NASA's Parker solar probe successfully completed its closest approach to the sun by any human-made object, flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. The spacecraft entered the sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, to gather data on the sun's heat, solar wind, and energetic particle acceleration.
Photograph: Nasa /Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben/ReutersPhotograph: Nasa /Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben/ReutersParker solar spacecraft successfully completes closest flyby of any human-made object Nasa ’s Parker solar probe is safe and operating normally after successfully completing the closest-ever approach to the sun by any human-made object, the space agency has said.
The spacecraft passed just 3.8m miles from the solar surface on 24 December, flying into the sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – on a mission to help scientists learn more about Earth’s closest star. The agency said the operations team at the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory in Maryland received the signal, a beacon tone, from the probe shortly before midnight on Thursday.Moving at up to 430,000mph , the spacecraft endured temperatures of up to 982C .
Nasa said: “This closeup study of the sun allows Parker solar probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region gets heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind , and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to near light speed.”
The Parker solar probe was launched in 2018 and has been gradually circling closer towards the sun, using flybys of Venus to gravitationally pull it into a tighter orbit with the sun.
NASA Parker Solar Probe Sun Corona Solar Wind
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