Bunce grew up in Worthing.[5] In 1989 she watched the Horizon documentary on Neptune with images taken by Voyager 2 and was inspired to become a space scientist.[6]
In 1998 Bunce began her doctoral training with Stan Cowley, investigating the magnetosphere of Jupiter.[5] Her thesis, Large-scale current systems in the Jovian Magnetosphere, looked at the radial current systems of the middle magnetosphere of Jupiter.[7] She used data from Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Ulysses.[8] The interaction between Jupiter and the surrounding plasma environment is influenced by the magnetic field. On Jupiter, the plasma is mainly produced in the volcanic moon Io.[8]
Bunce was part of the Cassini–Huygens magnetometer team.[11] She was the first to analyse the UV aurorae of Saturn using the Hubble Space Telescope.[12][13] The magnetosphere of Saturn rotates rapidly and plasma is produced via sputter of the icy moons.[5] She monitored the magnetospheric currents of Saturnin situ, identifying that there was a connection between the auroral oval and upward-directed field-aligned currents that flow near open and closed field lines.[13] She observed the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere of Saturn.[14] In 2009 she was elected to the Royal Astronomical Society Council[15] and delivered the society's Harold Jeffreys Lecture.[14] She discussed her work Jupiter-like aurorae found on saturn.[16]
She was promoted to reader in 2009 and professor in 2013.[5] She organised a celebration of ten years of Cassini–Huygens in 2014.[17] She is the Principal Investigator of the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument.[18][19][20][21] MIXS was built in Leicester, launched in 2015 and will travel to Mercury.[22][23] She delivered the 2016 National Space Academy keynote lecture.[24] She is the principal investigator of the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer instrument on the European Space AgencyBepiColombo mission (to Mercury) and deputy lead on the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer.[25]BepiColombo will help to explain some of the mysteries of Mercury, including finding volatile sulphur and potassium.[26][27] She contributed to the book Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences: A University Level Introduction in 2018.[28]
^Derek, Raine (2018). Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences. [S.l.]: The Pantaneto Press. ISBN978-0992941185. OCLC1032575166.
^Switzerland, Marc Türler, Dept. of Astronomy, University of Geneva. "EWASS 2018". eas.unige.ch. Retrieved 15 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Widgety". www.widgety.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
^"Emma Bunce". The Conversation. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
^"Emma Bunce". New Scientist Live 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
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