Heliophysics

Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory A & B (STEREO)

Remote Sensing Observatory · Directed · Agency-led · Launched on October 26, 2006 · Extended Mission · LCC: $598M/$1.1B (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 STEREO, papers published November 1, 2006 to January 1, 2024. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. For STEREO, papers published from 2007 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. Methods1,900
CitationsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods67,796
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. Methods112
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. Methods172
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. Methods5.6
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. Methods279
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. Methods835

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 (1,900)

All publications CSV · JSON

  1. Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI)

    Howard, R. A., 2008, SSRv

    1,823 lifetime citations

  2. The STEREO Mission: An Introduction

    Kaiser, M. L., 2008, SSRv

    1,709 lifetime citations

  3. Coronal Mass Ejections: Observations

    Webb, David F., 2012, LRSP

    736 lifetime citations

  4. Forward Modeling of Coronal Mass Ejections Using STEREO/SECCHI Data

    Thernisien, A., 2009, SoPh

    555 lifetime citations

  5. Alfvén Wave Solar Model (AWSoM): Coronal Heating

    van der Holst, B., 2014, ApJ

    540 lifetime citations

  6. The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) Investigation on the STEREO Observatories

    Galvin, A. B., 2008, SSRv

    443 lifetime citations

  7. How Many CMEs Have Flux Ropes? Deciphering the Signatures of Shocks, Flux Ropes, and Prominences in Coronagraph Observations of CMEs

    Vourlidas, A., 2013, SoPh

    407 lifetime citations

  8. S/WAVES: The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation on the STEREO Mission

    Bougeret, J. L., 2008, SSRv

    406 lifetime citations

  9. The Heliospheric Imagers Onboard the STEREO Mission

    Eyles, C. J., 2009, SoPh

    387 lifetime citations

  10. A Critical Assessment of Nonlinear Force-Free Field Modeling of the Solar Corona for Active Region 10953

    De Rosa, Marc L., 2009, ApJ

    351 lifetime citations

  11. STEREO IMPACT Investigation Goals, Measurements, and Data Products Overview

    Luhmann, J. G., 2008, SSRv

    323 lifetime citations

  12. Dichotomy of Solar Coronal Jets: Standard Jets and Blowout Jets

    Moore, Ronald L., 2010, ApJ

    321 lifetime citations

  13. The standard flare model in three dimensions. I. Strong-to-weak shear transition in post-flare loops

    Aulanier, G., 2012, A&A

    281 lifetime citations

  14. Observations of an extreme storm in interplanetary space caused by successive coronal mass ejections

    Liu, Ying D., 2014, NatCo

    264 lifetime citations

  15. Space weather: the solar perspective: An update to Schwenn (2006)

    Temmer, Manuela, 2021, LRSP

    262 lifetime citations

  16. The STEREO/IMPACT Magnetic Field Experiment

    Acuña, M. H., 2008, SSRv

    257 lifetime citations

  17. Discovery of very large amplitude whistler-mode waves in Earth's radiation belts

    Cattell, C., 2008, GeoRL

    253 lifetime citations

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

    Krucker, Säm, 2010, ApJ

    245 lifetime citations

  19. > 25 MeV Proton Events Observed by the High Energy Telescopes on the STEREO A and B Spacecraft and/or at Earth During the First ∼ Seven Years of the STEREO Mission

    Richardson, I. G., 2014, SoPh

    238 lifetime citations

  20. No Trace Left Behind: STEREO Observation of a Coronal Mass Ejection Without Low Coronal Signatures

    Robbrecht, Eva, 2009, ApJ

    224 lifetime citations

How we found these papers

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

((=abs:("Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory" OR "Solar Terrestrial Relation Observatory" OR "Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories") OR =abs:"STEREO spacecraft" OR facility:STEREO OR (abs:STEREO AND (abs:(solar OR Sun OR coronal OR heliospheric OR SECCHI OR CME OR SWAVES OR Earth OR terrestrial OR magnetospheric OR radiation OR whistler OR plasma OR radio OR comet OR dust OR stellar OR star OR astrophysical OR photometric OR asteroid OR planetary OR Jupiter OR Jovian) OR =abs:"heliospheric imager") NOT title:neutrino NOT =abs:"Internet of Things") OR (=abs:("STEREO-A" OR "STEREO-B") AND abs:(solar OR Sun OR heliospheric OR heliosphere OR interplanetary OR geomagnetic OR wind OR CME OR coronal OR plasma OR magnetic)) OR =abs:"Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation" OR (abs:SECCHI AND abs:(solar OR Sun OR coronal OR heliospheric OR CME)) OR (abs:(COR1 OR COR2) AND =abs:(coronagraph OR coronagraphs OR coronal OR corona)) OR (abs:EUVI AND =abs:(coronal OR corona OR "active region" OR flare OR filament OR prominence) NOT =abs:("X-EUVI" OR Fengyun OR "FY-3E")) OR (abs:SWAVES AND abs:(solar OR heliospheric OR radio OR plasma OR waves)))) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2006-11 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 (4)

  1. Solar Cycle Variability in Coronal Holes and Their Effects on Solar Wind Sources Uses STEREO-A plasma and magnetic-field data to study solar wind sources. Decision 🤖
  2. STEREO Ground Segment, Science Operations, and Data Archive STEREO ground segment, science operations and data archive. Decision 👨
  3. STEREO/Waves Goniopolarimetry Goniopolarimetry technique for STEREO/WAVES radio measurements. Decision 👨
  4. Theoretical modeling for the stereo mission Theoretical modeling for interpreting STEREO observations. Decision 👨

Removed after review (26)

  1. 2020Ge&Ae..59..850S Duplicate record of 2019Ge&Ae..59..850S (same paper). Decision 👨
  2. Quantitative prediction of type II solar radio emission from the Sun to 1 AU retracted Decision 👨
  3. Chinese Hα Solar Explorer (CHASE) ─ a complementary space mission to the ASO-S Overview of China's CHASE solar mission; names STEREO only as a complementary mission. Decision 🤖
  4. A theoretic analysis of magnetoactive GES-based turbulent solar plasma instability Plasma theory paper; names STEREO only as a possible future application. Decision 🤖
  5. 2023pre9.conf03105L Proposes a radio receiver for a Uranus orbiter; names STEREO only as hardware heritage. Decision 🤖
  6. RETRACTION: Quantitative Prediction of Type II Solar Radio Emission From the Sun to 1 AU Retraction notice; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  7. 2020ApJ...890...68S Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  8. 2013SoPh..288..389B Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  9. 2022FrASS...9.4137K Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  10. 2025NatCo..16.3157J Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  11. 2014SpWea..12..257P Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  12. 2011SoPh..270..253B Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  13. 2025JGRA..13033147K Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  14. French instruments for in-situ missions: Past, present and future "STEREO PAIR" refers to stereoscopic cameras for Phobos-Grunt; not the STEREO mission. Decision 🤖
  15. A Satellite Data Analysis and CubeSat Instrument Simulator Tool for Simultaneous Multi-spacecraft Measurements of Solar Energetic Particles Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  16. 2026A&A...708A.319P Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  17. Chianti—An Atomic Database for Emission Lines. XI. Extreme-Ultraviolet Emission Lines of Fe VII, Fe VIII, and Fe IX Observed by Hinode/EIS Atomic data paper; notes only that it will affect STEREO instrument responses. Decision 🤖
  18. Possible advantages of a twin spacecraft Heliospheric mission at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian points L4 and L5 Concept for a future L4/L5 mission; names STEREO only as history. Decision 🤖
  19. 2022ApJ...934..179D Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  20. 2013InvPr..29d5003S Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  21. 2019ApJ...887...33L Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  22. 2020ApJ...905..161L Does not name STEREO or its instruments in the title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  23. Extraction of Halo Coronal Mass Ejection Asymmetry Information from LASCO Coronagraph Images Analyzes SOHO/LASCO images; names STEREO only as a possible future application. Decision 🤖
  24. NASA Unveils First Stereo Vision of Sun News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  25. 2008SSRv..136....1R Foreword to the STEREO mission special issue; editorial front matter, no science content. Decision 👨
  26. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) Education and Outreach (E/PO) Program Describes the STEREO Education and Outreach (E/PO) program; not a science result. Decision 👨