliophysics

Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)

Remote Sensing Observatory · Competed · PI-led · Launched on February 5, 2002 · Completed · LCC: $87M/$169M (2025 $)Life-cycle cost: NASA’s reported cost to build, launch, and operate a mission through its prime mission, plus documented partner contributions, in 2025 dollars. Extended missions are not included. Methods · Wikipedia

Scope Active Mission WindowActivePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through two years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. For RHESSI, papers published April 1, 2002 to September 1, 2020. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. For RHESSI, papers published from 2002 to November 3, 2026. Methods
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed papers we found that name the mission or its instruments in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. Papers that used the data without naming it are missed. Methods1,038
CitationsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods40,324
Citation indices
h-indexh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. Methods92
g-indexg-index: the largest g for which the g most-cited papers together hold at least g² citations. Like the h-index, but it lets the most-cited papers count for more. Methods151
m-indexm-index: a mission’s h-index divided by the years since its first peer-reviewed paper. It falls every 1 January even when nothing else changes; the figure shown is as of November 3, 2026. It also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods3.7
toritori (total research impact, from SciX): for every paper citing one of the mission’s papers, 1 divided by the citing paper’s reference count times the cited paper’s author count, summed, with self-citations removed. It favors citations from papers with short reference lists and from outside the mission’s own authors. Computed over the tracked citation graph, which can be slightly incomplete. Always over every tracked publication to date, whichever scope is chosen. Methods240
riqriq (research impact quotient): 1,000 times the square root of tori, divided by the years since the mission’s first paper. A rate, not a total, so it does not keep growing with age the way the h-index and tori do. Like tori, always over every tracked publication to date. Methods619

Publications and citations by year (lifetime)

Publications per yearCumulative citations

Institutional contributions (lifetime)The institutions SciX lists for each paper’s authors, as printed on the paper, located through the Research Organization Registry. A square counts a paper once, however many of its authors worked there. Methods

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Tracked publications over the lifetime (1,038)

All publications CSV · JSON

  1. The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)

    Lin, R. P., 2002, SoPh

    1,689 lifetime citations

  2. An Observational Overview of Solar Flares

    Fletcher, L., 2011, SSRv

    833 lifetime citations

  3. The RHESSI Imaging Concept

    Hurford, G. J., 2002, SoPh

    526 lifetime citations

  4. Flare Observations

    Benz, Arnold O., 2017, LRSP

    507 lifetime citations

  5. The Nucleosynthesis of ²⁶Al and ⁶⁰Fe in Solar Metallicity Stars Extending in Mass from 11 to 120 Mₛₒₗₐᵣ: The Hydrostatic and Explosive Contributions

    Limongi, Marco, 2006, ApJ

    385 lifetime citations

  6. Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes Observed up to 20 MeV

    Smith, David M., 2005, Sci

    384 lifetime citations

  7. RHESSI Observations of Particle Acceleration and Energy Release in an Intense Solar Gamma-Ray Line Flare

    Lin, R. P., 2003, ApJ

    381 lifetime citations

  8. Implications of X-ray Observations for Electron Acceleration and Propagation in Solar Flares

    Holman, G. D., 2011, SSRv

    354 lifetime citations

  9. Differential emission measures from the regularized inversion of Hinode and SDO data

    Hannah, I. G., 2012, A&A

    348 lifetime citations

  10. The RHESSI Spectrometer

    Smith, D. M., 2002, SoPh

    332 lifetime citations

  11. Direct Observations of the Magnetic Reconnection Site of an Eruption on 2003 November 18

    Lin, J., 2005, ApJ

    323 lifetime citations

  12. Evidence for the Formation of a Large-Scale Current Sheet in a Solar Flare

    Sui, Linhui, 2003, ApJ

    296 lifetime citations

  13. Flare Observations

    Benz, Arnold O., 2008, LRSP

    285 lifetime citations

  14. Observations of the Failed Eruption of a Filament

    Ji, Haisheng, 2003, ApJ

    280 lifetime citations

  15. Electron Bremsstrahlung Hard X-Ray Spectra, Electron Distributions, and Energetics in the 2002 July 23 Solar Flare

    Holman, Gordon D., 2003, ApJ

    279 lifetime citations

  16. Polarization of Prompt Gamma-Ray Burst Emission: Evidence for Electromagnetically Dominated Outflow

    Lyutikov, M., 2003, ApJ

    267 lifetime citations

  17. A comparison between Monte Carlo simulations of runaway breakdown and terrestrial gamma-ray flash observations

    Dwyer, J. R., 2005, GeoRL

    255 lifetime citations

  18. Hard X-ray emission from the solar corona

    Krucker, S., 2008, A&ARv

    246 lifetime citations

  19. Measurements of the Coronal Acceleration Region of a Solar Flare

    Krucker, Säm, 2010, ApJ

    245 lifetime citations

  20. Energy partition in two solar flare/CME events

    Emslie, A. G., 2004, JGRA

    242 lifetime citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Science Explorer (SciX) for peer-reviewed articles naming RHESSI in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces.

(((abs:RHESSI AND abs:(solar OR flare OR X-ray OR gamma OR terrestrial OR electron OR photon OR polarization OR transient OR image)) OR (abs:HESSI AND abs:solar) OR =abs:"High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager" OR =abs:"High Energy Solar Spectroscopy Imager" OR facility:RHESSI)) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2002-04 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "ACPD" OR "AIASJ" OR "AMTD" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "BGD" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "CliPD" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "ESDD" OR "ESSDD" OR "ESuDD" OR "GID" OR "GMDD" OR "GeCAS" OR "HESSD" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NHESD" OR "NPGD" OR "NewSc" OR "OcScD" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SOILD" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "TCD" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Added after review (2)

  1. Imaging coronal magnetic-field reconnection in a solar flare Uses RHESSI X-ray spectra and images of the flare's reconnection site. Decision 🤖
  2. The Late Gradual Phase of Large Flares: The Case of November 3, 2003 Uses RHESSI hard X-ray records to study a flare's late gradual phase. Decision 🤖

Removed after review (11)

  1. 2006NIMPA.567...21D Electronics for the ground-based H.E.S.S. telescope; unrelated to RHESSI. Decision 🤖
  2. Count-based imaging model for the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) in Solar Orbiter Imaging model for Solar Orbiter's STIX; mentions RHESSI only as an analogy. Decision 🤖
  3. An Improved Method to Derive the Lower Energy Cutoff of non-Thermal Electrons From Hard x-Rays of Solar Flares Analyzes BATSE flare data; mentions RHESSI only as a future comparison. Decision 🤖
  4. Caliste-SO, a CdTe based spectrometer for bright solar event observations in hard X-rays Describes a detector for Solar Orbiter's STIX; mentions RHESSI only as history. Decision 🤖
  5. 2012NIMPA.695..394V Electronics for ground-based Cherenkov telescopes; unrelated to RHESSI. Decision 🤖
  6. The Large Imaging Spectrometer for Solar Accelerated Nuclei (LISSAN): A next-generation solar gamma-ray spectroscopic imaging instrument concept Concept for the proposed LISSAN instrument; names RHESSI only for comparison. Decision 🤖
  7. Rotating modulation collimator imagers Describes the rotating modulation collimator imaging technique; reports no results. Decision 🤖
  8. TARANIS XGRE and IDEE detection capability of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and associated electron beams Describes instruments for the TARANIS satellite; names RHESSI only for comparison. Decision 🤖
  9. SMESE: A SMall Explorer for Solar Eruptions Proposal for the SMESE satellite; names RHESSI only as a current mission. Decision 🤖
  10. The Instruments and Capabilities of the Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSats Instrument description of the MinXSS CubeSats; mentions RHESSI only as a complementary observatory. Decision 🤖
  11. Loop Top Hard X-Ray Emission in Solar Flares: Images and Statistics Yohkoh hard X-ray study; mentions RHESSI only as an upcoming mission. Decision 🤖