NASA’s Parker Solar Probe aims to get closer to the sun than ever before
This image released by NASA is an artist’s depiction of the Parker Solar Probe as it approaches the Sun. It’s designed to withstand the sun like never before, thanks to an innovative heat shield that can withstand 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius). Credit: Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins University APL/NASA, via AP, File
NASA’s spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before.
Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to observe the Sun up close. Since then, it has been flying straight through the sun’s corona, the outer atmosphere visible during a total solar eclipse.
The next milestone is closest approach to the Sun. The plan is for Parker to hurtle through the sun’s scorching atmosphere on Tuesday, passing within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface.
NASA’s Joe Westlake said that if the sun and Earth had been on opposite sides of the football field at that moment, Parker “would have been on the 4-yard line.”
Because the spacecraft will be out of communication range, mission managers won’t know how Parker acted until several days after the flyby.
Parker planned to fly more than seven times closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft and reach speeds of 430,000 mph (690,000 km/h) at its closest approach. It is the fastest spacecraft ever built and is equipped with a heat shield that can withstand scorching temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius).
It will continue to orbit the Sun at this distance until at least September. Scientists want to better understand why the corona is hundreds of times hotter than the sun’s surface and what gives rise to the solar wind, a supersonic stream of charged particles constantly blown away from the sun.
The sun’s warming rays make life on Earth possible. However, severe solar storms can temporarily disrupt radio communications and disrupt power.
The sun is currently in the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, causing colorful aurora borealis in unexpected places.
“It’s our closest and friendliest neighbor, but it can get a little angry sometimes,” Westlake said.
© 2024 Associated Press. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Source: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe aims to get closer to the Sun than ever before (December 22, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-12-nasa-parker-solar Retrieved from -probe-aims on December 23, 2024.html
This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.
